A total of 37 teams entered the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament.

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, as the hosts, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. 37 teams were divided into 13 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows: * Groups 1 to 10 –

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

: ''11 places'', contested by 27 teams (including

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

). * Group 11 and 12 –

The Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

: ''2 places'', contested by 7 teams. * Group 13 –

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

: ''1 place'', contested by 3 teams. A total of 33 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 57 qualifying matches were played, and 208 goals were scored (an average of 3.65 per match). Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

Groups

The 13 groups had different rules, as follows: * Groups 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 had 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. * Groups 7 and 9 had 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. * Group 3 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify. * Group 11 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify. * Group 12 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other twice. The group winner would qualify. * Group 13 had 3 teams. After Republic of China withdrew before the matches began, the remaining 2 teams played against each other twice. The group winner would qualify.

Group 1

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- West Germany qualified.

Group 2

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Belgium qualified. This is the first time Sweden failed to qualify.

Group 3

This group was also the

1953–54 British Home Championship The 1953–54 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1953–54 season. This season's tournament also doubled as UEFA – Group 3 for 1954 FIFA World Cup qualificat ...

. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- England and Scotland qualified.

Group 4

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- France qualified.

Group 5

---- Austria qualified.

Group 6

---- Spain and Turkey finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Luigi Franco Gemma, a 14-year-old Italian boy whose father worked at the stadium, picked Turkey's name from the lots with his eyes blindfolded. Since the

1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May t ...

finals, goal difference has been used as a tiebreaker for future qualifying rounds. Had those rules been in place, Spain would have qualified, and Turkey would have been eliminated. This is the first time Spain failed to qualify. Therefore, Turkey qualified. This was the only time winner of aggregate score failed to qualify.

Group 7

Poland withdrew and Iceland had their entry rejected so Hungary qualified automatically.

Group 8

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Czechoslovakia qualified. This was the first time Romania failed to qualify.

Group 9

---- Italy qualified.

Group 10

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Yugoslavia qualified.

Group 11

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Brazil qualified. Despite having participated in every World Cup, this was the first time they played qualifying matches.

Group 12

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Mexico qualified.

Group 13

---- South Korea qualified.

Qualified teams

Qualification for the 1954 FIFA World Cup

(h) – qualified automatically as hosts (c) – qualified automatically as defending champions (w) – qualified automatically because Poland withdrew

Goalscorers

;6 goals *

Max Morlock Maximilian Morlock (; 11 May 1925–10 September 1994) was a German footballer active in the 1950s and early 1960s. In his time with the West Germany national team, he earned 26 caps and scored 21 goals. His position was that of an inside ri ...

;5 goals * Erich Probst * Baltazar *

Tomás Balcázar Tomás Balcázar González (4 May 1931 – 26 April 2020)Some sources state that he was born on 21 December 1931, while others state he was born on 4 May 1931 was a Mexican professional footballer who played as a forward. He played at club lev ...

;4 goals *

Henri Coppens Henri 'Rik' François Louis Coppens (29 April 1930 – 5 February 2015) was a Belgian footballer who played as a striker. He played 389 games and scored 261 goals for Beerschot AC. Coppens won the first Belgian Golden Shoe in 1954. After his c ...

* José Luis Lamadrid * Nils-Åke Sandell *

Bill Looby Bill Looby (November 20, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri – December 9, 1998 in St. Louis) was an American soccer forward who spent his entire career in the St. Louis Leagues. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team at the 1956 Summer O ...

;3 goals * František Vlk *

Nat Lofthouse Nathaniel Lofthouse (27 August 1925 – 15 January 2011) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers for his entire career. He won 33 caps for England between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals, with o ...

Kalevi Lehtovirta Kalevi Valdemar Lehtovirta (20 February 1928 – 10 January 2016) was a Finnish football striker who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. Personal life While in Paris he married a local woman who gave birth to their twin sons. They lived in Mo ...

Just Fontaine Just Louis Fontaine (born 18 August 1933) is a French former professional footballer. A prolific forward, he is best known for scoring the most goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches in 1958. In 2004, Pel ...

Pedro Arnauda Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

* Manuel Lugo *

Choi Chung-Min Choi Chung-min (; 30 August 1930 – 8 August 1983) was a former South Korean football player and manager. Nicknamed the "Golden Legs", Choi was one of Asia's greatest strikers in the 1950s. Playing career Choi was born in Taedong and grew ...

