1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The 32 teams were drawn into nine groups of three or four teams each; however, after the withdrawal of Syria, one group had just two teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.

1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates9 May - 29 December 1965
Teams31[1] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played82
Goals scored250 (3.05 per match)
Attendance2,982,508 (36,372 per match)
Top scorer(s)Portugal Eusébio (7 goals)
1962
1970

Groups

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Group 1

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1=   Belgium 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 6
1=   Bulgaria 4 3 0 1 9 6 +3 6
3   Israel 4 0 0 4 1 12 −11 0

Group 2

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   West Germany 4 3 1 0 14 2 +12 7
2   Sweden 4 2 1 1 10 3 +7 5
3   Cyprus 4 0 0 4 0 19 −19 0

Group 3

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   France 6 5 0 1 9 2 +7 10
2   Norway 6 3 1 2 10 5 +5 7
3   Yugoslavia 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 7
4   Luxembourg 6 0 0 6 6 20 −14 0

Group 4

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Portugal 6 4 1 1 9 4 +5 9
2   Czechoslovakia 6 3 1 2 12 4 +8 7
3   Romania 6 3 0 3 9 7 +2 6
4   Turkey 6 1 0 5 4 19 −15 2

Group 5

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1    Switzerland 6 4 1 1 7 3 +4 9
2   Northern Ireland 6 3 2 1 9 5 +4 8
3   Netherlands 6 2 2 2 6 4 +2 6
4   Albania 6 0 1 5 2 12 −10 1

Group 6

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Hungary 4 3 1 0 8 3 +5 7
2   East Germany 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 4
3   Austria 4 0 1 3 1 6 −5 1

Group 7

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Soviet Union 6 5 0 1 19 6 +13 10
2   Wales 6 3 0 3 11 9 +2 6
3   Greece 6 2 1 3 10 14 −4 5
4   Denmark 6 1 1 4 7 18 −11 3

Group 8

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   Italy 6 4 1 1 17 3 +14 9
2   Scotland 6 3 1 2 8 8 0 7
3   Poland 6 2 2 2 11 10 +1 6
4   Finland 6 1 0 5 5 20 −15 2

Group 9

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Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1=   Spain 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 2
1=   Republic of Ireland 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 2
  Syria Withdrew

Goalscorers

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7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Qualified teams

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The following 9 countries qualified for the 1966 FIFA World Cup

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
  Bulgaria Group 1 winners 29 December 1965 1 (1962)
  West Germany Group 2 winners 14 November 1965 4 (19342, 19382, 1954, 1958)
  France Group 3 winners 6 November 1965 5 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958)
  Portugal Group 4 winners 21 November 1965 0 (debut)
   Switzerland Group 5 winners 14 November 1965 5 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962)
  Hungary Group 6 winners 9 October 1965 5 (1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962)
  Soviet Union Group 7 winners 27 October 1965 3 (1958, 1962, 1966)
  Italy Group 8 winners 5 December 1965 4 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962)
  Spain Group 9 winners 10 November 1965 3 (1934, 1950, 1962)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2Competed as Germany

References

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  1. ^ Syria withdrew to support all the African teams who withdrew for FIFA not allowing a direct qualification slot.