A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Hosts Mexico and defending champions England qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
For the first time, the winners of both the African zone and the Asian and Oceanian zone were guaranteed a direct place in the final tournament. The 16 spots available in the 1970 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
Europe (UEFA): 9 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier England, while the other 8 places were contested by 29 teams.
South America (CONMEBOL): 3 places, contested by 10 teams.
North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Mexico, while the other 1 place was contested by 13 teams.
Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 13 teams. (13 teams applied, but FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Zaire, leaving 11 teams. A 14th team from Africa, Rhodesia, entered through a non-CAF qualifying system.)
Asia and Oceania (AFC/OFC): 1 place, contested by 7 teams (including Rhodesia).
A total of 68 teams played in at least one qualifying match. A total of 172 qualifying matches were played, and 542 goals were scored (an average of 3.15 per match).
Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.
Key:
Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
Teams highlighted in red in the same table finished level on points and advanced to a play-off on neutral ground.
First Round: Australia, Japan, South Korea and Rhodesia were included in group A, but the other three countries involved refused to play against Rhodesia due to political concerns regarding apartheid. Australia, Japan and South Korea played against each other twice in South Korea and after the matches in Seoul were completed, FIFA determined that the winner would still have to meet Rhodesia in what resulted to be the second round of Group A. North Korea was included in Group B but withdrew for political reasons and the group was contested by only two teams. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
Group 1
First round
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Australia
6
4
2
2
0
7
4
3
2
South Korea
4
4
1
2
1
6
5
1
3
Japan
2
4
0
2
2
4
8
−4
Second round
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1=
Australia
2
2
0
2
0
1
1
0
1=
Rhodesia
2
2
0
2
0
1
1
0
Play-off
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Australia
2
1
1
0
0
3
1
+2
2
Rhodesia
0
1
0
0
1
1
3
−2
Group 2
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Israel
4
2
2
0
0
6
0
+6
2
New Zealand
0
2
0
0
2
0
6
−6
—
North Korea
withdrew
Final round
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Israel
3
2
1
1
0
2
1
+1
2
Australia
1
2
0
1
1
1
2
−1
CAF
FIFA rejected the entries of Guinea and Zaire. There would be three rounds of play:
First Round: Ghana received a bye and advanced to the Second Round directly. The remaining 10 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners (determined by aggregate score) would advance to the Second Round.
Second Round: The 6 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
Final Round: The 3 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
FIFA rejected the entry of Cuba. There would be three rounds of play:
First Round: The remaining 12 teams were divided into 4 groups of 3 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Semifinal Round.
Semifinal Round: The 4 teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
Final Round: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
First round
Group 1
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
United States
6
4
3
0
1
11
6
+5
2
Canada
5
4
2
1
1
8
3
+5
3
Bermuda
1
4
0
1
3
2
12
−10
Group 2
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Haiti
5
4
2
1
1
9
5
+4
2
Guatemala
4
4
1
2
1
5
3
+2
3
Trinidad and Tobago
3
4
1
1
2
4
10
−6
Group 3
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Honduras
7
4
3
1
0
7
2
+5
2
Costa Rica
5
4
2
1
1
7
3
+4
3
Jamaica
0
4
0
0
4
2
11
−9
Group 4
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
El Salvador
6
4
3
0
1
10
5
+5
2
Suriname
4
4
2
0
2
10
9
+1
3
Netherlands Antilles
2
4
1
0
3
3
9
−6
Second round
Group 1
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
Haiti
4
2
2
0
0
3
0
+3
2
United States
0
2
0
0
2
0
3
−3
Group 2
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1=
El Salvador
2
2
1
0
1
3
1
+2
1=
Honduras
2
2
1
0
1
1
3
−2
Play-off
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
El Salvador
2
1
1
0
0
3
2
+1
2
Honduras
0
1
0
0
1
2
3
–1
Third round
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1=
Haiti
2
2
1
0
1
4
2
+2
1=
El Salvador
2
2
1
0
1
2
4
−2
Play-off
Rank
Team
Pts
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
1
El Salvador
2
1
1
0
0
1
0
+1
2
Haiti
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
–1
CONMEBOL
The 10 teams were divided into 3 groups; two groups with 3 teams and one group with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
FIFA rejected the entry of Albania. The remaining 29 teams were divided into 8 groups, 3 groups with 3 teams and 5 groups with 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
In the African zone, aggregate score was used to determine the winners of two-legged ties. However, different tie-breakers were used in the matches when the aggregate score was tied.
Morocco was the first African team to qualify since Egypt in the 1934 World Cup.
As a result of the hostile relationship between El Salvador and Honduras, and rioting during the qualification matches between them, the short-lived Football War broke out between the two countries.
Israel qualified for their only World Cup to date as an Asian team. However, soon after this, they were expelled from the Asian Football Confederation, and now compete in the European zone as they are now a member of UEFA.
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