Chung Nam-Sik Chung Nam-sik (Hangul: 정남식, Hanja: 鄭南湜, 16 February 1917 – 5 April 2005) was a Korean football player and manager. He played as a striker for the South Korea national team during the 1940s and 1950s, including at the 1948 Summer ...

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-round ...

;2 goals *

Léopold Anoul Léopold "Pol" Anoul (19 August 1922 – 11 February 1990) was a Belgian footballer. During his club career he played for Royal FC Liégeois (1942–1957) and Standard Liège (1957–1960). From 1947 to 1954, he earned 48 caps and scored ...

* Mathieu Bollen *

Júlio Botelho Júlio Botelho, also known as ''Julinho'' (; 29 July 1929 – 10 January 2003) was a Brazilian football player. He was primarily a right winger. Known for his dribbling ability and powerful shot, Julinho is regarded as one of the greatest wi ...

Harold Hassall Harold William Hassall (4 March 1929 – 30 January 2015) was a professional footballer, who played as a forward for Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers in the 1940s and 1950s. Harold was one of four Hassall brothers. He lived relatively n ...

Dennis Wilshaw Dennis James Wilshaw (11 March 1926 – 10 May 2004) was an English international footballer. A forward, he scored 173 goals in 380 appearances in the Football League, and also scored ten goals in twelve appearances for the England national te ...

* Olavi Lahtinen * Jean Desgranges *

Pierre Flamion Pierre Émile Flamion (13 December 1924 – 3 January 2004) was a French football manager and former player who played striker. Honours As a player Reims * Division 1: 1948–49 *Coupe de France: 1949–50 Orders *Chevalier of the Ordre nat ...

Léon Glovacki Léon Glovacki (19 February 1928 – 9 September 2009) was a French football (soccer), football Striker (football), striker. Personal life Glovacki was born in France, and was of Polish descent. He was an international for the France national fo ...

Roger Piantoni Roger Piantoni (26 December 1931 – 26 May 2018) was a French footballer who played as an inside-forward and was a star on the French national team in the late 1950s. During the 1949–1950 season, he was the champion of Lorraine with his te ...

Joseph Ujlaki Joseph Ujlaki ( hu, Újlaki József) (10 August 1929 – 13 February 2006) was a French footballer of Hungarian descent, one of the best strikers in Division 1 (190 goals) in the 1950s and 1960s. He acquired French nationality by naturalizati ...

Jean Vincent Jean Vincent (29 November 1930 – 13 August 2013) was a French international footballer and manager. Playing career Playing primarily at outside-left, Vincent enjoyed a highly successful career at club and international level, winning numero ...

* Gerard Ellie *

Arthur Fitzsimons Arthur Fitzsimons (16 December 1929 – 9 May 2018) was an Irish professional footballer player and manager. An inside forward, he notably made over 200 appearances for Middlesbrough. Career Originally from Penrose Street, in the shadow of She ...

* Reg Ryan *

Giampiero Boniperti Giampiero Boniperti (; 4 July 1928 – 18 June 2021) was an Italian footballer who played his entire 15-season career at Juventus between 1946 and 1961, winning five Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia titles. He also played for the Italy nati ...

* Amleto Frignani *

Toshio Iwatani was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Iwatani was born in Kobe on October 24, 1925. After graduating from Waseda University, he played for Osaka SC. Osaka SC won second place at the Emperor's Cup three ...

Alfredo Torres Juan Alfredo Torres González (31 May 1935 – 10 November 2022) was a Mexican footballer who played as a forward. He represented the Mexico national team in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Career Torres began playing youth football with local side ...

Peter McParland Peter James McParland MBE (born 25 April 1934) is a former professional footballer. Club career Dundalk McParland was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. He was spotted playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland by Aston Villa ma ...

José Parodi Silvio José del Rosario Parodi Rojas (30 August 1932 – 22 August 2006) was a Paraguayan football player and coach. Parodi was born in Luque. He played for Sportivo Luqueño, Calcio Padova, Genoa, UD Las Palmas, Nîmes Olympique and FC Mul ...

József Pecsovszky József Pecsovszky or Iosif Petschovschi (also known as József Perényi; 2 July 1921 – 6 October 1968), was a Romanian football player. His nickname was ''Peci''. He could play in any position on the pitch, he was even goalkeeper once. Caree ...

