| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 May 1953 – 4 April 1954 |
| Teams | 39 (from 3 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 57 |
| Goals scored | 208 (3.65 per match) |
| Top scorer | |
←1950 1958 → | |
A total of 39 teams entered the1954 FIFA World Cupqualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament.Switzerland, as the hosts, andUruguay, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The remaing 37 teams were divided into 13 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:
A total of 33 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 57 qualifying matches were played, and 208 goals were scored (an average of 3.65 per match).
Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.
The 13 groups had different rules, as follows:
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 7 | |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 |
| Norway | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hennum | Report | F. Walter |
| West Germany | 3–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Morlock Schade | Report |
West Germany qualified.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 7 | |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 2 |
| Sweden | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bengtsson Selmosson | Report | Anoul Straetmans Lemberechts |
Belgium qualified. This was the first time Sweden failed to qualify.
This group was also the1953–54 British Home Championship.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 6 | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 1 |
| Wales | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Charles | Report | McParland |
England andScotland qualified.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 8 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | −18 | 0 |
| Luxembourg | 1–6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kohn | Report | Piantoni Kopa Cicci Glovacki Kargu Flamion |
| Republic of Ireland | 3–5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Walsh O'Farrell | Report | Glovacki Penverne Ujlaki Flamion |
| Republic of Ireland | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fitzsimons Ryan Eglington | Report |
| France | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Piantoni | Report |
| France | 8–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Desgranges Vincent Fontaine Foix | Report |
| Luxembourg | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Cummins |
France qualified.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 3 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 1 |
| Austria | 9–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ocwirk Probst Happel Wagner Dienst | Report | Águas |
Austria qualified.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 2 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
| Spain | 4–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Venancio Gaínza González Alsua | Report | Recep |
| Turkey | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Burhan | Report |
Spain and Turkey finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
| Turkey | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Burhan Suat | Report | Artetxe Escudero |
Luigi Franco Gemma, a 14-year-old Italian boy whose father worked at the stadium, picked Turkey's name from the lots with his eyes blindfolded.[1][2][3][4] Therefore,Turkey qualified. This was the first time Spain failed to qualify for the final tournament.
Since FIFA rejected the entry of
Iceland and
Poland withdrew, the Group was scratched andHungary qualified automatically.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | 2–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pažický Vlk | Report |
| Romania | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Šafránek |
Czechoslovakia qualified. This was the first time Romania failed to qualify.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 4 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
| Egypt | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ad-Diba | Frignani Muccinelli |
| Italy | 5–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pandolfini Frignani Boniperti Ricagni | El-Hamouly |
Italy qualified.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 8 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
| Yugoslavia | 1–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Matošić | Report |
| Israel | 0–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kokkinakis Kamaras |
| Israel | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Zebec |
| Greece | 0–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Veselinović |
Yugoslavia qualified.
FIFA rejected the entry of
Bolivia.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 8 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0 | |
| — | Withdrew | ||||||||
Brazil qualified. This was the first time they had to play qualifying matches.
FIFA rejected the entries of
Costa Rica and
Cuba.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | +18 | 8 | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 4 | |
| 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 18 | −16 | 0 |
| Mexico | 8–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Balcázar Gómez Tellez Arnauda |
| Mexico | 4–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Balcázar Scheppel Lamadrid Naranjo |
| Mexico | 3–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| A. Torres Lamadrid | Looby |
| Haiti | 2–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie | Casey Chacurian Looby |
| Haiti | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Looby Mendoza |
Mexico qualified.
FIFA rejected the entries of
India and
Vietnam.
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 3 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 | |
| Withdrew | |||||||||
| Japan | 1–5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Naganuma | Chung Nam-sik Choi Kwang-suk Choi Chung-min |
| South Korea | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chung Nam-sik Choi Chung-min | Iwatani |
South Korea qualified.


| Team | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Streak | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 November 1953 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 | |
| 8 October 1953 | 4th | 1 | 1938 | |
| 21 March 1954 | 5th | 5 | 1950 | |
| 25 October 1953 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 | |
| 11 November 1953 | 2nd | 2 | 1950 | |
| 25 November 1953 | 4th | 1 | 1938 | |
| 3rd | 1 | 1938 | ||
| 24 January 1954 | 4th | 4 | 1950 | |
| 14 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — | |
| 14 January 1954 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 | |
| 31 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — | |
| 22 July 1946 | 4th | 4 | 1950 | |
| 17 March 1954 | 1st | 1 | — | |
| 16 July 1950 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 | |
| 28 March 1954 | 3rd | 1 | 1938 | |
| 28 March 1954 | 3rd | 2 | 1950 |
(h) – qualified automatically as hosts
(c) – qualified automatically as defending champions
(w) – qualified automatically because Poland withdrew