1962 FIFA World Cup Qualification

A total of 56 teams entered the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Chile, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.

As with previous World Cups, the rules of the qualification rounds were quite confusing. Moreover, the winners of the four weakest continental zones: North America (NAFC), Central America and Caribbean (CCCF), Africa (CAF) and Asia (AFC), were not guaranteed direct spots in the final tournament. Instead, each of them had to enter a play-off against a team from either Europe (UEFA) or South America (CONMEBOL), with the winners of the three play-offs qualifying.

The 16 spots available in the 1962 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:

• Europe (UEFA): 8 direct places + 2 spots in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against teams from CAF and AFC), contested by 30 teams (including Israel and Ethiopia).
• South America (CONMEBOL): 5 direct places + 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CCCF/NAFC); 2 direct places went to automatic qualifiers Chile and Brazil, while the other 3.5 places were contested by 7 teams.
• North, Central America and Caribbean (CCCF/NAFC): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONMEBOL), contested by 8 teams.
• Africa (CAF): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA), contested by 6 teams.
• Asia (AFC): 1 spot in the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA), contested by 3 teams.

A total of 49 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 92 qualifying matches were played, and 325 goals were scored (an average of 3.53 per match).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.