* Allan Brown *

Charlie Fleming Charles Fleming (12 July 1927 – 14 August 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Blairhall Colliery, East Fife, Sunderland and the Scotland national team. Fleming was nicknamed 'Cannonball Charlie' for his shooting ability, and is Ba ...

* Burhan Sargın *

Ivor Allchurch Ivor John Allchurch MBE (16 October 1929 – 10 July 1997) was a Welsh professional footballer who played for Swansea Town, Newcastle United and Cardiff City, as well as the Wales national football team. Known as the "Golden Boy of Welsh foot ...

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany a ...

;1 goal * Robert Dienst *

Ernst Happel Ernst Franz Hermann Happel (29 November 1925 – 14 November 1992) was an Austrian football player and manager. Happel is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, winning both league and domestic cup titles in the Netherlands, Belg ...

Ernst Ocwirk Ernst Ocwirk (7 March 1926 – 23 January 1980) was an Austrian football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time. He spent the majority of his playing and coaching years between Austria and Ital ...

* Theodor Wagner * Victor Lemberechts *

Victor Mees Victor Mees (26 January 1927 – 11 November 2012), nicknamed Vic or Vicky, was a Belgian footballer who played all of his career at Royal Antwerp. Club career Mees was born in Antwerp. He made his first team debut at the age of 17, just ...

* Jean-Louis Straetmans *

Maurinho Mailson is a nick name, a diminutive for the given name Mauro. It may refer to: * Maurinho (footballer, 1933-1995), Mauro Raphael, Brazilian football striker * Maurinho (footballer, born 1978), Mauro Sérgio Viriato Mendes, Brazilian football ri ...

Stefan Bozhkov Stefan Bozhilov Stefanov ( bg, Стефан Божилов Стефанов; 20 September 1923 – 1 February 2014) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. He usually played the position of midfielder. Career Born in Sofia, Bozhkov first star ...

* Ivan Kolev *

Dobromir Tashkov Dobromir Tashkov ( bg, Добромир Ташков; 10 April 1925 – 26 May 2017) was a Bulgarian football player and manager who played as a forward. Tashkov was born in Varna. He spent his whole career at Spartak Varna and Slavia Sofia. ...

Ted Robledo Eduardo "Ted" Robledo Oliver (26 July 1928 – 6 December 1970) was a Chilean professional football player. He played as a left-sided defender, and is most notable for his time spent with Newcastle United. He was also part of Chile's squad ...

* Emil Pažický *

František Šafránek František Šafránek (2 January 1931 – 27 June 1987) was a Czech football player. Šafránek played for several clubs, including Spartak Sokolovo (1949–1952) and Dukla Prague (1952–1966). He played for Czechoslovakia national team (22 ...

Ad-Diba Mohamed Diab Al-Attar, known as Ad-Diba, ( ar, محمد دياب العطار‎; 17 November 1927 – 30 December 2016), was a footballer who played for the Al Ittihad Alexandria Club and the Egypt national football team. He later served as ...

Alaa El-Hamouly Alaa El-Din Hassanin El-Hamouly ( ar, علاء الدين حسنين الحامولي) (4 July 1930 – 13 January 1984) was an Egyptian former footballer who played as a forward for Zamalek. He also played for the Egyptian national team. H ...

Ronnie Allen Ronald Allen (15 January 1929 – 9 June 2001) was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 2 ...

Ivor Broadis Ivan Arthur "Ivor" Broadis (18 December 1922 – 12 April 2019) was an English professional footballer. During a career spanning nineteen years from 1942 to 1961, Broadis represented Carlisle United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Newcastle Unite ...

* Jimmy Mullen * Johnny Nicholls * Nils Rikberg *

Jorma Vaihela Jorma Johan Sigurd Vaihela (30 September 1925 – 9 February 2006) was a Finnish international footballer who played as an inside forward. Club career Born in Raahe, Vaihela played club football in Finland for TuTo, PoPa and RU-38, and in Swed ...

Raymond Cicci Raymond Cicci (11 August 1929 – 20 February 2012) was a French footballer. He played in one match for the France national football team in 1953. He was also named in France's squad for the Group 4 qualification tournament for the 1954 FIF ...

Jacques Foix Jacques Foix (; 26 November 1930 – 14 June 2017) was a French footballer who played striker. His playing career spanned from 1951 to 1964. Foix made seven appearances for the French national team between 1953 and 1956, scoring three goals an ...

