1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC/CAF–UEFA play-off)

1958 FIFA World Cup qualification(AFC/CAF–UEFA play-off) Wales Israel 1958 playoff.jpg The match programme for the second leg of the play-off 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification Israel ISR 30px Wales WAL 1953 30px Wales won 4–0 on points and qualified for the 1958 FIFA World Cup First leg 0 2 1958 1 15 y Ramat Gan Stadium Ramat Gan Maurice Guigue (France) 55,000 Second leg 0 2 1958 2 5 y Ninian Park Cardiff Klaas Schipper (Netherlands) 38,000 1962 The AFC/CAF–UEFA qualification play-off for the 1958 FIFA World Cup was a two-legged home-and-away association football match between the winners of the African/Asian region, Israel, and a randomly drawn group runner-up from Europe, Wales. The matches were played on 15 January and 5 February 1958 in Ramat Gan and Cardiff, respectively. Wales had finished second in their qualifying group to Czechoslovakia. Israel had advanced from the AFC/CAF qualification zone without playing a match after several teams withdrew from the competition for political reasons. FIFA introduced a rule that a team could not qualify for a World Cup without playing and organised a play-off match to decide on qualification. Wales were drawn as the opponents and the two sides met in Ramat Gan for the first leg. Wales won the first match 2–0, following goals from Ivor Allchurch and Dave Bowen. The second leg ended with the same result with Allchurch scoring again and Cliff Jones adding a second. With Wales qualifying, this remains the only time that a country played at the World Cup finals after having been eliminated in the regular qualifiers. This also remains the only time that all four British Home Nations qualified for the World Cup finals. Wales went on to reach the quarter-finals at the 1958 World Cup, before being eliminated by Brazil. Background Wales were drawn into group 4 of the European qualifying zone for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where they faced Czechoslovakia and East Germany.https://www.rsssf.org/tables/58q.html World Cup 1958 Qualifying Stokkermans Karel Jarreta Sergio Henrique RSSSF 17 May 2020 Wales manager Jimmy Murphy was leading the side in World Cup qualifying for the first time and his side won their first match after defeating Czechoslovakia 1–0 in Cardiff following a goal from Roy Vernon, despite missing several players due to injury and withdrawals.Stead 2013 161https://www.rsssf.org/tablesw/wal-intres.html International matches of Wales Nygård Jostein RSSSF 17 May 2020 Wales travelled to East Germany for their next fixture, but chose to take only twelve players, eleven starters and one substitute, to save money. One of the players, Derek Tapscott, was ruled out of the tie with injury shortly beforehand and John Charles arrived late due to club commitments.Stead 2013 162 The match was East Germany's first competitive fixture in the nation's history and they claimed a 2–1 victory in a match attended by around 110,000.https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=6&docId=GALE%7CCS251877556&docType=Sports+news&sort=Pub+Date+Forward+Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&contentSet=GALE%7CCS251877556&searchId=R3&userGroupName=wikipedia&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=6 subscription England's Persistence Rewarded in Dublin The Times 15 20 May 1957 17 May 2020 The Times Digital Archive Wales continued to Czechoslovakia for their next match six days later. The squad had only ten fit players following the match against East Germany and an outcry from the Welsh media prompted Ray Daniel and Des Palmer to be called up as replacements. During the game, Daniel inadvertently gave the opposition the lead after scoring an own goal following a corner kick. The Czechs added a second goal after an hour to secure a 2–0 victory.https://www.newspapers.com/image/259690827/?terms=Wales+East+Germany+football subscription Scotland and Wales lose The Guardian 10 27 May 1957 17 May 2020 Newspapers.com Wales' hopes of qualification were ended when Czechoslovakia recorded consecutive victories over East Germany.Stead 2013 163 In their final group game, Wales defeated East Germany 4–1 following a hat-trick from Palmer and an own goal from the opposition goalkeeper.https://www.newspapers.com/image/259753262/?terms=Wales+East+Germany+football subscription Wales retains ber chance in World Cup The Guardian 4 26 September 1957 17 May 2020 Newspapers.com As a result, Wales finished second in the group behind Czechoslovakia, and were therefore eliminated from the European qualification zone. For the qualifying stages of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Israel were regarded as an Asian team and took part in the African and Asian qualification zone.