1982 FIFA World Cup qualification

1982 FIFA World Cup Qualification 26 March 1980 – 10 January 1982 109 6 306 795 AUS Gary Cole NZL Steve Sumner NZL Brian Turner FRG Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (9 goals each) 1978 1986 A total of 109 teams entered the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 14 October 1979 at Zürich, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament, an increase from 16 in the previous World Cups. Spain, as the hosts, and Argentina, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition. The 24 spots available in the 1982 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: Europe (UEFA): 14 places, one to automatic qualifier Spain, while the other 13 places were contested by 33 teams (including Israel). South America (CONMEBOL): 4 places, one to automatic qualifier Argentina, while the other 3 places were contested by 9 teams. North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, contested by 15 teams. Africa (CAF): 2 places, contested by 29 teams. Asia and Oceania (AFC and OFC): 2 places, contested by 21 teams. A total of 103 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 306 qualifying matches were played, and 795 goals were scored (an average of 2.60 per match). This was the last FIFA World Cup qualification that ended in the same year of the tournament until the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. Qualified teams thumb|500px|Final qualification status #000cff Country qualified for World Cup #ffb400 Country failed to qualify #000000 Country did not enter World Cup #ababab Country not a FIFA member The following 24 teams qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup: Team Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Consecutivefinalsappearances Previous bestperformanceESP Host 6 July 1966 6th 1978 2 Fourth place (1950)ARG 1978 FIFA World Cup winners 25 June 1978 8th 1978 3 Winners (1978)BRA 1968 CONMEBOL Group 1 winners 22 March 1981 12th 1978 12 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970)CHI CONMEBOL Group 3 winners 14 June 1981 6th 1974 1 Third place (1962)PER CONMEBOL Group 2 winners 6 September 1981 4th 1978 2 Quarter-finals (1970), Second round (1978)BEL UEFA Group 2 winners 9 September 1981 6th 1970 1 First round (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970)POL UEFA Group 7 winners 10 October 1981 4th 1978 3 Third place (1974)SCO UEFA Group 6 winners 14 October 1981 5th 1978 3 First round (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978)FRG UEFA Group 1 winners 14 October 1981 10th 1978 8 Winners (1954, 1974)ALG CAF Final round winners 30 October 1981 1st — 1 —HUN UEFA Group 4 winners 31 October 1981 8th 1978 2 Runners-up (1938, 1954)ITA UEFA Group 5 runners-up 14 November 1981 10th 1978 6 Winners (1934, 1938)HON 1949 1981 CONCACAF Championship champions 16 November 1981 1st — 1 —ENG UEFA Group 4 runners-up 18 November 1981 7th 1970 1 Winners (1966)NIR UEFA Group 6 runners-up 18 November 1981 2nd 1958 1 Quarter-finals (1958)URS UEFA Group 3 winners 18 November 1981 5th 1970 1 Fourth place (1966)YUG UEFA Group 5 winners 21 November 1981 7th 1974 1 Fourth place (1930, 1962)AUT UEFA Group 1 runners-up 22 November 1981 5th 1978 2 Third place (1954)SLV 1981 CONCACAF Championship runners-up 22 November 1981 2nd 1970 1 First round (1970)CMR CAF Final round winners 29 November 1981 1st — 1 —TCH UEFA Group 3 runners-up 29 November 1981 7th 1970 1 Runners-up (1934, 1962)FRA 1974 UEFA Group 2 runners-up 5 December 1981 8th 1978 2 Third place (1958)KUW AFC and OFC Final round winners 14 December 1981 1st — 1 —NZL AFC and OFC Final round play-off winners 10 January 1982 1st — 1 — Confederation qualification AFC and OFC 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC) Final Round PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Kuwait641186 +29Final Tournament2China631294 +57Playoff3New Zealand6231116 +574Saudi Arabia6015416−121 New Zealand beat China 2-1 in the Playoff. Kuwait and New Zealand qualified. CAF 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF) Final Round +PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Algeria22004134Final Tournament2Nigeria200214 -30 PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Cameroon22004134Final Tournament2Morocco200214 -30 Algeria and Cameroon qualified. CONCACAF 1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification 1981 CONCACAF Championship PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Honduras532081 +78Final Tournament2El Salvador522121 +16Final Tournament3Mexico513163 +354Canada513166055Cuba512248−446Haiti502329−72 Honduras and El Salvador qualified. CONMEBOL 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) Group 1 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1BRA 19684400112 +98Final Tournament2BOL410356−123VEN 1930410319−82 Group 2 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1PER422052 +36Final Tournament2URU412155043COL402247−32 Group 3 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1CHI431060 +67Final Tournament2ECU411225−333PAR 1954410336−32 Group 1 – Brazil qualified. Group 2 – Peru qualified. Group 3 – Chile qualified. UEFA 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Group 1 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1FRG168800333 +30Final Tournament2AUT118512166 +10Final Tournament3BUL 1971984131110 +14ALB 194628107422−185FIN28107427−23 Group 2 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1BEL118512129 +3Final Tournament2FRA 1974108503208 +12Final Tournament3IRL1084221711 +64NED98413117 +45CYP 196008008429−25 Group 3 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1URS148620202 +18Final Tournament2TCH108422156 +9Final Tournament3WAL108422127 +54ISL682241021−115TUR08008122−21 Group 4 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1HUN108422138 +5Final Tournament2ENG98413138 +5Final Tournament3ROU 1965882425504SUI78233912−35NOR68224815−7 Group 5 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1YUG138611227 +15Final Tournament2ITA128521125 +7Final Tournament3DEN884041411 +34GRE783141013−35LUX08008123−22 Group 6 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1SCO11843194 +5Final Tournament2NIR9833263 +3Final Tournament3SWE8832378−14POR78314811−35ISR58134610−4 Group 7 RankTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1POL84400122 +10Final Tournament2GDR4420296 +3Final Tournament3MLT04004215−13 Group 1 – West Germany and Austria qualified. Group 2 – Belgium and France qualified. Group 3 – USSR and Czechoslovakia qualified. Group 4 – Hungary and England qualified. Group 5 – Yugoslavia and Italy qualified. Group 6 – Scotland and Northern Ireland qualified. Group 7 – Poland qualified. Top goalscorers 9 goals AUS Gary Cole NZL Steve Sumner NZL Brian Turner FRG Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 8 goals NZL Grant Turner NZL Steve Wooddin 7 goals MEX Hugo Sánchez FRG Klaus Fischer YUG Zlatko Vujović 6 goals CMR Roger Milla DEN Frank Arnesen Notes The away goals rule was used for the first time as a tie-breaker for two-legged ties. Niger advanced twice by this rule, eliminating Somalia and Togo. With the expansion of the final tournament, this marked the first time in which Africa and Asia simultaneously sent representatives to the tournament, with two teams each. New Zealand set numerous records on their first successful campaign. They played 15 qualifying matches and travelled 55,000 miles during qualification. Their 13–0 score against Fiji set a World Cup record as did Steve Sumner's six goals in that match. Also during qualifying, goalkeeper Richard Wilson played a World Cup record 921 minutes without conceding a goal. External links FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1982 World Cup Qualification https://web.archive.org/web/20070311110029/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/q/1982.html 2007-03-11 RSSSF - 1982 World Cup Qualification Qualification Category:FIFA World Cup qualification