1950 FIFA World Cup qualification
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A total of 34 teams entered the 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Brazil, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The remaining 32 teams were divided into 10 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:
- Groups 1 to 6 - Europe: 7 places, contested by 18 teams (including Israel and Syria).
- Groups 7 and 8 - South America: 4 places, contested by 7 teams.
- Group 9 - North, Central America and Caribbean: 2 places, contested by 3 teams.
- Group 10 - Asia: 1 place, contested by 4 teams.
However, due to the withdrawals of Scotland, Turkey and India after qualifying, only 13 teams actually competed in the final tournament.
A total of 19 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 26 qualifying matches were played, and 121 goals were scored (an average of 4.65 per match).
Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.
Contents |
[edit] Groups
The 10 groups had different rules, as follows:
- Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams would play against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
- Groups 2, 3 and 4 had 3 teams each. The strongest team of each group was seeded. There would be two rounds of play:
- First Round: The seeded team received a bye and advanced to the Final Round directly. The unseeded teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
- Final Round: The seeded team would play against the winner of the First Round on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
- Group 5 had 3 teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
- Group 6 had 2 teams. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.
- Group 7 had 3 teams. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
- Group 8 had 4 teams. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
- Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams would play against each other twice. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
- Group 10 had 4 teams. The group winner would qualify.
[edit] Group 1
This group was also the 1949-1950 British Home Championship.
October 1, 1949, Belfast, Northern Ireland - 
Northern Ireland 2 - 8 
Scotland
October 15, 1949, Cardiff, Wales - 
Wales 1 - 4 
England
November 9, 1949, Glasgow, Scotland - Scotland 2 - 0 Wales
November 16, 1949, Manchester, England - England 9 - 2 Northern Ireland
March 8, 1950, Wrexham, Wales - Wales 0 - 0 Northern Ireland
April 15, 1950, Glasgow, Scotland - Scotland 0 - 1 England
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2 | Scotland |
4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| 3= | Northern Ireland |
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 17 |
| 3= | Wales |
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
England qualified. Scotland also qualified, but withdrew as they had previously decided to participate only if they finished top of the group. FIFA offered the place to France, the runner-up of Group 3. They initially accepted, but later declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.
[edit] Group 2
[edit] First round
November 20, 1949, Ankara, Turkey - 
Turkey 7 - 0 
Syria
Syria withdrew, and the return leg was not played.
Turkey advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Final round
Austria withdrew, so Turkey qualified automatically. But Turkey later also withdrew, and FIFA offered the place to Portugal, the runner-up of Group 6, but they declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup two teams short.
[edit] Group 3
[edit] First round
August 21, 1949, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - 
Yugoslavia 6 - 0 
Israel
September 18, 1949, Tel Aviv, Israel - Israel 2 - 5 Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Final round
October 9, 1949, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 1 - 1 
France
August 30, 1949, Paris, France - France 1 - 1 Yugoslavia
With draws in both matches, a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
December 11, 1949, Florence, Italy - Yugoslavia 3 - 2 (aet) France
Yugoslavia qualified.
[edit] Group 4
[edit] First round
June 26, 1949, Zurich, Switzerland - 
Switzerland 5 - 2 
Luxembourg
September 18, 1949, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Luxembourg 2 - 3 Switzerland
Switzerland advanced to the Final Round.
[edit] Final round
Belgium withdrew, so Switzerland qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 5
June 2, 1949, Stockholm, Sweden - 
Sweden 3 - 1 
Republic of Ireland
September 8, 1949, Dublin, Ireland - Republic of Ireland 3 - 0 
Finland
October 9, 1949, Helsinki, Finland - Finland 1 - 1 Republic of Ireland
November 13, 1949, Dublin, Ireland - Republic of Ireland 1 - 3 Sweden
Finland withdrew, and the remaining matches were cancelled.
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| 2 | Republic of Ireland |
3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | Finland |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Sweden qualified.
[edit] Group 6
April 2, 1950, Madrid, Spain - 
Spain 5 - 1 
Portugal
April 9, 1950, Lisbon, Portugal - Portugal 2 - 2 Spain
Spain qualified.
[edit] Group 7
Argentina withdrew, so Chile and Bolivia qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 8
Peru and Ecuador both withdrew, so Uruguay and Paraguay qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 9
September 4, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - 
Mexico 6 - 0 
USA
September 11, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico 2 - 0 
Cuba
September 14, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - Cuba 1 - 1 USA
September 18, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico 6 - 2 USA
September 21, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - USA 5 - 2 Cuba
September 25, 1949, Mexico City, Mexico - Mexico 3 - 0 Cuba
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| 2 | USA |
3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| 3 | Cuba |
1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
Mexico and USA qualified.
[edit] Group 10
Burma, Philippines and Indonesia all withdrew, so India qualified automatically. But India later also withdrew after a FIFA ruling that players were not allowed to play barefoot, and FIFA decided not to invite anyone else, leaving the World Cup three teams short.
[edit] Qualified teams
| Team | Finals Appearance | Streak | Last Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bolivia |
2nd | 1 | 1930 |
 Brazil (h) |
4th | 4 | 1938 |
 Chile |
2nd | 1 | 1938 |
| England |
1st | 1 | - |
 Italy (c) |
3rd | 3 | 1938 |
| Mexico |
2nd | 1 | 1930 |
 Paraguay |
2nd | 1 | 1930 |
| Spain |
2nd | 1 | 1934 |
| Sweden |
3rd | 3 | 1938 |
| Switzerland |
3rd | 3 | 1938 |
| USA |
3rd | 1 | 1934 |
 Uruguay |
2nd | 1 | 1930 |
| Yugoslavia |
2nd | 1 | 1930 |
(h) - qualified automatically as hosts
(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions
[edit] Notes
- For the third qualifying tournament in a row, the South American teams qualified automatically after withdrawals. In Group 7, Bolivia and Chile did play two matches between them, but they were not classified as official World Cup qualifiers by FIFA.
[edit] External links
| FIFA World Cup qualification |
|---|
|
Italy 1934 | France 1938 | Brazil 1950 | Switzerland 1954 | Sweden 1958 | Chile 1962 | England 1966 | Mexico 1970 | West Germany 1974 | Argentina 1978 | Spain 1982 | Mexico 1986 | Italy 1990 | USA 1994 | France 1998 | Korea/Japan 2002 | Germany 2006 | South Africa 2010 |