Édouard Kargu Édouard Kargulewicz (16 December 1925 – 13 March 2010), known simply as Édouard Kargu, was a France international footballer who played as a striker. Born in Poland, Kargu played professionally for Bordeaux between 1947 and 1958, and was ...

Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa (né Kopaszewski; 13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017) was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three Eu ...

Armand Penverne Armand Penverne (26 November 1926 – 27 February 2012) was a French football defender and coach. He played the majority of his professional career for Stade de Reims winning four French championships and appearing in one European Cup final. ...

* Thanasis Bembis *

Georgios Kamaras Giorgos Kamaras born Georgios Katrodavlis ( el, Γιώργος Καμάρας;5 May 1929 - 2000) was a Greek footballer. His name has been joined with the history of Apollon Athens. The stadium of Apollon Athens, in the Athenian district of Rizou ...

* Dimitris Kokkinakis * George Cummins *

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bo ...

Frank O'Farrell Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining ...

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016), commonly referred to as Davy Walsh or Dave Walsh, was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dual ...

* Ermes Muccinelli * Egisto Pandolfini *

Eduardo Ricagni Eduardo Ricagni (; born 29 April 1926-2010) was a professional football player and coach. A winger, at club level he won one Italian league title and was the top scorer of the Argentine Primera División in 1952. At International level he was bor ...

* Ken Naganuma *

Antoine Kohn Antoine "Spitz" Kohn (1 November 1933 – 24 November 2012) was a Luxembourg football player and football manager. Club career Kohn played as a striker, and spent most of his career plying his trade abroad, in Germany, Switzerland, and ...

* Rafael Ávalos * Gregorio Gómez * José Naranjo * Nicolás Tellez * Norman Lockhart *

Eddie McMorran Edward James "Eddie" McMorran (2 September 1923 – 27 January 1984) was a footballer who played as a centre forward and inside forward in the Football League, for Ireland and Northern Ireland. McMorran was born in Larne, County Antrim and atte ...

* Knut Dahlen *

Harald Hennum Harald Ove Hennum (29 May 1928 – 14 October 1993) was a Norwegian footballer who played as a forward for Frigg and Skeid. He was one of Norway's greatest football profiles in the 1950s. Club career Hennum started his career playing for Frig ...

* Hans Nordahl * Gunnar Thoresen * Ireneo Hermosilla *

Eulogio Martínez Eulogio Ramiro Martínez (11 June 1935 – 30 September 1984) was a Paraguayan-born footballer who played as a striker. He played for the Spanish side FC Barcelona in the 1950s and 1960s, and is remembered for being a prolific striker with an e ...

* Silvio Parodi *

José Águas José Pinto de Carvalho Santos Águas (; 9 November 1930 – 10 December 2000) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He enjoyed a lengthy professional spell with Benfica, never scoring less than 18 goals in 12 of his 13 first di ...

* Valeriu Călinoiu *

Alexandru Ene Alexandru Ene (also known as Alexandru Ene I; 19 September 1928 – 22 May 2011) was a Romanian football striker. Club career Alexandru Ene was born on 19 September 1928 in Brăila, Romania and he started playing football at junior level at O ...

Gavril Serfözö Gavril Serfözö (25 September 1926 – 16 May 2002) was a Romanian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Honours ;CA Oradea *Liga I: 1948–49 ;CCA București *Cupa României: 1948–49, 1950 ;UTA ...

Herbert Binkert Herbert Binkert (3 September 1923 – 4 January 2020) was a German footballer who played internationally for Saarland. Club career With 1. FC Saarbrücken the striker took part in the 1955–56 European Cup. International career Binkert s ...

* Herbert Martin * Werner Otto * Gerhard Siedl * Jackie Henderson *

Bobby Johnstone Robert Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Selkirk, Hibernian, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic and Witton Albion. Johnstone also represented Scotland and the Scottish League. Johnstone ...

Willie Ormond William Esplin Ormond (23 February 1927 – 4 May 1984) was a Scottish football player and manager. As a player, Ormond was well known as one of Hibernian's Famous Five forward line, winning three league championships in the late 1940s an ...

Lawrence Reilly Lawrance Reilly (28 October 1928 – 22 July 2013) was a Scottish footballer. He was one of the " Famous Five", the Hibernian forward line during the late 1940s and early 1950s, along with Bobby Johnstone, Gordon Smith, Eddie Turnbull, and W ...

* Choi Kwang-Suk *

Rafael Alsua Rafael Alsua (18 August 1923 – 30 November 1992) was a Spanish footballer. He played in two matches for the Spain national football team in 1954. He was also named in Spain's squad for the Group 6 qualification tournament for the 1954 FI ...

