The 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the five

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 ...

confederations A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. The

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

featured 16 teams with one place reserved for the host nation,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and one reserved for defending champions

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The remaining 14 places were determined by a qualification process in which the other 72 entered teams, from the five

confederations, competed.

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 ...

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

and

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 ...

qualification was determined within the confederations, whilst AFC and

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

teams (alongside

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) competed for one place at the tournament. Of these 72 teams, 51 competed, while

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

and

the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

had their entries rejected. In the Africa/Asia/Oceania zone: *

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

were disqualified after being suspended by FIFA due to

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

. * All 15 African nations later boycotted in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, confirmed there would be no direct qualification for an African team, with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(who were grouped in Europe) withdrawing in support of the African teams. *

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

were forced to withdraw due to logistical issues after the Asia/Oceania tournament was moved from Japan to Cambodia. The first qualification match, between

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, was played on 24 May 1964 and the first goal in qualification was a penalty, scored by Dutch defender

Daan Schrijvers Daan Schijvers (18 September 1941 – 2 August 2018) was a Dutch footballer who played as a defender in his native Netherlands. He was also capped for the Netherlands national team 22 times. Club career Born in Breda, Schrijvers started and f ...

. Qualification ended on 29 December 1965, when

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

eliminated

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 ...

in a group tiebreaker to become the final qualifier for the World Cup. There were 393 goals scored over 127 games, for an average of 3.09 goals per game and 51 teams played in qualification.

Qualified teams

Qualification process

The 16 spots available in the 1966 World Cup were distributed among the continental zones as follows: * Europe (

): ''10 places'', 1 of them went to automatic qualifier

, while the other 9 places were contested by 32 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 ...

and

). * South America (

): ''4 places'', 1 of them went to automatic qualifier

, while the other 3 places were contested by 9 teams. * North, Central America and Caribbean (

): ''1 place'', contested by 10 teams. * Africa and Asia (

/ AFC): ''1 place'', contested by 19 teams (including

from

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

). UEFA, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF had a guaranteed number of places, whereas the CAF and AFC had to contest a play-off to determine which confederation would be represented. After the first round of 1966 FIFA World Cup finals, the percentage of teams from each confederation that passed through to the quarter-finals was as follows: * AFC (Asia): 100% (1 of 1 places) *

(Africa): ''No nations entered'' *

(North, Central American and Caribbean): 0% (0 of 1 places) *

(South America): 50% (2 of 4 places) * Oceania (No confederation): ''Only entrant, Australia, failed to qualify'' *

(Europe): 50% (5 of 10 places)

Summary of qualification

Tiebreakers

For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a league format, the method used for separating teams level on points was the same for all Confederations. If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams played a play-off at a neutral ground.

Confederation qualification

AFC, CAF and Oceania

21 teams –

(who were not a member of a confederation at the time, as the OFC was not founded until 1966),

(who had been expelled from

in 1958 due to the country's apartheid policies), three teams from AFC and 16 teams from CAF – applied to take part in qualification, but the entries of

and

were rejected. The qualification process began with four national teams split between two sections for qualification:

and

competed in European qualification for geographical reasons, whilst

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and

were in a group with Australia and South Africa. The winner of this group would then go on to play the three group winners from the second round of CAF qualifiers. However, South Africa was disqualified after being suspended by

, and all 15 members of CAF withdrew in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, confirmed that there would be no direct qualification for an African team. Less than three weeks before the tournament, South Korea were forced to withdraw due to logistical difficulties after the tournament was moved from Japan to Cambodia.

African boycott

Qualification for the 15 remaining African teams saw them sorted into six groups: three groups of two and three groups of three. The winners of these groups were then to play a two-legged tie in the following combinations: Group 1 winners v Group 5 winners, Group 2 winners v Group 4 winners and Group 3 winners v Group 6 winners, with the winners advancing to play in the final group with each other and the winner of the Asia/Oceania group. However, these African nations were aggrieved that their second-round winners would be required to enter a final round against the winners of the Asia/Oceania group in order to qualify for the final tournament. These nations demanded that Africa be represented in the tournament, and also objected to the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963. Due to pressure from the African nations and CAF, South Africa was suspended again on 21 September 1964, and were subsequently disqualified. However, after FIFA declined to change the qualifying format or the allocation of places, citing competitive and logistical issues, all fifteen African teams immediately boycotted the competition: subsequently, CAF informed FIFA that they would refuse to participate in qualifying for

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

unless at least one African team had an automatic place in the World Cup. In 1968, FIFA unanimously voted to grant an automatic place for CAF from the 1970 World Cup onwards.

