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1970 FIFA World Cup qualification

A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Hosts Mexico and defending champions England qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

1970 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams75 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played172
Goals scored542 (3.15 per match)
Top scorer(s)Brazil Tostão (10 goals)
← 1966
1974 →

For the first time, the winners of both the African zone and the Asian and Oceanian zone were guaranteed a direct place in the final tournament. The 16 spots available in the 1970 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

  • Europe (UEFA): 9 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier England, while the other 8 places were contested by 29 teams.
  • South America (CONMEBOL): 3 places, contested by 10 teams.
  • North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Mexico, while the other 1 place was contested by 13 teams.
  • Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 13 teams. (13 teams applied, but FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Zaire, leaving 11 teams. A 14th team from Africa, Rhodesia, entered through a non-CAF qualifying system.)
  • Asia and Oceania (AFC/OFC): 1 place, contested by 7 teams (including Rhodesia).

A total of 68 teams played in at least one qualifying match. A total of 172 qualifying matches were played, and 542 goals were scored (an average of 3.15 per match).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

Key:

  • Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
  • Teams highlighted in red in the same table finished level on points and advanced to a play-off on neutral ground.

Qualified teams

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FIFA World Cup qualification 1970
Team Method of

qualification

Date of

qualification

Finals

appearance

Streak Previous best performance
  Mexico Hosts 008 October 1964 7th 6 Group stage (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966)
  England Defending Champions 0130 July 1966 6th 6 Winners (1966)
  Belgium UEFA Group 6 Winners 0230 April 1969 5th 1 (Last: 1954) Group stage (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954)
  Uruguay CONMEBOL Group 3 Winners 0310 August 1969 6th 3 Winners (1930, 1950)
  Brazil CONMEBOL Group 2 Winners 0424 August 1969 9th 9 Winners (1958, 1962)
  Peru CONMEBOL Group 1 Winners 0531 August 1969 2nd 1 (Last: 1930) Group stage (1930)
  El Salvador CONCACAF Winners 068 October 1969 1st 1 —
  Sweden UEFA Group 5 Winners 0715 October 1969 5th 1 (Last: 1958) Runners-up (1958)
  West Germany UEFA Group 7 Winners 0822 October 1969 7th 5 Winners (1954)
  Morocco CAF Winners 0926 October 1969 1st 1 —
  Soviet Union UEFA Group 4 Winners 104 November 1969 4th 4 Fourth place (1966)
  Romania UEFA Group 1 Winners 1116 November 1969 4th 1 (Last: 1938) Group stage (1930, 1934, 1938)
  Italy UEFA Group 3 Winners 1222 November 1969 7th 3 Winners (1934, 1938)
  Czechoslovakia UEFA Group 2 Winners 133 December 1969 6th 1 (Last: 1962) Runners-up (1934, 1962)
  Bulgaria UEFA Group 8 Winners 147 December 1969 3rd 3 Group stage (1962, 1966)
  Israel AFC/OFC Winners 1514 December 1969 1st 1 —

Confederation qualification

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AFC and OFC

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Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

North Korea withdrew because they refused to play Israel. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: Israel, New Zealand and Rhodesia received byes and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 3 teams, Australia, Japan and South Korea, played against each other twice in South Korea. The group winner would advance to the Second Round.
  • Second Round: The 4 teams were divided into 2 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other twice. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
  • Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

First round

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Australia 6 4 2 2 0 7 4 3
2   South Korea 4 4 1 2 1 6 5 1
3   Japan 2 4 0 2 2 4 8 −4

Second round

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Group 1
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=   Australia 2 2 0 2 0 1 1 0
1=   Rhodesia 2 2 0 2 0 1 1 0

Play-off

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Australia 2 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
2   Rhodesia 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2
Group 2
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Israel 4 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6
2   New Zealand 0 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6
—   North Korea withdrew

Final round

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Israel 3 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
2   Australia 1 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1

CAF

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Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Zaire. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: Ghana received a bye and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 10 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners (determined by aggregate score) would advance to the Second Round.
  • Second Round: The 6 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
  • Final Round: The 3 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

First round

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
Zambia   6–6   Sudan 4–2 2–4 (aet)  
Morocco   4–2   Senegal 1–0 1–2 2–0
Algeria   1–2   Tunisia 1–2 0–0  
Nigeria   4–3   Cameroon 1–1 3–2  
Libya   3–5   Ethiopia 2–0 1–5  
Ghana   Bye    