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43387549 Russian spy attack: A brief history of World Cup boycotts BBC Sport 13 March 2018 17 May 2020 A total of 11 teams were competing for one direct qualification spot to the 1958 FIFA World Cup finals.https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/fwc_prel_history_by_year_25982.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20090902130947/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/fwc%5Fprel%5Fhistory%5Fby%5Fyear%5F25982.pdf dead September 2, 2009 History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year) FIFA 19 September 2007 25 October 2017 11–12 Israel were drawn into group 2 of the first round against Turkey. However, their opponents refused to compete in the Asian group, claiming that they should be included in the European qualifying section.https://books.google.com/books?id=DUxWDwAAQBAJ&q=Turkey+1958+world+cup&pg=PT167 Origins and Birth of the 'Europe of Football' Routledge Dietschy Paul 2006 978-1-138-69803-1 The world football governing body, FIFA, subsequently allowed Israel to advance to the second round automatically where they were drawn against Indonesia. However, with ongoing political upheaval in Indonesia, the nation applied to FIFA to play against Israel on neutral ground. Their approach was rejected and Indonesia subsequently withdrew, allowing Israel to advance to the final round.https://books.google.com/books?id=crVZxbMijpYC&q=Indonesia+1958+world+cup&pg=PA53 Motson's World Cup Extravaganza Robson Motson John Brownlee Nick 2006 978-1-86105-936-9 Israel were paired with Sudan in the last round, with the winner advancing to the World Cup. Sudan had also advanced from the previous round without playing a fixture after Egypt had withdrawn due to Israel's presence owing to tensions between the two nations following the Suez Crisis.https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/05/29/remembering-1958-the-only-time-all-four-home-nations-made-it-to-the-world-cup/ Remembering 1958: The Only Time All Four Home Nations Made it to the World Cup These Football Times Lisi Clemente 29 May 2018 17 May 2020 Sudan refused to play against Israel for political reasons, so Israel were therefore named the African and Asian qualification zone winners without playing a match. This would have granted Israel qualification to the World Cup, but FIFA decided to introduce a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match, except for the defending champions and the hosts. This was because many teams had qualified for previous World Cups without playing due to withdrawals of their opponents. As Israel had advanced automatically through all three rounds under these circumstances, they still had to face another team before they could qualify. Therefore, a play-off match was created by FIFA between Israel and the runner-up of a group from one of the other qualifying regions, UEFA, CONMEBOL and NAFC/CCCF, where the teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner of this play-off would then directly qualify for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Therefore, effectively, only 0.5 places were granted to Africa and Asia for the finals. A drawing of lots took place in December 1957 to determine which team would face Israel in the play-offs. Ahead of the draw, Uruguay withdrew, while Italy and Northern Ireland had not finished their qualification group, leaving nine teams in the draw.Stead 2013 165Doyle Paul The Joy of Six: international football play-offs https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/nov/13/the-joy-of-six-international-play-offs 13 November 2015 13 November 2015 The Guardian Belgium were selected first but rejected the opportunity so the draw was made again and Wales were selected and would therefore take part in the play-off against Israel.Phillips Rob https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/30101503 Euro 2016: History beckons Wales again in Israel BBC Sport 19 November 2014 25 October 2017 Therefore, the play-off winners would make their World Cup finals debut, as both Israel and Wales had never previously qualified.https://www.rsssf.org/tablesw/worldcup.html World Cup 1930–2018 Stokkermans Karel RSSSF 17 May 2020 Summary Matches First leg Summary thumb|upright|Israel goalkeeper Ya'akov Hodorov catches the ball under pressure during the first leg|alt=A black and white image of a football match Wales travelled to Israel with little support, although 90 Welsh servicemen did secure a flight from a military base in Cyprus to attend the match. An error in preparation meant the side arrived in Israel without a ball. As a result, the