CONCACAF

10 teams initially entered, but the entry of

was rejected. The remaining nine teams were placed in to three groups of three, with the winner of each group proceeding to a final group. The winner of this group would go on to the final tournament.

CONMEBOL

had already qualified as reigning champions, the remaining nine CONMEBOL teams were split into three groups of 3, playing each other twice (home and away). The top team from each group qualified.

Final positions (group stage)

In Group B, Chile and Ecuador finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Chile won the match to win the group.

UEFA

qualified automatically as hosts and a further 30 European teams took part in qualification. They were joined by

and

, although Syria then withdrew in support of the African teams. The teams were divided into 9 groups - four groups of 3 and five groups of 4. Syria's withdrawal meant that group 9 only contained two teams.

Final positions (group stage)

In Group 1, Belgium and Bulgaria finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Bulgaria won the match 2–1. In Group 9, the Republic of Ireland and Spain finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Spain won the match 1–0.

Goalscorers

;7 goals *

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Stri ...

;6 goals *

Mimis Papaioannou Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou (; 23 August 1942 – 15 March 2023) was a Greek professional footballer, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a manager. Widely regarded as the greatest Greek footballer of his generation and one ...

;5 goals *

Paul Van Himst Paul Guillaume van Himst (born 2 October 1943) is a Belgian former association football, football player and a Coach (sport), football manager who played as a forward (association football), forward, most notably for R.S.C. Anderlecht. Regarded ...

* Georgi Asparuhov *

Sandro Mazzola Alessandro "Sandro" Mazzola (; born 8 November 1942) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer, who played as a forward (association football), forward or attacking midfielder for Inter Milan, Internazionale and the Ita ...

Isidoro Díaz Isidoro Díaz Mejía (born 14 February 1938) is a Mexican former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Isidoro Díaz played most of his club career for C.D. Guadalajara, Guadalajara, where he won ...

* Jobby Crossan *

Włodzimierz Lubański Włodzimierz 'Włodek' Leonard Lubański (Polish pronunciation: ; born 28 February 1947 in Gliwice-Sośnica) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the second-highest all-time goal scorer for the Poland na ...

Anatoliy Banishevskiy Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy (; ; 23 February 1946, in Baku – 10 December 1997, in Baku) was an Azerbaijani association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Throughout most of his playing and coachi ...

* Héctor Silva ;4 goals * Nikola Kotkov * Errol Daniels *

Leonel Hernández Leonel Hernández Valerín (born 3 October 1943 in Cartago) is a retired Costa Rican football player. Club career Hernández spent his entire career with hometown club Cartaginés, after joining their youth team in 1957. He made his debut for ...

* František Knebort *

Ernesto Cisneros Ernesto Cisneros Salcedo (born 26 October 1940) is a Mexican former football midfielder who played for Mexico in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Club Atlas and he competed in the men's tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Club c ...

* Pedro Virgilio Rocha *

Roy Vernon Thomas Royston Vernon (14 April 1937 – 4 December 1993) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a forward for Blackburn Rovers, Everton and Stoke City. Vernon won 32 caps for Wales, scoring eight goals in total, and representing h ...

Milan Galić Milan Galić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Галић, ; 8 March 1938 – 13 September 2014) was a Yugoslav and Serbian professional footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Durin ...

;3 goals *

Luis Artime Luis Artime (born 2 December 1938) is an Argentine former association football, footballer, who played as a Striker (association football), striker, and scored more than 1,000 goals during his career. His son Luis Fabián Artime is also a retired ...

Ermindo Onega Ermindo Ángel Onega (30 April 1940 – 21 December 1979) was an Argentine footballer, attacking midfielder and forward from River Plate. He played for River Plate from 1957 to 1968, scoring 98 goals in 222 matches. In 1972, he played for C ...

Johnny Thio Johnny Thio (2 September 1944 in Roeselare – 4 August 2008 in Hooglede) was a Belgian footballer. During his career he played for Club Brugge K.V. He earned 18 caps Alberto Fouilloux Alberto Jorge Fouillioux Ahumada (22 November 1940 – 23 June 2018) was a Chilean football midfielder and striker who earned 70 caps and scored 12 goals for the Chile national team during his career. Career Fouillioux made his debut for Un ...

