| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 May 1968 - 7 December 1969 |
| Teams | 29 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top scorer(s) |  Gerd Müller (9 goals) |
← 1966 1974 → | |
| UEFA European Qualifiers |
|---|
The European (UEFA) zone of qualification for the 1970 FIFA World Cup saw 29 teams competing for eight places at the finals. UEFA members England qualified automatically as the defending champions. The qualification process started on 19 May 1968 and ended on 7 December 1969.
FIFA rejected the entry of Albania, while Iceland and Malta did not enter. The remaining 29 teams were drawn into eight groups, five groups of four teams and three of three teams. All eight group-winners qualified automatically.
The draw for the qualifying groups took place in Casablanca on 1 February 1968. During the draw procedure, entrants were drawn into the 8 qualifying groups from the four pots of seeds.
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Romania | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 8 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  Greece | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 7 | |
| 3 |  Switzerland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 5 | |
| 4 |  Portugal | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 4 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= |  Hungary | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 9 | |
| 1= |  Czechoslovakia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 9 | |
| 3 |  Denmark | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5 | |
| 4 |  Republic of Ireland | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 1 |
Czechoslovakia and Hungary finished level on points, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Czechoslovakia won the play-off to qualify for the World Cup.
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Italy | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 7 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  East Germany | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Wales | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  Northern Ireland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 5 | |
| 3 |  Turkey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sweden | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 6 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  France | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Norway | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 2 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Belgium | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 9 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  Yugoslavia | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 7 | |
| 3 |  Spain | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 6 | |
| 4 |  Finland | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 28 | −22 | 2 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Germany | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 3 | +17 | 11 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  Scotland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 7 | +11 | 7 | |
| 3 |  Austria | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 6 | |
| 4 |  Cyprus | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 35 | −33 | 0 |
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bulgaria | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | Qualify for the World Cup |
| 2 |  Poland | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 8 | |
| 3 |  Netherlands | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 7 | |
| 4 |  Luxembourg | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 24 | −20 | 0 |
Wilfried Puis Dinko Dermendzhiev Vladimír Hagara Ladislav Kuna Andrej Kvašňák Wolfram Löwe Eberhard Vogel Tommy Lindholm Jean-Claude Bras Giorgos Dedes Lajos Kocsis Don Givens Sandro Mazzola Johny Léonard Theo Pahlplatz Terry Harkin Jacinto Santos Bobby Murdoch Kakhi Asatiani Volodymyr Muntyan Givi Nodia Amancio Amaro Bo Larsson Fritz Künzli Georges Vuilleumier Helmut Haller Josip Bukal Metodije Spasovski Wilhelm Kreuz Helmut Siber August Starek Léon Semmeling Dimitar Penev Dimitar Yakimov 
Panicos Efthimiadis Nicos Kantzilieris Dušan Kabát František Veselý Bent Jensen Ulrik Le Fevre Ole Madsen Henning Frenzel Hans-Jürgen Kreische Peter Rock Turo Flink Jean Djorkaeff Mimis Domazos Kostas Elefterakis Giorgos Koudas Mimis Papaioannou Flórián Albert János Farkas László Fazekas Zoltán Halmosi Lajos Puskás Lajos Szűcs Eamonn Rogers Angelo Domenghini Josy Kirchens Paul Philipp Johan Cruyff Dick van Dijk Willem van Hanegem Wim Jansen Sjaak Roggeveen Wietse Veenstra Henk Wery George Best William Campbell Derek Dougan Eric McMordie Jimmy Nicholson Odd Iversen 
Bronisław Bula Jerzy Wilim José Augusto de Almeida Jacinto João Fernando Peres Emerich Dembrovschi Nicolae Dobrin Flavius Domide Billy Bremner Tommy Gemmell Eddie Gray Willie Henderson Jimmy Johnstone Denis Law Billy McNeill Anatoliy Byshovets Vitaly Khmelnitsky Juan Manuel Asensi Miguel Ángel Bustillo Pirri Joaquín Sierra Manuel Velázquez Leif Eriksson Ove Grahn Roland Grip Örjan Persson René-Pierre Quentin Ender Konca Ogün Altıparmak Mike England David Powell John Toshack Klaus Fichtel Sigfried Held Horst-Dieter Höttges Reinhard Libuda Max Lorenz Rudolf Belin Ivica Osim Miroslav Pavlović Denijal Pirić Edin Sprečo Johann Eigenstiller (playing against West Germany) José Augusto Torres (playing against Greece) Bruno Michaud (playing against Romania)