Editing 1970 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Qualification==
[[Image:1970 world cup qualification.png|thumb|300px|{{legend|#000cff|Nation qualified for World Cup}} {{legend|#ffb400|Nation failed to qualify}} {{legend|black|Nation did not enter World Cup}} {{legend|#ababab|Nation not a FIFA member in 1970}}]]
{{Main|1970 FIFA World Cup qualification}}
A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup, and 73 were required to qualify. Due to rejected entries and withdrawals, 68 teams eventually participated in the qualifying stages, including eight for the first time.<ref name="Qualifying">{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/75/fs-201_19a_fwc-prel-history.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602004441/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/75/fs-201_19a_fwc-prel-history.pdf#page=29|archive-date=2 June 2010|publisher=FIFA |title=Preliminary Competition: History by year |url-status=dead|date=November 2009}}</ref><ref name="Qualifying stats">{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/78/prelkit2014-1(stats).pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720075804/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/78/prelkit2014-1(stats).pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 July 2012|publisher=FIFA |title=Preliminary Draw Statistical kit |date=2 August 2011}}</ref> [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] as the host nation and [[England national football team|England]] as reigning World Cup champions were granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 14 finals places divided among the continental confederations.<ref name="Qualifying"/>

Eight places were available to teams from [[UEFA]] (Europe), three for [[CONMEBOL]] (South America), one for [[Confederation of African Football|CAF]] (Africa), one for a team from either the [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] or the [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]] (Asia/Oceania), and one for [[CONCACAF]] (North and Central America and Caribbean).<ref name="Qualifying"/>

A place in the finals for an African team was guaranteed for the first time: this came in response to the events of [[1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF, AFC and OFC)|1966]], where all 15 entered African nations boycotted the qualifying in protest after FIFA - who had combined the qualifying for Africa, Asia and Oceania into one group for only one place at the finals - declined CAF's requests to change the qualifying format and the allocation of places, citing competitive and logistical issues.<ref name="African history">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/history/newsid_1941000/1941223.stm|work=[[BBC Sport]] |title=Africa's missing World Cup years |date=26 April 2002}}</ref><ref name="Qualifying draw">{{Cite news |title=Tough tasks for British |page=13 |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=2 February 1968 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=6797 |publisher=Twohundredpercent.net |title=Boycott! When Africa & Asia said "Enough" |date=31 May 2010 |access-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924041154/http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=6797 |archive-date=24 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus, while [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] was the first African team to qualify for the World Cup since [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], they were the first to be assured qualification via their own continental zone, since Egypt had to play against [[Mandatory Palestine national football team|the British-occupied Palestine]] to qualify for the 1934 tournament.

The draw for the qualifying stages was conducted on 1 February 1968 in [[Casablanca]], [[Morocco]],<ref name="Qualifying stats"/> with matches beginning in May 1968 and the final fixtures being concluded in December 1969. [[North Korea national football team|North Korea]], quarter-finalists at the [[1966 FIFA World Cup|previous tournament]], were disqualified during the process after refusing to play in Israel for political reasons.<ref>{{Cite news |title=North Korea out |page=7 |newspaper=The Times |location=London |date=5 July 1969 }}</ref><ref name="Glanville">{{cite book|last=Glanville|first=Brian|title=The Story of the World Cup|page=167|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=2010}}</ref> [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]] qualified for the finals after beating [[Honduras national football team|Honduras]] in a [[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification#Group 2 4|play-off match]], which was the catalyst for a four-day conflict in July 1969 known as the [[Football War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Thomas P. |title=The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador 1969|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|year=1981}}</ref>

Half of the eventual qualifying teams had also been present at the previous World Cup, but three teams qualified for the first time: [[El Salvador national football team|El Salvador]], [[Israel national football team|Israel]] and [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]], while [[Peru national football team|Peru]], [[Romania national football team|Romania]], [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] and [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] made their first World Cup appearances since [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]], [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]], [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]] and [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]] respectively. Czechoslovakia returned to the World Cup stage after missing out in [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]].<ref name="Stat Kit">{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/55/171012-statisticalkit-fifaworldcup-milestonesfactsfigures-statusafterfwc2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521092116/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/55/171012-statisticalkit-fifaworldcup-milestonesfactsfigures-statusafterfwc2010.pdf |archive-date=21 May 2013 |publisher=FIFA |title=FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7 |url-status=dead |date=26 March 2013}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170714110540/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/mexico1970/matches/preliminaries/europe/index.html 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico - Qualifiers - Europe - FIFA.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

As of 2022, this was the only time Israel qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and also the only time [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] failed to qualify (they declined to participate in 1938, [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]] and 1954). [[Chile national football team|Chile]], [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] and [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]] all did not qualify for the first time since 1958, while [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] did not qualify for the first time since 1950. [[France national football team|France]] also failed to qualify, as did [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] after finishing in third place at the 1966 tournament.

===List of qualified teams===
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-4}}
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)|AFC]] (1)
* {{fb|ISR}}&nbsp;(debut)
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)|CAF]] (1)
* {{fb|MAR}}&nbsp;(debut)
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)|OFC]] (0)
* ''None qualified''
{{col-4}}
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)|CONCACAF]] (2)
* {{fb|SLV}}&nbsp;(debut)
* {{fb|MEX}}&nbsp;(hosts) 
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|CONMEBOL]] (3)
* {{fb|BRA|1968}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|PER}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|URU}}&nbsp;
{{col-4}}
;[[1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|UEFA]] (9)
* {{fb|BEL}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|BUL|1968}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|TCH}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|ENG}}&nbsp;(holders)
* {{fb|ITA|1946}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|ROM|1965}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|URS|1955}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|SWE}}&nbsp;
* {{fb|FRG}}&nbsp;

{{col-4}}
{{col-end}}