Leonel Sánchez Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (25 April 1936 – 2 April 2022) was a Chilean professional footballer who played as a striker or on the left wing. He is recognized as one of the Best South American Footballers of the 20th Century and one ...

Edgar Marín Edgar Ceferino Marín Leví (22 May 1943 – 16 August 2023) was a Costa Rican professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Pueblo Nuevo, Puntarenas, Marín made his league debut in 1962 for Deportivo Saprissa again ...

* William Quirós *

Karol Jokl Karol Jokl (29 August 1945 – 28 October 1996) was a Slovak football player and manager. He played for ŠK Slovan Bratislava and Czechoslovakia. Between 1963 and 1975 he played in the Czechoslovak First League for ŠK Slovan Bratislava, scori ...

* Enrique Raymondi *

Juhani Peltonen Juhani Peltonen (born 16 June 1936) is a retired Finnish association football player. Peltonen was the first Finnish player to play in the German Bundesliga. The forward made 38 appearances for Hamburger SV between 1964 and 1966, scoring six g ...

Nestor Combin Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, L ...

Philippe Gondet Philippe Jean-Marie Gondet (17 May 1942 – 21 January 2018) was a French professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for France at the 1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial ...

Giorgos Sideris Giorgos Sideris (; born 5 April 1938) is a Greek former footballer, who played as striker. Club career Sideris began his youth career at Atromitos Piraeus playing in the centre of midfield but his coaches soon became aware of his goalscoring ...

Paolo Barison Paolo Barison (, ; 23 June 1936 in – 17 April 1979) was an football in Italy, Italian association footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Club career During his club career, Barison played for S.S.C. Venezia ...

Lascelles Dunkley Lascelles Dunkley (born June 28, 1941) is a Jamaican former footballer who played as a forward, and was a football manager. Club career Dunkley played with YMCA of Kingston in 1964. The following season he played in a friendly match against Ars ...

* Louis Pilot *

Pak Seung-Zin Pak Seung-zin (a.k.a. Pak Sung Jin; 11 January 19415 August 2011) was a North Korean footballer. He represented North Korea at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England, scoring two goals, against Chile and Portugal Portugal, officially the Po ...

Pedro Pablo León Pedro Pablo León García (29 June 1943 – 9 May 2020), also known as Perico León, was a Peruvian professional footballer who played as a striker. Career León made 49 appearances for the Peru national team between 1963 and 1973. He then s ...

* Jerzy Sadek *

Valentin Kozmich Ivanov Valentin Kozmich Ivanov (, 19 November 1934 – 8 November 2011) was a Russian footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the co- leading scorer at the 1962 World Cup, and the co-1960 European Nations' Cup top scorer. Ivanov appeared 59 ti ...

Slava Metreveli Slava Kalistratovich Metreveli ( ka, სლავა კალისტრატეს ძე მეტრეველი; , 30 May 1936 – 7 January 1998) was a Soviet and Georgian football player and manager. Metreveli played most of h ...

Chus Pereda Jesús María Pereda Ruiz de Temiño (15 June 1938 – 27 September 2011), also known as Chus Pereda, was a Spanish football midfielder and manager. In a 16-year professional career, he played mainly for Barcelona, amassing La Liga totals of 19 ...

* Siegfried Haltman *

Köbi Kuhn Jakob "Köbi" Kuhn (12 October 1943 – 26 November 2019) was a Swiss football player and manager. During his playing career he played primarily for FC Zürich and won 63 caps for Switzerland, one of which was at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in Engl ...

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 ...

Rudolf Brunnenmeier Rudolf "Rudi" Brunnenmeier (11 February 1941 – 18 April 2003) was a German football player. The former top scorer of the Bundesliga and five times player for Germany is closely associated with the great era of 1860 Munich in the 1960s. Career ...

;2 goals *

Raúl Bernao Raúl Bernao (4 November 1941 – 26 December 2007) was an Argentine footballer. He played most of his career for Club Atlético Independiente winning a number of major titles, he also played for the Argentina national football team 15 times. Car ...

* Les Scheinflug * Carlos Campos Sánchez *

Rubén Marcos Héctor Rubén Marcos Peralta (6 December 1942 – 14 August 2006), known as Rubén Marcos, was a Chilean footballer who played as a midfielder. Usually a central midfielder, he was well known for his versatility and stamina. Capable both in atta ...