* José Artetxe * Adrián Escudero * Agustín Gaínza * Miguel González * Venancio García *

Bengt Berndtsson Bengt Ryno Berndtsson (26 January 1933 – 4 June 2015) was a Swedish football winger. Born in Gothenburg, he was nicknamed ''Fölet'' (meaning ''The Foal''). After starting his career playing for two local clubs, he joined IFK Göteborg ...

* Hans Persson *

Gösta Sandberg Gösta "Knivsta" Sandberg (6 August 1932 – 27 April 2006) was a Swedish football, ice hockey, and bandy player who is best remembered for representing Djurgårdens IF. He was capped 52 times for the national team in football, eight times ...

* Herbert Sandin *

Arne Selmosson Arne Selmosson (29 March 1931 – 19 February 2002) was a Swedish footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Götene, Selmosson played for Jönköpings Södra, Udinese, Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , popul ...

* Recep Adanır *

Suat Mamat Suat İsmail Mamat (8 November 1930 – 3 February 2016) was a Turkish professional footballer who played in Turkey for Ankara Demirspor, Galatasaray S.K., Beşiktaş J.K. and Vefa S.K. International career Mamat made 27 appearances for the ...

* Cornelius Casey *

Efrain Chacurian Efraín or Yeprem "Chico" Chacurian (22 February 1924 - 15 February 2019) was an Argentine-American soccer forward. He earned four caps, scoring one goal, as a member of the U.S. national team in 1953 and 1954. He was inducted into the National ...

* Ruben Mendoza *

Helmut Rahn Helmut Rahn (16 August 1929 – 14 August 2003), known as ''Der Boss'' (The Boss), was a German footballer who played as a forward. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup (West Germany vs. ...

Horst Schade Horst Schade (10 July 1922 – 28 February 1968) was a German football player and manager. Schade began his career with Dresdner SC Dresdner Sportclub 1898 e.V., known simply as Dresdner SC, is a German multisport club playing in Dresden, S ...

Hans Schäfer Hans Schäfer (19 October 1927 – 7 November 2017) was a German footballer who played as an outside left. Career Schäfer was born in Zollstock, Cologne. He played for 1. FC Köln between 1948 and 1965, and for the West Germany national team, e ...

Ottmar Walter Ottmar Kurt Herrmann Walter (6 March 1924 – 16 June 2013) was a German footballer who played as a striker. He played together with his brother, Fritz Walter, at the club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. They also played together for the Germany nation ...

Frane Matošić Frane Matošić (25 November 1918 – 29 October 2007) was a Croatian football player and coach who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Hajduk Split's greatest players and he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Playing career ...

Miloš Milutinović Miloš Milutinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Милутиновић; 5 February 1933 – 28 January 2003) was a Serbian professional footballer and manager from Yugoslavia. Milutinović is regarded as one of the most talented players in his country ...

Todor Veselinović Todor "Toza" Veselinović (, ; 22 October 1930 – 17 May 2017) was a Serbian footballer and coach. He was one of the most renowned goalscorers in Yugoslavian history. Veselinović was the last surviving member of Yugoslavia's 1954 World Cup sq ...

Branko Zebec Branislav "Branko" Zebec (17 May 1929 – 26 September 1988) was a Croatian footballer and manager who played for Yugoslavia. In his heyday, Zebec fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan he ...

;1 own goal * William Scheppel (playing against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

)

Notes

* Turkey qualified via the drawing of lots, after they and Spain finished level on points in Group 6 and a drawn play-off match in Rome. * For the first time, qualification matches were actually played in South America; in the four previous World Cups, the South American teams qualified automatically due to withdrawals (in the case of

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) or through the

South American Football Championship South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

(for the

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and 1950 tournaments), while there was no qualifying process in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

did not take part in the qualification process. * As the French-occupied Saarland protectorate did not become part of Germany until 1957, the Saarland national team entered their only World Cup competition and actually had to play Germany in the qualifiers. *The entries of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

were rejected by FIFA. * After being banned from the 1950 tournament following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

were both allowed to play again. West Germany qualified and became champions after defeating

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

with a score of 3–2 in the final that became known as the Miracle of Bern.

References

External links

FIFA World Cup Official Site – 1954 World Cup Qualification

{{1954 in Japanese football

Football World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

FIFA World Cup qualification