qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 20 November 1975 at
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
.
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, as the hosts, and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The 16 places would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
*Europe (
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
): ''9 or 10 places''. One place went to automatic qualifier
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, while nine places were contested by 31 teams. The team coming ninth in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs against a team from CONMEBOL.
*South America ( CONMEBOL): ''3 or 4 places''. One place automatically went to host nation
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, while the other three places were contested by nine teams. The team coming third in qualifying would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
*North, Central America and Caribbean (
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
): ''1 place'', contested by 17 teams.
*Africa ( CAF): ''1 place'', contested by 26 teams.
*Asia ( AFC) and
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
( OFC): ''1 place'', contested by 22 teams.
A total of 95 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 252 qualifying matches were played, and 723 goals were scored (an average of 2.87 per match).
Roberto Bettega
Roberto Bettega (; born 27 December 1950) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward.
A prolific and athletic player, Bettega is mostly remembered for his successful time at his hometown club Juventus, where he won several titles ...
;7 goals
*
Hans Krankl
Johann "Hans" Krankl (; born 14 February 1953) is a retired Austrian footballer. A prolific striker, Krankl is regarded by many as one of Austria's greatest players.
Club career
Krankl started his professional career at Rapid Wien and stayed ...
John Kosmina
Alexander John Kosmina (born 17 August 1956), known as John Kosmina, is an Australian former football (soccer) player and manager, most recently being the Senior Head Coach of Brisbane Strikers. He is a member of the Football Federation Austral ...
Faisal Al-Dakhil
Faisal Ali Al-Dakhil (), also spelled Al-Dakheel ( ar, فيصل الدخيل) (born 13 August 1957) is a Kuwaiti footballer.
Al-Dakhil was among the Kuwaiti players who won the 1980 Asian Cup. He played four matches for Kuwait at the 1980 Sum ...
*For the first time, over 100 teams entered qualification for the World Cup.
*Statistically, this was the most difficult World Cup to qualify for. Taking the two automatic places into account, and excluding twelve teams who withdrew before playing, 95 teams competed for the remaining 14 places (14.7%). The number of spots was increased to 24 for the next World Cup.
*
Tunisia
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, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
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, capital = Tunis
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, ...
's victory over
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
on penalties was the first
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
Qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...