Eugenio Méndez Eugenio Leonel Méndez Henríquez (born 23 November 1941) is a Chilean former football winger who played professionally in Chile, Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia. Club career Born in Valparaíso, Méndez began playing football as a right winger wi ...

Ignacio Prieto Ignacio Prieto Urrejola (born September 23, 1943) is a former Chilean football manager and player who played for 5 clubs and in the Chile national football team in the FIFA World Cup England 1966. Playing career * Universidad Católica 1962-1967 ...

* Antonio Rada * Hermenegildo Segrera *

Ivan Mráz Ivan Mráz (24 May 1941 – 18 May 2024) was a Czechoslovak football player and manager. A forward, he competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal. Scored five goals in that Olympics Football Tournament. Besides Czechoslovakia ...

Ole Fritsen Ole Fritsen (18 July 1941 – 10 May 2008) was a Danish footballer and manager Playing career Ole Fritsen began his footballing career in Vejle Boldklub in 1963. Fritsen was the first Vejle Boldklub player to move abroad and become a professional ...

Ole Madsen Ole Eduard Fischer Madsen (21 December 1934 – 26 March 2006 Camilla Dam ''Danmarks Radio'', 26 March 2006) was a Danish international association football, footballer, who scored 42 goals in 50 matches for the Denmark national football team, D ...

Peter Ducke Peter Ducke (born 14 October 1941) is a German former footballer who played as a forward. He spent most of his career with Carl Zeiss Jena (1959–1977). At international level he played for East Germany national team in 63 matches scoring 1 ...

* Jürgen Nöldner * Alberto Pedro Spencer *

János Farkas János Farkas (27 March 1942 – 29 September 1989) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward. During his club career he played for Vasas SC. At international level, he earned 33 caps and scored 20 goals for the Hungary natio ...

* Máté Fenyvesi *

Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti (; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official ga ...

* Bruno Mora *

Gianni Rivera Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the media, he played the majority of his club career wi ...

José Luis González Dávila José Luis González "La Calaca" Dávila (September 14, 1942 – September 8, 1995) was a Mexican professional footballer who played as a forward and was a two time Olympian. Career At club level, Gonzalez captained Pumas and Deportivo ...

Javier Fragoso Javier Gonzalo Fragoso Rodríguez (19 April 1942 – 28 December 2014) was a Mexican football player and manager. Club career Born in Mexico City in 1942, he was a forward for Club América, for whom he made his debut in 1962. International c ...

Aarón Padilla Gutiérrez Aarón is the Spanish form of the Biblical name Aharon (given name), Aharon. Notable people who are often referred to solely by this name include: * Puerto Rican Pentecostal sect leader Teófilo Vargas Seín, who uses Aarón as his religious title ...

* Salvador Reyes Monteón * Hennie van Nee *

Virgilio Sille Virgilio, the Italian and Spanish form of Virgil may refer to: *Virgilio, Lombardy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Borgo Virgilio in the Italian province of Mantua *Virgilio.it, a website People with the given name *Virgilio Barco Vargas (192 ...

* Han Bong-Zin * Kim Seung-Il *

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

Harald Berg Harald Johan «Dutte» Berg (born 9 November 1941) is a Norwegian former association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Nickname "Dutte", he is the brother of Knut Helmer Berg, Knut Berg, the father of Ørjan Berg, Runar Berg and A ...

* Erik Johansen * Luis Zavalla *

Ernest Pol Ernest Pohl (3 November 1932 – 12 September 1995), a.k.a. Ernst Pol, was a Polish footballer who played as a striker. With 186 goals, he is the Polish top division's record goalscorer. Career Pohl scored 39 goals in 46 international matche ...

* Nicolae Georgescu *

Viorel Mateianu Viorel Mateianu (1 June 1938 – 25 November 1997) was a Romanian football (soccer), football player and coach. Club career Mateianu was born in Lipănești, Prahova County, Prahova and started playing football in the Romanian lower leagues at F ...

John Greig John Greig (born 11 September 1942) is a Scottish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He spent his entire career with Rangers F.C., Rangers, as a player, manager and d ...

Denis Law Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...

Vladimir Barkaya Vladimer Barkaia ( ka, ვლადიმერ ბარქაია; ; 29 July 1937 – 30 December 2022) was a Soviet footballer from Georgia who played as a striker. Career Born in Gagra, Barkaia played for FC Burevestnik Gagra from 1953 ...

