1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (Africa, Asia and Oceania)

21 teams entered the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the African, Asian, and Oceanian zone (Confederation of African Football, Asian Football Confederation, and what later would become the Oceania Football Confederation).

21 teams entered, but the entries of the Philippines and the Republic of the Congo were rejected.

1966 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

Tournament details
Dates	21–24 November 1965
Teams	2[1] (from 2[2] confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	2
Goals scored	11 (5.5 per match)
Attendance	115,000 (57,500 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Pak Seung-zin (3 goals)
← 1962 (AFC) ← 1962 (CAF) 1970 (AFC and OFC) → 1970 (CAF) →

South Africa, which had been moved to the Asia/Oceania zone, were disqualified in September 1964 after being previously suspended by FIFA due to apartheid, and all fifteen African zone teams withdrew in protest in October 1964 after FIFA, citing competitive and logistical issues, confirmed that there would be no direct qualification for an African team.

South Korea were subsequently forced to withdraw on 2 November 1965 due to logistical difficulties after the three-team tournament was moved from Japan to Cambodia, leaving only Australia and North Korea to contest the final place: North Korea easily won both legs to qualify.

The plans were for four rounds of play:

• Africa First Round: The 15 African teams were divided into six groups of two or three teams. The group winners would advance to the Second Round.
• Africa Second Round: The six group winners were divided into three groups and would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Final Round.
• Asia–Oceania First Round: Australia, North Korea, South Africa and South Korea would play each other twice in a round-robin tournament at a neutral venue, originally scheduled to be in Japan but ultimately played in Cambodia.
• Final Round: The Asia/Oceania winner would play the three African winners on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.

The original group draws were:

The Second Round pairings were scheduled as follows: Group 1 winners v Group 5 winners, Group 2 winners v Group 4 winners and Group 3 winners v Group 6 winners. These would be played home-and-away, with the winners advancing to the Final Round.

As all fifteen teams withdrew in protest after FIFA declined to allocate a direct qualifying place for an African team, the African First and Second Rounds were scratched.

Originally, this was scheduled as a four-team tournament between Australia, North Korea, South Africa and South Korea, to be played in Japan.

Before the tournament began, South Africa were disqualified after being suspended by FIFA due to apartheid, and South Korea were subsequently forced to withdraw due to logistical difficulties after the tournament was moved to Cambodia.

Further complicating matters, North Korea lacked diplomatic relations with most countries and did not have a FIFA-standard venue at the time, while Australian immigration laws then in force meant the North Korean team would be unlikely to receive visas to enter the country.

As such, finding a venue for the matches proved difficult until Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, an ally of Kim Il-sung, allowed the matches to be held in Phnom Penh.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Korea	2	2	0	0	9	2	+7	4	Qualification for 1966 FIFA World Cup
2	Australia	2	0	0	2	2	9	−7	0
—	South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Disqualified
—	South Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew

21 November 1965

North Korea	6–1	Australia
Pak Doo-ik 15' Pak Seung-zin 54', 80' Im Seung-hwi 58' Han Bong-zin 65', 88'		Scheinflug 70' (pen.)

National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Patrick Nice (Malaysia)

24 November 1965

Australia	1–3	North Korea
Scheinflug 15'		Kim Seung-il 18', 75' Pak Seung-zin 53'

National Olympic Stadium, Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

Attendance: 55,000

Referee: AG de Silva (Singapore)

North Korea won 9–2 on aggregate: due to the withdrawal of all African teams, the Final Round was scratched and North Korea qualified.

The following team from AFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
North Korea	First round winners	24 November 1965	0 (debut)

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

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

• 1966 World Cup Qualification
• RSSSF - 1966 World Cup Qualification