A total of 55 teams entered the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Br ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

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

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

as the hosts and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

Qualification Process

The qualification rounds for the four previous World Cups differed widely, with controversial rules and many withdrawals. From this tournament onwards,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

divided the teams into several continental zones, assigned a pre-determined number of places in the final tournament to each zone, and delegated the organisation of the qualifying tournaments to its confederations:

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

of Europe,

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

of South America, NAFC of North America, CCCF of Central America and Caribbean, CAF of Africa and AFC of Asia (and OFC of Oceania after it was formed later). The 16 spots available in the 1958 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: *Europe (

): ''11 places'', 2 of them went to automatic qualifiers

and

, while the other 9 places were contested by 27 teams. *South America (

): ''3 places'', contested by 9 teams. *North, Central America and Caribbean ( NAFC/ CCCF): ''1 place'', contested by 6 teams. *Africa ( CAF) and Asia ( AFC): ''1 place'', contested by 11 teams (including

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). However, FIFA also imposed a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match because many teams qualified for previous World Cups without playing due to withdrawals of their opponents. Because

won the African and Asian zone under this circumstance, FIFA required them to enter a play-off against a team from Europe who initially did not qualify, with the winner of this play-off qualifying. Therefore, effectively in the end, a total of ''11.5 places'' were granted to Europe while only ''0.5 places'' were granted to Africa and Asia. A total of 46 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 89 qualifying matches were played, and 341 goals were scored (an average of 3.83 per match). Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

Confederation qualification

AFC and CAF

CCCF and NAFC

The 6 teams were divided into 2 groups with 3 teams each (Group 1 with teams from North America and Group 2 with teams from Central America and Caribbean). The teams played each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners advanced to the Final Round. The two teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis with the winner qualifying for the final tournament.

CONMEBOL

The 9 teams were divided into 3 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

UEFA

The 27 teams were divided into 9 groups, each featuring 3 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. Denmark, East Germany, Iceland and the Soviet Union made their debuts in World Cup qualification.

Inter-confederation play-offs: AFC/CAF v UEFA

A special play-off was created between Israel and the runner-up of one of the UEFA/CONMEBOL/CCCF/NAFC Groups, where the teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner qualifying. Two-time champions Uruguay withdrew, while Northern Ireland and Italy had one final match yet to play, so all three were left out. Belgium, Bulgaria, Wales, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Peru, Bolivia and Costa Rica were left to draw. After

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

refused,

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the runner-up of UEFA Group 4, was the team drawn from the UEFA group runners-up.

Qualified teams

Goalscorers

;8 goals *

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), centre-forward and was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United ...

;7 goals *

Thadée Cisowski Thadée Cisowski (16 February 1927 – 24 February 2005), originally Tadeusz Cisowski, was a French association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Born in Poland, he was regarded one of the best goalsco ...

;5 goals * Crescencio Gutiérrez * Jackie Mudie ;4 goals * Paul Vandenberg * Tadeusz Kraus * John Atyeo * Ferenc Machos * Rusli Ramang * Edward Jankowski *

Nikita Simonyan Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan (, , 12 October 1926) is a Soviet and Russian former Association football, football Forward (association football), striker and coach of Armenians, Armenian descent. He was born in Armavir, Russia, Armavir. As of 2021 ...

* Ladislao Kubala ;3 goals * Omar Oreste Corbatta * Norberto Menéndez * Gerhard Hanappi * Maurice Willems *

Máximo Alcócer Máximo Luis Alcócer (15 April 1933 – 13 May 2014) was a Bolivian footballer whose career lasted for almost ten years. His career debut began in 1954. He retired in 1964. Club career * Club Union Maestranza: Alcócer began his profession ...

* Hristo Iliev * Jorge Hernán Monge * Rodolfo Herrera González * Álvaro Murillo * Jean Vincent * Dermot Curtis * Alfredo Hernández * Héctor Hernández * Salvador Reyes Monteón * Abe Lenstra * Noud van Melis * Jimmy McIlroy * Juan Bautista Agüero * Florencio Amarilla * Anatoli Ilyin * Eduard Streltsov * Des Palmer * Muhamed Mujić ;2 goals * Roberto Zárate * Hans Buzek * Theodor Wagner * Henri Coppens * Victor Mees * Richard Orlans *

Georgi Dimitrov Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; ) also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian communist politician who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1933 t ...

* Panayot Panayotov * Art Hughes * Brian Philley * Gogie Stewart * Jaime Ramírez * Mario Cordero * Rubén Jiménez Rodríguez * Danilo Montero Campos * Wilfred de Lanoy * Ove Bech Nielsen * Günther Wirth * Duncan Edwards * Célestin Oliver * Roger Piantoni * Joseph Ujlaki * Francisco López Contreras * Lajos Csordás *

Nándor Hidegkuti Nándor Hidegkuti (3 March 1922 – 14 February 2002) was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also a ...

