A total of 109 teams entered the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, which began with the preliminary qualification draw on 14 October 1979 at Zürich, competing for a total of 24 spots in the final tournament, an increase from 16 in the previous World Cups. Spain, as the hosts, and Argentina, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 22 spots open for competition. The 24 spots available in the 1982 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: A total of 103 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 306 qualifying matches were played, and 797 goals were scored (an average of 2.60 per match).

Qualified teams

The following 24 teams qualified for the 1982 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/f/f0/1982///world///cup///qualification.png]

Confederation qualification

AFC and OFC

CAF

CONCACAF

CONMEBOL

UEFA

Top goalscorers