1982 FIFA World Cup qualification

1982 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Tournament details
Dates	26 March 1980 – 10 January 1982
Teams	109 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	306
Goals scored	797 (2.6 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gary Cole Steve Sumner Brian Turner Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (9 goals each)
← 1978 1986 →

A total of 109 teams entered the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 14 October 1979 at Zürich, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament, an increase from 16 in the previous World Cups. Spain, as the hosts, and Argentina, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition.

The 24 spots available in the 1982 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

• Europe (UEFA): 14 places, one to automatic qualifier Spain, while the other 13 places were contested by 33 teams (including Israel).
• South America (CONMEBOL): 4 places, one to automatic qualifier Argentina, while the other 3 places were contested by 9 teams.
• North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, contested by 15 teams.
• Africa (CAF): 2 places, contested by 29 teams.
• Asia and Oceania (AFC and OFC): 2 places, contested by 21 teams.

A total of 103 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 306 qualifying matches were played, and 797 goals were scored (an average of 2.60 per match).

The following 24 teams qualified for the 1982 FIFA World Cup:

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Consecutive finals appearances	Previous best performance
Spain	Host	6 July 1966	6th	1978	2	Fourth place (1950)
Argentina	1978 FIFA World Cup winners	25 June 1978	8th	1978	3	Winners (1978)
Brazil	CONMEBOL Group 1 winners	22 March 1981	12th	1978	12	Winners (1958, 1962, 1970)
Chile	CONMEBOL Group 3 winners	14 June 1981	6th	1974	1	Third place (1962)
Peru	CONMEBOL Group 2 winners	6 September 1981	4th	1978	2	Quarter-finals (1970), Second round (1978)
Belgium	UEFA Group 2 winners	9 September 1981	6th	1970	1	First round (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970)
Poland	UEFA Group 7 winners	10 October 1981	4th	1978	3	Third place (1974)
Scotland	UEFA Group 6 winners	14 October 1981	5th	1978	3	First round (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978)
West Germany	UEFA Group 1 winners	14 October 1981	10th	1978	8	Winners (1954, 1974)
Algeria	CAF Final round winners	30 October 1981	1st	—	1	—
Hungary	UEFA Group 4 winners	31 October 1981	8th	1978	2	Runners-up (1938, 1954)
Italy	UEFA Group 5 runners-up	14 November 1981	10th	1978	6	Winners (1934, 1938)
Honduras	1981 CONCACAF Championship champions	16 November 1981	1st	—	1	—
England	UEFA Group 4 runners-up	18 November 1981	7th	1970	1	Winners (1966)
Northern Ireland	UEFA Group 6 runners-up	18 November 1981	2nd	1958	1	Quarter-finals (1958)
Soviet Union	UEFA Group 3 winners	18 November 1981	5th	1970	1	Fourth place (1966)
Yugoslavia	UEFA Group 5 winners	21 November 1981	7th	1974	1	Fourth place (1930, 1962)
Austria	UEFA Group 1 runners-up	22 November 1981	5th	1978	2	Third place (1954)
El Salvador	1981 CONCACAF Championship runners-up	22 November 1981	2nd	1970	1	First round (1970)
Cameroon	CAF Final round winners	29 November 1981	1st	—	1	—
Czechoslovakia	UEFA Group 3 runners-up	29 November 1981	7th	1970	1	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
France	UEFA Group 2 runners-up	5 December 1981	8th	1978	2	Third place (1958)
Kuwait	AFC and OFC Final round winners	14 December 1981	1st	—	1	—
New Zealand	AFC and OFC Final round play-off winners	10 January 1982	1st	—	1	—

Kuwait and New Zealand qualified.

Algeria and Cameroon qualified.

Honduras and El Salvador qualified.

Group 1 – Brazil qualified.

Group 2 – Peru qualified.

Group 3 – Chile qualified.

Group 1 – West Germany and Austria qualified.

Group 2 – Belgium and France qualified.

Group 3 – USSR and Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 4 – Hungary and England qualified.

Group 5 – Yugoslavia and Italy qualified.

Group 6 – Scotland and Northern Ireland qualified.

Group 7 – Poland qualified.

9 goals

• Gary Cole
• Steve Sumner
• Brian Turner
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

8 goals

• Grant Turner
• Steve Wooddin

7 goals

• Hugo Sánchez
• Klaus Fischer
• Zlatko Vujović

6 goals

• Roger Milla
• Frank Arnesen

• The away goals rule was used for the first time as a tie-breaker for two-legged ties. Niger advanced twice due to this rule, eliminating Somalia and Togo.
• With the expansion of the final tournament, this marked the first time two teams from Africa and Asia qualified.
• New Zealand set numerous records on their first successful campaign. They played 15 qualifying matches and travelled 55,000 miles during qualification. Their 13–0 score against Fiji set a World Cup record as did Steve Sumner's six goals in that match. Also during qualifying goalkeeper Richard Wilson went a world cup record 921 minutes without conceding a goal.

• FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1982 World Cup Qualification Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
• RSSSF - 1982 World Cup Qualification