The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh FIFA World Cup and was held in Chile from 30 May to 17 June 1962. Brazil successfully defended their World Cup title, defeating Czechoslovakia 3–1 in the final in the Estadio Nacional, Santiago.
Argentina, Chile and West Germany bid to host the 1962 FIFA World Cup but pressure was put on FIFA to hold the tournament in South America following two consecutive European tournaments.
West Germany withdrew before the vote, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal on 10 June 1956, leaving two remaining bids with Chile winning by 31 votes to 12 with 13 abstentions.
Fifty six1 countries entered the qualifying competition with Ethiopia of the Confederation of African Football and Israel of the Asian Football Confederation competing in the European qualifiers.
The hosts, Chile, and the defending champions, Brazil, qualified automatically. Of the remaining 14 places, eight were allocated to Europe (UEFA), three to South America (CONMEBOL), with Europe having two play off spots against the African and Asian qualifiers whilst the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) qualifier were to play off against a South American side.
The 28 European teams, including the newly independent Cyprus, as well as Israel and Ethiopia were drawn into 10 groups. Groups 1 to 6 and Group 8 were made up of three teams with the group winners qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in Chile.
Group 7 was made up of five teams, including Cyprus, Israel and Ethiopia. The group winners qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Chile.
Groups 9 and 10 wereced made up of two teams and would play each other on a home and away basis with the winners advancing to the intercontinental play-off round.
Uefa qualifying Group 9
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 240 | 19/04/1961 | Wales 1-2 Spain | Woosnam | Ninian Park, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 241 | 18/05/1961 | Spain 1-1 Wales | I Allchurch | Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid | WCQ |
Spain advanced to face Morocco in a two legged play off 2
Wales were drawn into Group 9 alongside Spain; the first time both countries would meet. The winners of the two legged match would face the winners of the African qualifying group.
Wales, already disadvantaged by Juventus' refusal to release John Charles for both matches against Spain, were dealt another blow when Cliff Jones pulled out of the home leg because of injury. A narrow defeat at home followed by a draw in Spain meant Wales' World Cup qualifying campaign was over.
1Of the 56 countries who entered, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Romania and Sudan withdrew without playing a single match.
2Egypt and Sudan withdrew from the competition after FIFA refused to reschedule their matches away from the monsoon season. Tunisia and Morocco each won their home legs 2-1 and a play-off match in Italy ended 1-1. Morocco advanced to the play off match by virtue of a coin toss.