Second round

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg
Tunisia   2–2   Morocco 0–0 0–0 (aet) 2–2 (aet)
Ethiopia   2–4   Sudan 1–1 1–3  
Nigeria   3–2   Ghana 2–1 1–1  

Final round

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Morocco 5 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2
2   Nigeria 4 4 1 2 1 8 7 +1
3   Sudan 3 4 0 3 1 5 8 −3

CONCACAF

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Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

FIFA rejected the entry of Cuba. There would be three rounds of play:

  • First Round: The remaining 12 teams were divided into 4 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Semifinal Round.
  • Semifinal Round: The 4 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
  • Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

First round

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Group 1
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   United States 6 4 3 0 1 11 6 +5
2   Canada 5 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5
3   Bermuda 1 4 0 1 3 2 12 −10
Group 2
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Haiti 5 4 2 1 1 9 5 +4
2   Guatemala 4 4 1 2 1 5 3 +2
3   Trinidad and Tobago 3 4 1 1 2 4 10 −6
Group 3
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Honduras 7 4 3 1 0 7 2 +5
2   Costa Rica 5 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4
3   Jamaica 0 4 0 0 4 2 11 −9
Group 4
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   El Salvador 6 4 3 0 1 10 5 +5
2   Suriname 4 4 2 0 2 10 9 +1
3   Netherlands Antilles 2 4 1 0 3 3 9 −6

Second round

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Group 1
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Haiti 4 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3
2   United States 0 2 0 0 2 0 3 −3
Group 2
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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=   El Salvador 2 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2
1=   Honduras 2 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2

Play-off

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   El Salvador 2 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1
2   Honduras 0 1 0 0 1 2 3 –1

Third round

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1=   Haiti 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2
1=   El Salvador 2 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2

Play-off

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   El Salvador 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
2   Haiti 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 –1

CONMEBOL

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Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

The 10 teams were divided into 3 groups; two groups with 3 teams and one group with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

Group 1

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Peru 5 4 2 1 1 7 4 +3
2   Bolivia 4 4 2 0 2 5 6 −1
3   Argentina 3 4 1 1 2 4 6 −2

Group 2

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Brazil 12 6 6 0 0 23 2 +21
2   Paraguay 8 6 4 0 2 6 5 +1
3   Colombia 3 6 1 1 4 7 12 −5
4   Venezuela 1 6 0 1 5 1 18 −17

Group 3

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Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Uruguay 7 4 3 1 0 5 0 +5
2   Chile 4 4 1 2 1 5 4 +1
3   Ecuador 1 4 0 1 3 2 8 −6

UEFA

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Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

(30 teams competing for 8 berths)

FIFA rejected the entry of Albania. The remaining 29 teams were divided into 8 groups, 3 groups with 3 teams and 5 groups with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

Group 1
Team Pld Pts
  Romania 6 8
  Greece 6 7
   Switzerland 6 5
  Portugal 6 4
Group 2
Team Pld Pts
  Czechoslovakia 6 9
  Hungary 6 9
  Denmark 6 5
  Republic of Ireland 6 1
Group 3
Team Pld Pts
  Italy 4 7
  East Germany 4 5
  Wales 4 0
Group 4
Team Pld Pts
  Soviet Union 4 7
  Northern Ireland 4 5
  Turkey 4 0
Group 5
Team Pld Pts
  Sweden 4 6
  France 4 4
  Norway 4 2
Group 6
Team Pld Pts
  Belgium 6 9
  Yugoslavia 6 7
  Spain 6 6
  Finland 6 2
Group 7
Team Pld Pts
  West Germany 6 11
  Scotland 6 7
  Austria 6 6
  Cyprus 6 0
Group 8
Team Pld Pts
  Bulgaria 6 9
  Poland 6 8
  Netherlands 6 7
  Luxembourg 6 0

Goalscorers

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10 goals
9 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

Notes

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  • In the African zone, aggregate score was used to determine the winners of two-legged ties. However, different tie-breakers were used in the matches when the aggregate score was tied.
  • Morocco was the first African team to qualify since Egypt in the 1934 World Cup.
  • As a result of the hostile relationship between El Salvador and Honduras, and rioting during the qualification matches between them, the short-lived Football War broke out between the two countries.
  • Israel qualified for their only World Cup to date as an Asian team. However, soon after this, they were expelled from the Asian Football Confederation, and now compete in the European zone as they are now a member of UEFA.

References

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