* Stanley Humbert Krenten * Edmund Waterval *

Lars Granström Lars Georg Granström (born 8 December 1942) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played the majority of his career at Malmö FF as a forward. He also played professionally in Germany at Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlb ...

Bo Larsson Bo-Göran "Bosse" Larsson (5 May 1944 – 18 December 2023) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a midfielder and striker. Best remembered for his time with Malmö FF, he also represented VfB Stuttgart and Trelleborgs FF during ...

Agne Simonsson Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Örgryte IS in 1953, he went on to represent Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in La Liga in ...

* Torbjörn Jonsson * René-Pierre Quentin * Andy Aleong *

Fevzi Zemzem Fevzi Zemzem (27 June 1941 – 21 March 2022) was a Turkish professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker for Göztepe A.Ş., Göztepe and the Turkey national football team, Turkey nationa ...

* Ed Murphy *

Werner Krämer Werner Krämer (23 January 1940 – 12 February 2010) was a German football player, who was a household name to the West German football audience under his nickname ''Eia Krämer''. He was born in Duisburg, Germany. Club career He scored 49 g ...

Wolfgang Overath Wolfgang Overath (; born 29 September 1943) is a former West German footballer. A true one-club man, Overath spent his entire professional career at 1. FC Köln. He represented his country three times in World Cup finals, culminating in 1974 ...

* Klaus-Dieter Sieloff *

Dragan Džajić Dragan Džajić ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Џајић; born 30 May 1946) is a Serbian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Football Association of Serbia from 14 March 2023. Džajić is widely considered to b ...

;1 goal *

Mexhit Haxhiu Mexhit Haxhiu (born 3 January 1943) is an Albanian former footballer who played for Flamurtari Vlorë, Partizani Tirana and Besa Kavajë, as well as the Albania national team. He is currently the 19th top goalscorer in Albanian history with 87 ...

* Robert Jashari * Erich Hof *

Armand Jurion Armand Joseph Jurion (born 24 February 1937), nicknamed Jef, is a Belgian former professional footballer who played for the Belgium national team from 1955 to 1967. Jurion spent most of his club career at R.S.C. Anderlecht where he won nine ch ...

Wilfried Puis Wilfried Puis (18 February 1943 – 21 October 1981) was a Belgian footballer who played as a striker, notably for Anderlecht and the Belgium national team. Puis was praised for his speed, agility and goal kicks which made him and Paul Van Hi ...

Jacques Stockman Jacques "Jacky" Stockman (8 October 1938 – 4 May 2013) was a Belgian football player who played as a striker. He played most of his career for R.S.C. Anderlecht and was selected 32 times for Belgium. Club career Stockman started with the ...

* Fortunato Castillo * Ramón Quevedo * Rolando Vargas *

Stoyan Kitov Stoyan Kirilov Kitov (; born 27 August 1938) is a retired Bulgarian footballer who represented his country at the 1962 and 1966 FIFA World Cups. He played as a midfielder and was a player at Spartak Sofia from 1959 until 1966. He also represen ...

* Ivan Petkov Kolev * Fernando Jiménez * Tarcisio Rodríguez Viquez * Juan González Soto * Nicolás Martínez *

Ángel Piedra Angel is a given name meaning "angel", "messenger". In the English-speaking world Angel is used for both boys and girls. From the medieval Latin masculine name ''Angelus'', which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived ...

* Antonio dos Santos *

Alexander Horváth Alexander Horváth (28 December 1938 – 31 August 2022) was a Slovak footballer who played as a defender. He made 26 appearances for the Czechoslovakia scoring 3 goals. Horváth was a participant at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He played mostly ...

* Dušan Kabát *

Andrej Kvašňák Andrej Kvašňák (19 May 1936 – 18 April 2007) was a Slovaks, Slovak association football, football player. Born in Košice, he played for Czechoslovakia national football team, Czechoslovakia, for which he played 47 matches and scored 13 goa ...

Mogens Berg Mogens Berg (born 8 June 1944) is a Danish former footballer, who played professionally as a winger for Scottish club Dundee United. He played eight games and scored one goal for the Denmark national football team. Career Born in Odense, Berg ...

* Kaj Poulsen *

Tommy Troelsen Tommy Brian Troelsen (10 July 1940 – 9 March 2021) was a Danish football player and manager, and television presenter. He played his entire club career with Vejle Boldklub, winning one Danish championship and two Danish Cup trophies. Troelsen ...

