1982 FIFA World Cup qualification

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.

1982 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Dates26 March 1980 – 10 January 1982
Teams109 (from 6 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played306
Goals scored797 (2.6 per match)
Top scorer(s) Gary Cole
Steve Sumner
Brian Turner
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
(9 goals each)

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 (AFC) and Oceania (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).

Qualified teams
Final qualification status
  Country qualified for World Cup
  Country failed to qualify
  Country did not enter World Cup
  Country not a FIFA member

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
 SpainHost6 July 19666th19782Fourth place (1950)
 Argentina1978 FIFA World Cup Winners25 June 19788th19783Winners (1978)
 BrazilCONMEBOL Group 1 Winners22 March 198112th197812Winners (1958, 1962, 1970)
 ChileCONMEBOL Group 3 Winners14 June 19816th19741Third place (1962)
 PeruCONMEBOL Group 2 Winners6 September 19814th19782Quarter-finals (1970), Second round (1978)
 BelgiumUEFA Group 2 Winners9 September 19816th19701First round (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970)
 PolandUEFA Group 7 Winners10 October 19814th19783Third place (1974)
 ScotlandUEFA Group 6 Winners14 October 19815th19783First round (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978)
 West GermanyUEFA Group 1 Winners14 October 198110th19788Winners (1954, 1974)
 AlgeriaCAF Final round Winners30 October 19811st—1—
 HungaryUEFA Group 4 Winners31 October 19818th19782Runners-up (1938, 1954)
 ItalyUEFA Group 5 Runners-up14 November 198110th19786Winners (1934, 1938)
 Honduras1981 CONCACAF Championship Champions16 November 19811st—1—
 EnglandUEFA Group 4 Runners-up18 November 19817th19701Winners (1966)
 Northern IrelandUEFA Group 6 Runners-up18 November 19812nd19581Quarter-finals (1958)
 Soviet UnionUEFA Group 3 Winners18 November 19815th19701Fourth place (1966)
 YugoslaviaUEFA Group 5 Winners21 November 19817th19741Fourth place (1930, 1962)
 AustriaUEFA Group 1 Runners-up22 November 19815th19782Third place (1954)
 El Salvador1981 CONCACAF Championship Runners-up22 November 19812nd19701First round (1970)
 CameroonCAF Final round Winners29 November 19811st—1—
 CzechoslovakiaUEFA Group 3 Runners-up29 November 19817th19701Runners-up (1934, 1962)
 FranceUEFA Group 2 Runners-up5 December 19818th19782Third place (1958)
 KuwaitAFC and OFC Final round Winners14 December 19811st—1—
 New ZealandAFC and OFC Final round play-off Winners10 January 19821st—1—

10 of the 24 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 1986 finals: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Czechoslovakia, El Salvador, Honduras, Kuwait, New Zealand, Peru and Yugoslavia.

Continental zones

To see the dates and results of the qualification rounds for each continental zone, click on the following articles:

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.
Group 1 - Brazil qualified.
Group 2 - Peru qualified.
Group 3 - Chile qualified.
Honduras and El Salvador qualified.
Algeria and Cameroon qualified.
Kuwait and New Zealand qualified.

Top goalscorers
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals

Notes
  • 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.
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