99 teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for 16 places in the final tournament. West Germany, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. The 16 spots available in the 1974 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: 90 teams played at least one qualifying match. 226 qualifying matches were played, and 620 goals were scored (an average of 2.74 per match).

Confederation qualification

AFC and OFC

CAF

CONCACAF

CONMEBOL

UEFA

Inter-confederation play-offs: UEFA v CONMEBOL

The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner qualifying to the finals. The second leg was scratched as the Soviet Union were disqualified after they refused to travel to Santiago for the return leg due to the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and the executions of left-wing prisoners in the Santiago stadium. The match did "go ahead" with the eleven Chilean players facing zero Soviet players before thousands of bemused spectators, and half a dozen Chilean players slowly passed the ball to each other in mock play until the captain walked the ball into the net.

Qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup:

[Final qualification status {{legend|#000cff|Country qualified for World Cup}} {{legend|#ffb400|Country failed to qualify}} {{legend|#000000|Country did not enter World Cup}} {{legend|#ababab|Country not a FIFA member|undefined | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/1974///world///cup///qualification.png]

Goalscorers