* Eberhard Vogel * Romulo Gómez *

Washington Muñoz Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

* Martti Hyvärinen * Semi Nuoranen *

Marcel Artelesa Marcel Artelesa (2 July 1938 – 23 September 2016) was a French footballer who played as a defender. He played for France at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England.André Guy * Angel Rambert * Andreas Papaemmanouil * José Ricardo Taylor *

Ferenc Bene Ferenc Bene (17 December 1944 – 27 February 2006) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker for Újpest and Hungary. He was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, in which he was the top scorer o ...

Kálmán Mészöly Kálmán Mészöly (16 July 1941 – 21 November 2022) was a Hungarian professional football player and coach. He played his entire career at Vasas SC, where he operated as a centre-back. His nickname was "The Blond Rock". Mészöly played a t ...

* Dezső Novák *

Gyula Rákosi Gyula Rákosi (born 9 October 1938) is a Hungarian former footballer. During his club career he played for Ferencvárosi TC. He earned 41 caps and scored 4 goals for the Hungary national football team from 1960 to 1968, and participated i ...

* Andy McEvoy * Rahamim Talbi *

Giacomo Bulgarelli Giacomo Bulgarelli (; 24 October 1940 – 12 February 2009) was an Italian international footballer who played as a midfielder. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest ever midfielders, Bulgarelli spent his entire club career with Italian side Bologna ...

Ezio Pascutti Ezio Pascutti (; 1 June 1937 – 4 January 2017) was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a forward, either as a striker or as a winger. He spent his entire club career with Bologna, and represented Italy at two FIFA World Cup ...

* Syd Bartlett *

Oscar Black Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer J ...

* Patrick Blair * Art Welch * Asher Welch * Ernest Brenner *

Edy Dublin Eduard "Edy" Dublin (born 9 February 1943) is a Luxembourgish former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Career Born in Emerange, Dublin played club football in Luxembourg and France for Mondorf-l ...

Ady Schmit Adolphe Schmit (born 17 August 1940), known as Ady Schmit, is a Luxembourgish former footballer. Schmit played most of his career in France. He scored three of his six goals for the Luxembourg national team on 8 October 1961 during a 4–2 win i ...

* José Luis Aussin * Ignacio Jáuregui * Ramiro Navarro *

Frans Geurtsen Frans Geurtsen (17 March 1942 – 12 December 2015) was a Dutch footballer, who played at both professional and international levels as a striker. Club career Geurtsen started his professional career at hometown side Velox, winning promotion ...

Theo Laseroms Matheus Wilhelmus Theodorus "Theo" Laseroms (8 March 1940 – 25 April 1991) was a Dutch football player and manager. A defender, he made a name for himself when he played for Feijenoord. He gained six caps for the Netherlands national team. ...

Bennie Muller Bennie Muller (14 August 1938 – 17 January 2024) was a Dutch professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Early life Muller was born in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam-East. His grandfather ...

* Im Seung-Hwi *

Pak Doo-Ik Pak Doo-ik (Hangul, Chosungul: 박두익; Hanja: 朴斗翼; born 17 December 1936) is a North Korean former Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He scored the goal which knocked out Italy na ...

Willie Irvine William John Irvine (born 18 June 1943) is a Northern Irish former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre forward. Born in Eden, County Antrim, into a large family, he grew up in the nearby town of Carrickfergus. H ...

Terry Neill William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irish football player and manager. A centre-back, he captained and later managed Arsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup final ...

Per Kristoffersen Per Kristoffersen (12 October 1937 – 2 March 2023) was a Norwegian footballer who played as a forward for Fredrikstad and the Norway national team. Career Born in Fredrikstad, Kristoffersen became league champion three times and won the Nor ...

Olav Nilsen Nils Olav Nilsen (24 January 1942 – 11 October 2021) was a Norwegian association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker in his early career, but was later used as a midfielder. He scored 19 goals in 62 mat ...

Arne Pedersen Arne Knut Pedersen (1 November 1931 – 16 November 2013) was a Norwegian footballer. He was a deep-lying inside forward, or offensive midfielder by today's terminology, who spent his entire playing career at his hometown club Fredrikstad FK, w ...

Finn Seemann Finn Ludvig Seemann (18 October 1944 – 7 September 1985) was a Norwegian footballer who played as a striker. Seemann was born in Oslo. He started his football career in Lyn, where he became league champion in 1964. In 1965, he became profess ...

