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 7th December 1983 at Zurich, 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 111 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

November 20, 1985, Glasgow, Scotland - fb|SCO 2 - 0 fb|AUS

December 4, 1985, Melbourne, Australia - fb|AUS 0 - 0 fb|SCO

Scotland qualified by the aggregate score of 2-0.

Qualified teams

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

Notes

*Scotland manager Jock Stein died during their qualifier at Wales, suffering a heart attack immediately after the Scots scored a late equaliser.

External links

* [http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/pwc/q/1986.html FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1986 World Cup Qualification]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tables/86q.html RSSSF - 1986 World Cup Qualification]