1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Dates 9 May - 29 December 1965 Teams 31[1] (from 1 confederation) Matches played 82 Goals scored 250 (3.05 per match) Attendance 2,982,508 (36,372 per match) Top scorer(s) Eusébio (7 goals)
International football competition
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.
Groups
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Goalscorers
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Qualified teams
The following 9 countries qualified for the 1966 FIFA World Cup
Team
Qualified as
Qualified on
Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup 1
Bulgaria
Group 1 winners
29 December 1965
1 (1962 )
West Germany
Group 2 winners
14 November 1965
4 (1934 2 , 1938 2 , 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.
References
^ Syria withdrew to support all the African teams who withdrew for FIFA not allowing a direct qualification slot.