Kai Sjøberg Kai Sjøberg (29 April 1936 – 15 September 1994) was a Norwegian football striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays ...

* Ole Stavrum *

Celino Mora Celino Mora (born 21 October 1945) is a Paraguayan footballer. He played in 23 matches for the Paraguay national football team from 1967 to 1970. He was also part of Paraguay's squad for the 1967 South American Championship The 1967 Copa Am� ...

Vicente Rodríguez Vicente Rodríguez Guillén (; born 16 July 1981), known simply as Vicente, nicknamed ''El puñal de Benicalap'' (''The dagger of Benicalap''), is a Spanish former professional footballer. A left winger with outstanding technique, pace and s ...

* Juan Carlos Rojas *

Nemesio Mosquera Nemesio Edulivio Mosquera Jiménez (19 December 1936 – 27 June 2019) was a Peruvian footballer. He played in five matches for the Peru national football team in 1963. He was also part of Peru's squad for the 1963 South American Championship ...

* Jesús Peláez Miranda * Víctor Zegarra * Roman Lentner *

Mário Coluna Mário Esteves Coluna (; 6 August 1935 – 25 February 2014) was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder. He spent most of his career with Benfica, appearing in 525 official matches and scoring 127 goals over 16 prof ...

Jaime Graça Jaime da Silva Graça (; 30 January 1942 – 28 February 2012) was a Portuguese football midfielder and manager. Club career Born in Setúbal, Graça made his professional – and Primeira Liga – debut with local Vitória Futebol Clube, appe ...

Sorin Avram Sorin Aristotel Avram (29 March 1943 – 29 September 2015) was a Romanian football player and coach. Career He started his career in 1956, by joining the youth team of Letea Bacău. From there he moved to Dinamo Bacău in 1959 and then to Vi ...

Alexandru Badea Alexandru Badea (8 March 1938 – 17 July 1986) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker. Club career Badea was born on 8 March 1938 in Bilciurești, Romania, and he began playing junior-level football in 1952 at Flacăra Moreni. Two ...

Dan Coe Daniel Coe (8 September 1941 – 19 October 1981) was a Romanian football defender. He was part of the Romanian team that reached quarterfinals at the 1964 Summer Olympics, and later participated at the 1970 FIFA World Cup, 1970 World Cup. Club ...

* Carol Creiniceanu *

Ion Pârcălab Ion Pârcălab (born 5 November 1941) is a Romanian former association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. Club career Early career Pârcălab, nicknamed "The Carpathian Mountains, Carpathian Arrow" by foreign ...

Stevie Chalmers Thomas Stephen Chalmers (26 December 1935 – 29 April 2019) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre-forward and spent the majority of his career with Celtic. He is the club's fifth-highest goalscorer with 236 goals and is cons ...

* Dave Gibson *

Billy McNeill William McNeill (2 March 1940 – 22 April 2019) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. He had a long association with Celtic F.C., Celtic, spanning more than sixty years as a player, m ...

Davie Wilson David Wilson (10 January 1937 – 13 June 2022)Boris Kazakov *

Galimzyan Khusainov Galimzyan Salikhovich Khusainov (, ) (27 June 1937 – 5 February 2010) was a Soviet footballer who played as a striker. International career Khusainov played for the Soviet Union national team scoring 4 goals in 33 appearances. He was a p ...

Mikheil Meskhi Mikheil Meskhi (Georgian: მიხეილ მესხი; Russian: Михаил Шалвович Месхи; born 12 January 1937 in Tbilisi; died 22 April 1991 in Tbilisi) was a Georgian footballer. Nicknamed the "Georgian Garrincha" for ...

Yozhef Sabo Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo (; ; born 29 February 1940) is a Ukrainian former football player and manager. Club career Sabo began to play in 1954 for a team of Uzhhorod bread factory and his first coach was Zoltan Gyorfi (). Later until August ...

* Valery Voronin *

Carlos Lapetra Carlos Lapetra Coarasa (29 November 1938 – 24 December 1995) was a Spanish Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He spent ten of his 11 years as a professional with Real Zaragoza, Zaragoza, ...

* José Ufarte * Kenneth Kluivert *

Kurt Hamrin Kurt Roland "Kurre" Hamrin (; 19 November 1934 – 4 February 2024) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career in his home country with AIK, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Fioren ...