* Ríkharður Jónsson * Þórður Jónsson * Þórður Þórðarson * Guido Gratton * Carlos González * Héctor Hernández * Ligorio López * Enrique Sesma * Cor van der Gijp * Harald Hennum * Ángel Jara Saguier * Enrique Jara Saguier * Lucjan Brychczy * Gerard Cieślik * Manuel Vasques * Alexandru Ene * Anatoli Isayev * Igor Netto * Estanislao Basora * Alfredo di Stéfano * Luis Suárez Miramontes * Josef Hügi * Roger Vonlanthen * Ed Murphy *

Ivor Allchurch Ivor John Allchurch (16 October 1929 – 10 July 1997) was a Welsh professional association football, footballer who played as an inside forward. Known as the "Golden Boy of Welsh football", Allchurch began his career playing for his hometown ...

* Cliff Jones * Miloš Milutinović ;1 goal * Norberto Conde * Eliseo Prado * Robert Dienst * Walter Haummer * Karl Koller * Ernst Kozlicek * Helmut Senekowitsch * Karl Stotz * Otto Walzhofer * André Van Herpe * Denis Houf * André Piters * Ricardo Alcón * Ausberto García * Didi * Índio * Spiro Debarski * Todor Diev * Ivan Petkov Kolev * Krum Yanev * Norm McLeod * Ostap Steckiw * Guillermo Díaz *

Nian Weisi Nian Weisi (; born 11 May 1933) is a Chinese football manager and former player. As a player he played for the North China team as well as the China national team before he moved into management. As a coach he intermittently managed the Chines ...

* Sun Fucheng * Wang Lu * Zhang Honggen * Carlos Arango * Ricardo Díaz * Jaime Gutiérrez * Juan Soto Quiros * Edgard Meulens * Hubert Sambo * Vlastimil Bubník * Pavol Molnár * Anton Moravčík *

Ladislav Novák Ladislav Novák (5 December 1931 – 21 March 2011) was a Czech football defender and later a football manager. He played 75 matches for Czechoslovakia, 71 of them as a team captain.

* Aage Rou Jensen * John Jensen * Manfred Kaiser * Helmut Müller * Willy Tröger * Johnny Haynes * Olavi Lahtinen * Mauri Vanhanen * Said Brahimi * René Dereuddre *

Maryan Wisnieski Marian Wisniewski (1 February 1937 – 3 March 2022), known as Maryan Wisniewski, was a French association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Life and career Marian Wisniewski was born on 1 February 193 ...

* Kostas Nestoridis * Vaggelis Panakis * Augusto Espinoza * Jorge Vickers * József Bozsik * Károly Sándor *

Lajos Tichy Lajos Tichy (21 March 1935 – 6 January 1999), nicknamed "The Nation's Bomber", was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward. He is the most prolific goalscorer in total matches in recorded history according to RSSSF with over 1917 ...

* Eddang Witarsa * George Cummins * Johnny Gavin * Alf Ringstead * Sergio Cervato * Dino da Costa * Gino Pivatelli * Jean-Pierre Fiedler * Johnny Halsdorf * Léon Letsch * Jaime Belmonte * Toon Brusselers * Coen Dillen * Kees Rijvers * Servaas Wilkes * Billy Bingham * Tommy Casey * Wilbur Cush * Billy Simpson * Kjell Kristiansen * Óscar Aguilera * Alberto Terry * Ginter Gawlik * Matateu * António Dias Teixeira * Cornel Cacoveanu * Titus Ozon * Iosif Petschovsky * Nicolae Tătaru * John Hewie * Tommy Ring * Archie Robertson * Alex Scott * Gordon Smith * Genrich Fedosov * Valentin Kozmich Ivanov * Boris Tatushin * Yuri Voinov * Miguel González * Enrique Mateos * Suleiman Faris * Siddiq Manzul * Robert Ballaman * Ferdinando Riva * Jabra Al-Zarqa * Harry Keough * Ruben Mendoza * James Murphy * Javier Ambrois * Eladio Benítez * William Martínez * Óscar Míguez * Dave Bowen *

Mel Charles Melvyn Charles (14 May 1935 – 24 September 2016) was a Welsh international footballer. Charles played as both a centre-half and centre-forward, with his preferred position being at right-half. After a short stint on the Leeds United gro ...

* Roy Vernon * Dobrosav Krstić * Aleksandar Petaković ;1 own goal * Edgar Falch (playing against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

) * Ray Daniel (playing against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

)

Notes

*Wales is the only team to ever qualify after having been eliminated and then reinstated. Their qualification meant that all four Home Nations qualified (the only time in history), and that no team from the separate African and Asian zone qualified. This remained Wales' only appearance in the finals until 2022, when they qualified through the European zone for the first time. *Two-time former champions Uruguay, who in their three previous appearances had always benefited from direct qualifications or withdrawals, now failed in what was the first time they actually had to play qualifying games. *Italy were eliminated in qualifying for the first time.

Footnotes

External links

FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1958 World Cup Qualification
{{DEFAULTSORT:1958 Fifa World Cup Qualification

Qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

FIFA World Cup qualification