team were limited to physical training beforehand.https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CCS202463791&docType=Sports+news&sort=Pub+Date+Forward+Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&contentSet=GALE%7CCS202463791&searchId=R5&userGroupName=wikipedia&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=4 subscription Heat a Handicap to Wales The Times 12 15 January 1958 17 May 2020 The Times Digital Archive Wales were heavy favourites ahead of the tie with their only other weakness believed to be the heat, with temperatures expected to be around 80 F. Murphy banned his players from using the hotel pool during their stay. The match was attended by around 55,000 spectators, including the British ambassador to Israel. Wales had an early goal ruled out after Ivor Allchurch was caught offside before he found the net again after 38 minutes to open the scoring. After receiving a pass from Terry Medwin, Allchurch found space on the edge of the penalty area and scored from 20 yds out. Allchurch continued to cause problems for the opposition defence, shooting wide after collecting a Stuart Williams free-kick and drawing a save from Israeli goalkeeper Ya'akov Hodorov.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19580116/193/0010?noTouch=true subscription John Charles 'lost' at inside forward Western Mail 16 January 1958 18 May 2020 British Newspaper Archive Wales eventually scored a second through Dave Bowen midway through the second half, also from 20 yards out. Wales received a blow late in the game when John Charles went down injured. He returned to the field to finish the game but struggled for the final minutes of the game.https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=3&docId=GALE%7CCS67328560&docType=Sports+news&sort=Pub+Date+Forward+Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&contentSet=GALE%7CCS67328560&searchId=R6&userGroupName=wikipedia&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=3 subscription Wales advance at Tel Aviv The Times 4 16 January 1958 17 May 2020 The Times Digital Archive The victory was the first time Wales had won a match outside the United Kingdom.https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/01/wales-1958-world-cup-quarter-final-euro-2016 Wales at the 1958 World Cup: a quarter-final run with a difference The Guardian Burnton Simon 1 July 2016 18 May 2020 Details 1958 1 15 y ISR 0–2 Report WAL 1953 I. Allchurch 38 Bowen 63 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan 55,000 Maurice Guigue (France) _whitestripe 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF FFFFFF 0000FF Israel right FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FFFFFF FF0000 Wales GK Ya'akov HodorovDF Avraham LevkowitchDF Hanoch MordkowitchDF Noah ReznikMF Nahum StelmachMF Gideon TishFW Aharon AmarFW Yehoshua GlazerFW Yosef GoldsteinFW Itzhak NahmiasFW Zeharia RatzabiManager: Moshe Varonhttps://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe144392/moshe-varon/ Moshe Varon worldfootball.net 27 May 2020 GK Jack KelseyDF Mel HopkinsDF Stuart WilliamsDF Mel CharlesMF Dave BowenMF Alan HarringtonFW John CharlesFW Len Allchurch FW Terry MedwinFW Ivor AllchurchFW Cliff JonesManager: Jimmy Murphy Second leg Summary Wales remained heavy favourites to advance following the first leg. They made minor changes to the side, Medwin and John Charles switched positions to allow the latter to play centre-forward. The only other change saw Ron Hewitt make his international debut in place of Len Allchurch. Israel made one change to their starting eleven from the first leg, Boshos Gegosian replaced Zebaria Tetzabi. Yosef Goldstein had been a doubt with an ankle injury but recovered to play.https://www.newspapers.com/image/259453646/?terms=Wales+Israel+football subscription Israel's Hard Task The Guardian 9 5 February 1958 17 May 2020 Newspapers.com Already trailing by two goals from the first leg, Israel struggled to impose themselves on the second leg as Wales again dominated the tie. Israeli goalkeeper Hodorov won plaudits for his performance in the match, making several saves to deny Wales a goal. His efforts also included using his body to stop advancing players; one collision with an opposition player left him with a broken nose and concussion but he continued playing.https://www.newspapers.com/image/259453911/?terms=Wales+Israel+football subscription Wales Qualifies for World Cup Competition Proper The Guardian 9 6 February 1958 17 May 2020 Newspapers.com Israel adopted a more physical style of play in the second leg and were cited by the referee on several occasions for "frequent use ... of the late tackle, of body checking and other obstructionist methods." Charles, who had recovered from