Ove Kindvall Bengt Ove Kindvall (born 16 May 1943) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career at IFK Norrköping, where he played until he joined Feyenoord in 1966 and became professional. The same year, he ...

Anton Allemann Anton "Toni" Allemann (6 January 1936 – 3 August 2008) was a Swiss footballer. He began his career at BSC Young Boys in Bern in 1957 at age 21, where he spent four seasons. Early life and career Allemann came to London in 1959 as part of hi ...

Robert Hosp Robert Hosp (13 December 1939 – 5 October 2021) was a Swiss association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He represented the Switzerland national football team, Switzerland national team at the 1966 ...

* Alvin Corneal * Jeff Gellineau * Bobby Sookram *

Ayhan Elmastaşoğlu Ayhan Elmastaşoğlu (born 23 August 1941) is a retired Turkish professional association football, footballer. Elmastaşoğlu is best known for his 12 year stint with Galatasaray S.K. (football), Galatasaray from 1960-1972. He helped Galatasaray ...

* Nedim Doğan * Helmut Bicek * Walt Schmotolocha * Danilo Menezes *

José Urruzmendi José Eusebio Urruzmendi Aycaguer (born 25 August 1944) is a Uruguayan football striker who played for Uruguay in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'') ...

Freddy Elie Fréderic José Elie Arlet (10 March 1946 – 2 November 2023) was a Haitian-born Venezuelan football player and manager. Born in Haiti, he made 20 appearances for the Venezuela national team between 1964 and 1977. Career Freddy Elie stood ou ...

Rafael Santana Rafael Francisco Santana de la Cruz (born January 31, 1958) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball shortstop who won a World Series ring with the 1986 New York Mets. He currently serves as the Dominican Republic scouting and player develo ...

* Humberto Francisco Scovino * Argenis Tortolero * Ron Davies *

Wyn Davies Ronald Wyn Davies (born 20 March 1942) is a Welsh former professional footballer who made over 550 Football League appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, and who was also capped by Wales. Domestic career Although he began his career with Wrexham, ...

Mike England Harold Michael England (born 2 December 1941) is a Welsh former footballer and manager. Playing career Playing as a central defender, England began his career at Blackburn Rovers in 1959, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1966, ult ...

* Ronnie Rees * Alfred Heiß *

Uwe Seeler Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German Association football, footballer and football official. As a Striker (association football), striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the Ger ...

* Heinz Strehl * Horst Szymaniak * Dražan Jerković *

Vladica Kovačević Vladimir "Vladica" Kovačević (, ; 7 January 1940 – 28 July 2016) was a Yugoslav and Serbian footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Ivanjica, Kovačević moved to Belgrade in 1955 and joined the youth system of Partizan. H ...

Džemaludin Mušović Džemaludin Mušović (born 30 October 1944) is a Bosnian retired football manager and player. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. Club career Mušović joined Hajduk Split from Sarajevo in 1966 for 13 million ...

Velibor Vasović Velibor Vasović (Serbian Cyrillic: Велибор Васовић; 3 October 1939 – 4 March 2002) was a Serbian footballer and manager, also one of the legendary players of Partizan Belgrade and Ajax and is regarded one of greatest defenders ...

;1 own goal *

José Ramos Delgado José Manuel Ramos Delgado (25 August 1935 – 3 December 2010) was an Argentina, Argentine Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. He played for the Argentina national football team in two FIFA World Cup, ...

(playing against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

) *

Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov (; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgaria national team. He played in three matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup ...

(playing against

) *

Kostas Panayiotou Konstantinos "Kostas" Panayiotou (; 1937 – 17 June 2014) was a Cypriot footballer who played as a defender and made 19 appearances for the Cyprus national team. Career Early in his career, Panayiotou played for various amateur English clubs ...

(playing against

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 ...

) *

Stig Holmqvist Stig Holmqvist (13 February 1936 – 6 April 2020) was a Finnish footballer who played as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in ...

(playing against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) * Ricardo González (playing against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

) *

José Ángel Iribar José Ángel Iribar Kortajarena (born 1 March 1943), nicknamed ''El Chopo'' ("the Populus, Poplar"), is a Spanish former professional association football, football goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and Manager (association football ...

(playing against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

) * Graham Williams (playing against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

)

References

External links

RSSSF - 1966 World Cup Qualification
{{DEFAULTSORT:1966 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