1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Tournament details
Dates	4 March – 13 November 1973
Teams	18[a] (from 2 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	44
Goals scored	101 (2.3 per match)
Attendance	634,884 (14,429 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Sabah Hatim Moshe Onana (5 goals each)
← 1970 1978 →

AFC Asian Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup 1958 1962 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026
AFC Asian Cup 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027

OFC Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup 1966 1970 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone (AFC and OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification.

India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines withdrew before the matches were played. The remaining 15 teams were divided into 2 zones, based on geographical and political considerations, as follows:

• Zone A had 7 teams (teams from East Asia, plus Israel). All matches were played in Korea Republic. There would be four stages of play:
  • Classification matches: All teams except Korea Republic would be paired up to play preliminary matches to determine group classification.
  • Group stage: Based on the results of the classification matches, the 7 teams were divided into 2 groups (Group A1 with 3 teams and Group A2 with 4 teams). The teams played against each other once. The group winners and runners-up would advance to the semifinals.
  • Semifinals: The winner of Group A1 played against the runner-up of Group A2 in a single match, and the winner of Group A2 played against the runner-up of Group A1 in a single match. The winners would advance to the Final.
  • Final: The 2 teams played against each other in a single match. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
• Zone B had 8 teams (teams from West Asia and Oceania, plus Indonesia and Korea DPR). There would be two stages of play:
  • Group stage: The 8 teams were divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each. The teams played against each other twice (Group B1 in Australia and New Zealand and Group B2 in Iran). The group winners would advance to the final.
  • Final: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.

In the Final Round, the winners of Zone A and Zone B played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

• All matches played in Seoul, South Korea.

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hong Kong	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2	4	Zonal semi-finals		—	1–0	1–0
2	Japan	2	1	0	1	4	1	+3	2			—	—	4–0
3	South Vietnam	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0			—	—	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Israel	3	2	1	0	9	0	+9	5	Zonal semi-finals		—	—	3–0	6–0
2	South Korea	3	1	2	0	4	0	+4	4			0–0	—	0–0	4–0
3	Malaysia	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3			—	—	—	2–0
4	Thailand	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12	0			—	—	—	—

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• All matches played in Australia in a double round-robin format (except New Zealand–Australia first leg)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	6	3	3	0	15	6	+9	9	Zonal final		—	3–1	2–1	3–3
2	Iraq	6	3	2	1	11	6	+5	8			0–0	—	1–1	2–0
3	Indonesia	6	1	2	3	6	13	−7	4			0–6	2–3	—	1–0
4	New Zealand	6	0	3	3	5	12	−7	3			1–1	0–4	1–1	—

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• All matches played in Tehran, Iran in a double round-robin format

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iran	6	4	1	1	7	3	+4	9	Zonal final		—	1–0	0–0	2–1
2	Syria	6	3	1	2	6	6	0	7			1–0	—	0–3	2–1
3	North Korea	6	1	3	2	5	5	0	5			1–2	1–1	—	0–0
4	Kuwait	6	1	1	4	4	8	−4	3			0–2	0–2	1–0	—

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Australia won 3–2 on aggregate.

Australia and South Korea tied 2–2 on aggregate; a final play-off was decided.

Australia qualified.

The following team qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
Australia	Final round winners	13 November 1973	0 (debut)

¹ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

• Results at RSSSF