| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 12 May 1957 – 5 February 1958 |
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 5 |
| Goals scored | 12 (2.4 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Rusli Ramang (4 goals) |
| ← 1954 1962 (AFC) 1962 (CAF) → | |
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| AFC Asian Qualifiers |
|---|
| FIFA World Cup |
| AFC Asian Cup |
| Qualification for championships (CAF) |
|---|
| FIFA World Cup |
| Africa Cup of Nations |
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.
FIFA rejected the entries of Ethiopia and South Korea, whereas Chinese Taipei withdrew. 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
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
Group 1
| 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 | — | — | — |
| Indonesia | 2–0 | China |
|---|---|---|
Ramang  47', 80' |
Report |
| China | 4–3 | Indonesia |
|---|---|---|
| Zhang Honggen 1' Nian Weisi 9'Sun Fucheng 47'Wang Lu 75' |
Report | Ramang 25', 55' Witarsa 70' |
| Indonesia | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | China |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group 2
| 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 | — | — |
Group 3
| 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 | — | — |
Group 4
| 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 | — |
| Sudan | 1–0 | Syria |
|---|---|---|
| Manzul 78' (pen.) |
Report |
| Syria | 1–1 | Sudan |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Zarqa 70' |
Report | Faris 38' |
CAF / AFC Second round
| 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 | — | — | — | — |
CAF / AFC Final round
| 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 | — | — |
Inter-confederation play-off
Main article: 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC/CAF–UEFA play-off)| 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 | — |
Goalscorers
There were 12 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.
- 4 goals
- 1 goal
- Zhang Honggen
- Nian Weisi
- Sun Fucheng
- Wang Lu
- Siddiq Manzul
- Suleiman Faris
- Endang Witarsa
- Jabra Ala-Zarqa
References
- 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.
- "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.
- ^ "Sweden 1958 Preliminaries (CAF/AFC)". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 December 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ 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.
- "The bizarre twists of fate behind 1958 World Cup Qualification". FC Cymru. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
External links
| 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
|---|---|
| « 1954 1962 » | |
| AFC/CAF | |
| CCCF/NAFC | |
| CONMEBOL | |
| UEFA | |
| Play-offs | |