1974 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone (AFC and OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification.
India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines withdrew before the matches were played. The remaining 15 teams were divided into 2 zones, based on geographical and political considerations, as follows:
- Zone A had 7 teams (teams from East Asia, plus Israel). All matches were played in Korea Republic. There would be four stages of play:
- Classification matches: All teams except Korea Republic would be paired up to play preliminary matches to determine group classification.
- Group stage: Based on the results of the classification matches, the 7 teams were divided into 2 groups (Group 1 with 3 teams and Group 2 with 4 teams). The teams played against each other once. The group winners and runners-up would advance to the semifinals.
- Semifinals: The winner of Group 1 played against the runner-up of Group 2 in a single match, and the winner of Group 2 played against the runner-up of Group 1 in a single match. The winners would advance to the Final.
- Final: The 2 teams played against each other in a single match. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
- Zone B had 8 teams (teams from West Asia and Oceania, plus Indonesia and Korea DPR). There would be two stages of play:
- Group stage: The 8 teams were divided into 2 groups of 4 teams each. The teams played against each other twice (Group 1 in Iran and Group 2 in Australia and New Zealand). The group winners would advance to the final.
- Final: The 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
In the Final Round, the winners of Zone A and Zone B played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would qualify.
Zone A
Classification Matches
| 16 May 1973 | South Vietnam  | 1 – 0 |  Thailand | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Referee: Coffman (New Zealand) |
| 16 May 1973 | Israel  | 2 – 1 |  Japan | Seoul, Korea Republic |
Spiegler  5'Onana 61' |
Hirasawa 62' |
Referee: Boskovic (Australia) |
| 17 May 1973 | Hong Kong  | 1 – 0 |  Malaysia | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Lo Hung Hoi |
Referee: Azam (India) |
Based on the results, South Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong were placed in Group 1, while Thailand, Israel and Malaysia were placed in Group 2 with Korea Republic.
Group 1
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong
|
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| 2 | Japan
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
| 3 | South Vietnam
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 |
| 20 May 1973 | Japan | 4 – 0 | South Vietnam | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Kamamoto 5', 86' Mori 19' |
Referee: Coffman (New Zealand) |
| 22 May 1973 | Hong Kong | 1 – 0 | Japan | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Referee: Boskovic (Australia) |
| 24 May 1973 | Hong Kong | 1 – 0 | South Vietnam | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Yuen Kuen Choo |
Referee: Aing Kim Ean (Khmer Republic) |
Hong Kong and Japan advanced to the Zone A Semifinals.
Group 2
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
| 2 |  South Korea
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 |
| 3 | Malaysia
|
3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 |
| 4 | Thailand
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −12 |
| 19 May 1973 | Israel | 3 – 0 | Malaysia | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Farkas 50' Shum 62'Onana 82' |
Referee: Aing Kim Ean (Khmer Republic) |
| 19 May 1973 | South Korea | 4 – 0 | Thailand | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Kim Jim-Kook Cha Bun-Keun Kim Joo-Hwan |
Referee: Hatta (Indonesia) |
| 21 May 1973 | South Korea | 0 – 0 | Malaysia | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Referee: U Tin Thut (Burma) |
| 21 May 1973 | Israel | 6 – 0 | Thailand | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Shum 65' Rozen 69', 83'Onana 78' |
Referee: Dhillon (Singapore) |
| 23 May 1973 | South Korea | 0 – 0 | Israel | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Referee: U Tin Thut (Burma) |
| 23 May 1973 | Malaysia | 2 – 0 | Thailand | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Abdullah Jusoh |
Referee: Azam (India) |
Israel and Korea Republic advanced to the Zone A Semifinals.
Semifinals
| 26 May 1973 | South Korea | 3 – 1 | Hong Kong | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Referee: Hatta (Indonesia |
| 26 May 1973 | Israel | 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Japan | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Onana 110' |
Referee: Dhillon (Singapore) |
Korea Republic and Israel advanced to the Zone A Final.
Final
| 28 May 1973 | South Korea | 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Israel | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Hon Joo-Wook 109' |
Referee: U Tin Thut (Burma) |
Korea Republic advanced to the Final Round.
