1986 FIFA World Cup qualification

A total of 121 teams entered the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament. Mexico, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition. The draw took place on 7 December 1983 at Zürich, Switzerland.

The 24 spots available in the 1986 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

• Europe (UEFA): 13.5 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Italy, while the other 12.5 places were contested by 32 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from OFC).
• South America (CONMEBOL): 4 places, contested by 10 teams.
• North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 2 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Mexico, while the other 1 place was contested by 17 teams.
• Africa (CAF): 2 places, contested by 29 teams.
• Asia (AFC): 2 places, contested by 27 teams.
• Oceania (OFC): 0.5 place, contested by 4 teams (including Israel and Chinese Taipei). The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the intercontinental play-offs (against a team from UEFA).

A total of 110 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 308 qualifying matches were played, and 801 goals were scored (an average of 2.60 per match).

Continental zones

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

• Europe (UEFA)

Group 1 – Poland qualified. Belgium advanced to the UEFA play-offs.

Group 2 – West Germany and Portugal qualified.

Group 3 – England and Northern Ireland qualified.

Group 4 – France and Bulgaria qualified.

Group 5 – Hungary qualified. Netherlands advanced to the UEFA play-offs.

Group 6 – Denmark and USSR qualified.

Group 7 – Spain qualified. Scotland advanced to the UEFA–OFC intercontinental play-off.

Play-offs – Belgium qualified over Netherlands.

• South America (CONMEBOL)

Group 1 – Argentina qualified. Peru and Colombia advanced to the CONMEBOL play-offs.

Group 2 – Uruguay qualified. Chile advanced to the CONMEBOL play-offs.

Group 3 – Brazil qualified. Paraguay advanced to the CONMEBOL play-offs.

Play-offs – Paraguay qualified over Chile, Colombia and Peru.

• North America (CONCACAF)

Canada qualified.

• Africa (CAF)

Algeria and Morocco qualified.

• Asia (AFC)

Iraq and Korea Republic qualified.

• Oceania (OFC)

Australia advanced to the UEFA–OFC intercontinental play-off

Intercontinental play-offs

The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

UEFA–OFC intercontinental play-off

Scotland  v  Australia

20 November 1985	Scotland	2–0	Australia	Glasgow, Scotland
	Cooper  57' McAvennie  60'			Referee: Christov (Czechoslovakia)

Australia  v  Scotland

4 December 1985	Australia	0–0 (0–2 agg.)	Scotland	Melbourne, Australia
				Referee: Wright (Brazil)

Scotland qualified.

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

Team	Finals appearance	Streak	Last appearance
Algeria	2nd	2	1982
Argentina	9th	4	1982
Belgium	7th	2	1982
Brazil	13th	13	1982
Bulgaria	5th	1	1974
Canada	1st	1	–
Denmark	1st	1	–
England	8th	2	1982
France	9th	3	1982
Hungary	9th	3	1982
Iraq	1st	1	–
Italy (c)	11th	7	1982
South Korea	2nd	1	1954
Mexico (h)	9th	1	1978
Morocco	2nd	1	1970
Northern Ireland	3rd	2	1982
Paraguay	4th	1	1958
Poland	5th	4	1982
Portugal	2nd	1	1966
Scotland	6th	4	1982
Spain	7th	3	1982
Uruguay	8th	1	1974
Soviet Union	6th	2	1982
West Germany	11th	9	1982

(h) – qualified automatically as hosts

(c) – qualified automatically as defending champions

Notes

• West Germany lost a World Cup qualifying match for the first time ever on 16 October 1985, when they were defeated 0–1 by Portugal in Stuttgart. Including games played by Germany before the 2nd World War, they had played 36 World Cup qualifying matches (32 wins, 4 draws) before. Brazil did better by remaining undefeated until 25 July 1993, when they were beaten by Bolivia in La Paz, after 31 World Cup qualifying matches (24 wins, 7 draws) without a single loss.
• Scotland manager Jock Stein died during their qualifier at Wales, suffering a heart attack immediately after the Scots scored a late equaliser.
• Canada and Iraq qualified to their only World Cup up to date.

External links

• FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1986 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF - 1986 World Cup Qualification