A total of 37 teams entered the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. For the first time the title holders and the host country were given automatic qualification. Therefore, France, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. Due to the Spanish Civil War, Spain withdrew from the competition. The remaining 34 teams were divided into 12 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows: However, due to the withdrawal of Austria after qualifying (they had been annexed by Germany), only 15 teams actually competed in the final tournament. FIFA did not offer participation to the runner-up of the group that Austria had played in, Latvia. A total of 21 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 22 qualifying matches were played, and 96 goals were scored (an average of 4.36 per match).

Format

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows: Key:

Groups

Group 1

Germany and Sweden qualified.

Group 2

Norway qualified.

Group 3

Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average, and thus qualified.

Group 4

Egypt were to play Romania on 17 December 1937. However, Egypt withdrew from the competition after Egyptian officials objected to playing on this date since it was in the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, Romania qualified after Egypt invited Austrian club side First Vienna to play the friendly match against the national team.

Group 5

Switzerland qualified.

Group 6

First round

Greece qualified for the final round.

Final round

Hungary qualified.

Group 7

Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 8

First round

Latvia qualified for the final round.

Final round

Austria qualified, but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss. FIFA offered the place to England (winner of the 1937–38 British Home Championship), who had opted not to enter the competition, but they declined the offer; FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.

Group 9

Netherlands and Belgium qualified.

Group 10

Argentina withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

Group 11

First round

Costa Rica, Dutch Guiana, El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia and the United States all withdrew, so Cuba qualified automatically for the second round.

Second round

All other teams than Cuba had withdrawn from competition, so thus qualified automatically for the finals.

Group 12

Japan withdrew, so the Dutch East Indies qualified automatically.

Qualified teams

Goalscorers