Zone B
Group 1
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iran
|
9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
| 2 |  Syria
|
7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 3 |  North Korea
|
5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 |  Kuwait
|
3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −4 |
| 4 May 1973 | Iran | 0 – 0 | North Korea | Tehran, Iran |
| Referee: Ramalingam (Malaysia) |
| 4 May 1973 | Syria | 2 – 1 | Kuwait | Tehran, Iran |
| Shahreston 62' Nano 65' |
Duraheem 57' |
Referee: Ong Eng Young (Singapore) |
| 6 May 1973 | North Korea | 1 – 1 | Syria | Tehran, Iran |
| Referee: Getkaew (Thailand) |
| 6 May 1973 | Iran | 2 – 1 | Kuwait | Tehran, Iran |
| Vafakhah 20' Parvin 56' |
Kameel 83' |
Referee: Er Wee Kiam (Malaysia) |
| 8 May 1973 | North Korea | 0 – 0 | Kuwait | Tehran, Iran |
| Referee: Vaz (India) |
| 11 May 1973 | Iran | 2 – 1 | North Korea | Tehran, Iran |
| Monajati 19' Sadeghi 89' |
Referee: Ong Eng Young (Singapore) |
| 13 May 1973 | North Korea | 3 – 0 | Syria | Tehran, Iran |
| Ma Jung-U An See-Uk |
Referee: Vaz (India) |
| 13 May 1973 | Iran | 2 – 0 | Kuwait | Tehran, Iran |
| Geilichkhani 60' Djabari 75' |
Referee: Sridaranop (Thailand) |
| 15 May 1973 | Kuwait | 2 – 0 | North Korea | Tehran, Iran |
| Karam |
Referee: Getkaew (Thailand) |
Iran advanced to the Zone B Final.
Group 2
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia
|
9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 6 | +9 |
| 2 |  Iraq
|
8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 |
| 3 |  Indonesia
|
4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | −7 |
| 4 |  New Zealand
|
3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 |
| 4 March 1973 | New Zealand | 1 – 1 | Australia | Auckland, New Zealand |
| B. Turner 57' |
Campbell 85' |
Referee: Luk Tat Sun (Hong Kong) |
| 11 March 1973 | Australia | 3 – 1 | Iraq | Sydney, Australia |
| Richards 49' Alston 80', 85' |
Noory 89' |
Referee: Suppiah (Singapore) |
| 11 March 1973 | Indonesia | 1 – 1 | New Zealand | Sydney, Australia |
| Panggabean |
Taylor |
Referee: Mahendran (Malaysia) |
| 13 March 1973 | Australia | 2 – 1 | Indonesia | Sydney, Australia |
| Camphell 23' Alston 42' |
Iswadi 36' |
Referee: Dan Van Dzu (South Vietnam) |
| 13 March 1973 | Iraq | 2 – 0 | New Zealand | Sydney, Australia |
| Hatem Rasheed |
Referee: Alvarez (Philippines) |
| 16 March 1973 | Australia | 3 – 3 | New Zealand | Sydney, Australia |
| Utjescnovic 11' Baartz 19'Buljevic 26' |
Vest 10' Tindall 50'Hogg 86' |
Referee: Mahendran (Malaysia) |
| 16 March 1973 | Iraq | 1 – 1 | Indonesia | Sydney, Australia |
| Khadum |
Iswadi |
Referee: Kim Joo-Wom (Korea Republic) |
| 18 March 1973 | Indonesia | 1 – 0 | New Zealand | Melbourne, Australia |
| Tillotson x' (o.g.) |
Referee: Suppiah (Singapore) |
| 21 March 1973 | Iraq | 3 – 2 | Indonesia | Sydney, Australia |
| Azziz Hatem Ubeed |
Asmara Panggabean |
Referee: Luk Tat Sun (Hong Kong) |
| 24 March 1973 | Iraq | 4 – 0 | New Zealand | Sydney, Australia |
| Hatem Khadum |
Referee: Kim Joo-Won (Korea Republic) |
| 24 March 1973 | Australia | 6 – 0 | Indonesia | Sydney, Australia |
| Mackay 3', 40' Abonyi 23', 54'Richards 72'Baartz 78' |
Referee: Nagashima (Japan) |
Australia advanced to the Zone B Final.
Final
| 18 August 1973 | Australia | 3 – 0 | Iran | Sydney, Australia |
| Alston 43' Abonyi 45'Wilson 83' |
Referee: Schcurer (Switzerland) |
| 24 August 1973 | Iran | 2 – 0 (2 – 3 agg.) | Australia | Tehran, Iran |
| Geilichkhami 14', 32' |
Referee: Kazakov (Soviet Union) |
Australia advanced to the Final Round.
Final Round
| 28 October 1973 | Australia | 0 – 0 | South Korea | Sydney, Australia |
| Referee: Loraux (Belgium) |
| 10 November 1973 | South Korea | 2 – 2 (2 – 2 agg.) | Australia | Seoul, Korea Republic |
| Jae Han-Kim 15' Jae Wook-Koh 27' |
Buljevic 29' Raartz 48' |
Referee: Van Gemert (Netherlands) |
The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify.
| 13 November 1973 | Australia | 1 – 0 | South Korea | Hong Kong |
| Mackay 70' |
Referee: Van Gemert (Netherlands) |
Australia qualified, via the play-off.