1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and CAF)

The 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification for Asia and Africa served as the preliminary tournament for the region. The winner of the tournament went on to face a European team in an Inter-confederation play-off. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification.

1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and CAF)
Tournament details
Dates12 May 1957 - 5 February 1958
Teams6[1] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored12 (2.4 per match)
Top scorer(s)Indonesia Rusli Ramang
(4 goals)
1954

FIFA rejected the entries of Ethiopia and South Korea, whereas Chinese Taipei withdrew.[2] The remaining 8 teams played in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The tournament winner would qualify. As all their opening teams declined to play them, Israel won the tournament and advanced to the qualification play-off against Wales.

Format

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There were four rounds:

  • First Round: 8 teams were divided into 4 groups of 2 teams to determine four winners.
  • Second Round: The 4 first round winners played in one group with 2 advancing to the final round.
  • Final Round: The remaining two teams contested one spot in the CAF/AFC–UEFA play-off.

CAF / AFC First round

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Group 1

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification      
1   Indonesia 2 1 0 1 5 4 1.250 2 Advanced to second round with superior goal average 2–0
2   China 2 1 0 1 4 5 0.800 2 4–3
3   Republic of China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: [3]
Indonesia  2–0  China
Ramang   47', 80' Report
Referee: Jonni (Italy)

China  4–3  Indonesia
Zhang Honggen   1'
Nian Weisi   9'
Sun Fucheng   47'
Wang Lu   75'
Report Ramang   25', 55'
Witarsa   70'
Referee: Chakravarti (India)
Indonesia  0–0
(a.e.t.)
  China
Report
Referee: U Ba Thaung (Burma)

Group 2

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification    
1   Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to second round automatically
2   Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Refused to play Israel
Source: [4]

Group 3

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification    
1   Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to second round automatically
2   Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: [5]

Group 4

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification    
1   Sudan 2 1 1 0 2 1 2.000 3 Advanced to Second Round 1–0
2   Syria 2 0 1 1 1 2 0.500 1 1–1
Source: [3]
Sudan  1–0  Syria
Manzul   78' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Riccardo Pieri (Italy)

Syria  1–1  Sudan
Al-Zarqa   70' Report Faris   38'
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Konstantinos Ioannidis (Greece)

CAF / AFC Second round

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification        
1   Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to final round automatically
2   Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3   Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
4   Indonesia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: [4]

CAF / AFC Final round

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification    
1   Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to Inter-Confederation play-off
because they did not play a single match
2   Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Refused to play Israel due to Arab League boycott
Source: [4]

Inter-confederation play-off

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification    
1   Wales 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 4 Qualification to 1958 FIFA World Cup 2–0
2   Israel 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0 0–2
Source: FIFA

Goalscorers

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There were 12 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.

4 goals
1 goal

References

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  1. ^ Turkey, pre-independent Cyprus, and Egypt withdrew without playing any matches. Israel (included in teams) didn’t play any matches besides the inter-confederation playoffs due the Arab League Boycott.
  2. ^ "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  3. ^ a b "Sweden 1958 Preliminaries (CAF/AFC)". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Spencer, Pete (5 March 2022). "Israel's gameless 1958 World Cup qualifying campaign: how Wales' stopped the madness". Football Pink. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  5. ^ "The bizarre twists of fate behind 1958 World Cup Qualification". FC Cymru. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
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