1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (Africa, Asia and Oceania)
21 teams entered the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African, Asian, and Oceanian zone (Confederation of African Football, Asian Football Confederation, and what later would become the Oceania Football Confederation).
21 teams entered, but the entries of the Philippines and the Republic of the Congo were rejected.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21–24 November 1965 |
| Teams | 2[1] (from 2[2] confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 2 |
| Goals scored | 11 (5.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 115,000 (57,500 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Pak Seung-zin (3 goals) |
South Africa, which had been moved to the Asia/Oceania zone, were disqualified in September 1964 after being previously suspended by FIFA due to apartheid, and all fifteen African zone teams withdrew in protest in October 1964 after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, confirmed that there would be no direct qualification for an African team.
South Korea were subsequently forced to withdraw on 2 November 1965 due to logistical difficulties after the three-team tournament was moved from Japan to Cambodia, leaving only Australia and North Korea to contest the final place: North Korea easily won both legs to qualify.
Format
editThe plans were for four rounds of play:
- Africa First Round: The 15 African teams were divided into six groups of two or three teams. The group winners would advance to the Second Round.
- Africa Second Round: The six group winners were divided into three groups and would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
- Asia–Oceania First Round: Australia, North Korea, South Africa and South Korea would play each other twice in a round-robin tournament at a neutral venue, originally scheduled to be in Japan but ultimately played in Cambodia.
- Final Round: The Asia/Oceania winner would play the three African winners on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
Africa First Round
editThe original group draws were:
| Group 1 |
| Group 2 |
| Group 3 |
| Group 4 |
| Group 5 |
| Group 6 |
The Second Round pairings were scheduled as follows: Group 1 winners v Group 5 winners, Group 2 winners v Group 4 winners and Group 3 winners v Group 6 winners. These would be played home-and-away, with the winners advancing to the Final Round.
As all fifteen teams withdrew in protest after FIFA declined to allocate a direct qualifying place for an African team, the African First and Second Rounds were scratched.
Asia–Oceania First Round
editOriginally, this was scheduled as a four-team tournament between Australia, North Korea, South Africa and South Korea, to be played in Japan.
Before the tournament began, South Africa were disqualified after being suspended by FIFA due to apartheid, and South Korea were subsequently forced to withdraw due to logistical difficulties after the tournament was moved to Cambodia.
Further complicating matters, North Korea lacked diplomatic relations with most countries and did not have a FIFA-standard venue at the time, while Australian immigration laws then in force meant the North Korean team would be unlikely to receive visas to enter the country.
As such, finding a venue for the matches proved difficult until Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, an ally of Kim Il-sung, allowed the matches to be held in Phnom Penh.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Korea
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 4 | Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 |  Australia
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | |
| — |  South Africa
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified |
| — |  South Korea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
| North Korea | 6–1 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
Pak Doo-ik  15'Pak Seung-zin 54', 80'Im Seung-hwi 58'Han Bong-zin 65', 88' |
Scheinflug 70' (pen.) |
| Australia | 1–3 | North Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Scheinflug 15' |
Kim Seung-il 18', 75' Pak Seung-zin 53' |
North Korea won 9–2 on aggregate: due to the withdrawal of all African teams, the Final Round was scratched and North Korea qualified.
Qualified teams
editThe following team from AFC qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea |
First round winners | 24 November 1965 | 0 (debut) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
edit- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
References
edit- ^ At the start of the qualification for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, there were 21 teams from three confederations who entered, but the entries of the Philippines and the Republic of the Congo were rejected. Subsequently, all 15 African teams withdrew in protest after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, confirmed that there would be no direct qualification for an African team. South Korea, South Africa, North Korea and Australia were entered in the Asia/Oceania First Round, but South Africa were disqualified after being suspended due to apartheid, and after the matches were moved from Japan to Cambodia, South Korea were forced to withdraw due to logisticial issues. Thus, only North Korea and Australia played.
- ^ There were three confederations entered, but all African teams withdrew.