his injury in the first leg, was the main target of these methods and they proved effective as he struggled to gain a foothold in the game. The impetus of the Welsh attack was instead provided by Cliff Jones and Medwin. Israel struggled to create many attacking opportunities, their best chance of the game fell to Yehoshua Glazer who was denied by Wales goalkeeper Jack Kelsey, who saved with his knee. Wales were frustrated in front of goal for much of the match despite the Israeli defence being "beset by wave after wave of red shirts". Wales scored their first goal after 76 minutes through Allchurch who held off several tackles before shooting into the roof of the net from a narrow angle. Mewdin's forward play continued to excel and he created the second goal after breaking into the Israeli penalty area before pulling the ball back across the box. Charles missed the first attempt but the ball fell to Jones who added a second for Wales. Details 1958 2 5 y WAL 1953 2–0 Report ISR I. Allchurch 76 Jones 80 Ninian Park, Cardiff 38,000 Klaas Schipper (Netherlands) right FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FFFFFF FF0000 Wales _whitestripe 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF FFFFFF 0000FF Israel GK Jack KelseyDF Mel HopkinsDF Stuart WilliamsDF Mel CharlesMF Dave BowenMF Alan HarringtonFW John CharlesFW Ron Hewitt FW Terry MedwinFW Ivor AllchurchFW Cliff JonesManager: Jimmy Murphy GK Ya'akov HodorovDF Avraham LevkowitchDF Hanoch MordkowitchDF Noah ReznikMF Nahum StelmachMF Gideon TishFW Aharon AmarFW Yehoshua GlazerFW Yosef GoldsteinFW Itzhak NahmiasFW Boshos GegosianManager:Moshe Varon Aftermath As of March 2023, Wales' victory remains the only time a team have qualified for a World Cup having been eliminated from the normal qualifying process. It also remains the only time that all four Home Nations have qualified for a World Cup. Despite the clear margin of victory, newspaper reports after the game were scathing of Wales' performance with The Times remarking that Wales would "do little more than make the journey to Scandinavia".https://go.gale.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Newspapers&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE%7CCS51075654&docType=Sports+news&sort=Pub+Date+Forward+Chron&contentSegment=ZTMA-MOD1&prodId=TTDA&contentSet=GALE%7CCS51075654&searchId=R2&userGroupName=wikipedia&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=1 subscription Wales Qualify for World Cup The Times 3 6 February 1958 17 May 2020 The Times Digital Archive At the World Cup, Wales advanced from their group after winning a play-off match against Hungary. In the quarter-finals, they were eliminated by Brazil after losing 1–0.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27590899 World Cup 2014: Pele broke Welsh hearts in 1958 – Cliff Jones BBC Sport Westall Rob 7 June 2014 17 May 2020 Murphy's attendance at the second leg meant he was forced to miss a match in his other role as assistant manager to Matt Busby at Manchester United. The following night, United played Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup and were travelling back to Manchester via Munich when the team's airplane crashed on the runway at Munich-Riem Airport, resulting in the Munich air disaster which caused 23 fatalities.Stead 2013 166https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/munich-air-disaster-plane-crash-manchester-united-a4355526.html Munich Air Disaster: The plane crash that killed Manchester United players and staff Evening Standard Herbert Tom 17 February 2020 17 May 2020 Israel would eventually qualify for their currently only World Cup in 1970, where they were eliminated in the group stage, while Wales would not qualify for a World Cup again until 2022.https://www.rsssf.org/tablesi/isra-intres.html Israel National Team – List of Official Games Cazal Jean-Michel Bleicher Yaniv RSSSF 27 May 2020 References Bibliography Red Dragons – The Story of Welsh Football Stead Phil Y Lolfa 2013 Ceredigion 978-1-84771-468-8 Play-off Caf/Afc-Uefa 1958 FIFA qual Category:Israel national football team matches Category:Wales national football team matches Category:1950s in Cardiff Category:Sport in Ramat Gan Category:Football competitions in Cardiff Category:International association football competitions hosted by Israel Category:International association football competitions hosted by Wales FIFA World Cup qualification FIFA World Cup qualification FIFA World Cup qualification Category:February 1958 sports events in the United Kingdom Category:Football matches in Wales Category:Football matches in Israel 1958 Category:Men's international association football matches in Europe Category:1958 in Asian men's international football