Lottery, boycott, and goals into an open net: How World Cup tickets were secured

Securing a place in the FIFA World Cup finals is usually a long, exhausting, and nerve-racking battle for any national team. Only after years of qualifying campaigns, intricate points-table calculations, and heart-pounding permutations does a team finally earn its ticket to football’s grandest stage.

But a look back through football history reveals some remarkable and bizarre episodes where teams reached the finals without breaking a sweat -- simply through good fortune, withdrawals by opponents, scoring into an unattended goal, or benefiting from loopholes in the rules. From the 1934 World Cup to the upcoming 2026 edition, here is a look at some of the most astonishing qualification stories in World Cup history.

A place on the world stage without a fight

In the early years of the World Cup, withdrawals from qualifying tournaments were common. Sometimes it was due to political tensions, sometimes frustration over the host nation, and often because of the prohibitive costs of travel.

Take the 1934 World Cup in Italy. Brazil and Argentina advanced to the finals from South America without facing any competition, as Peru -- Brazil’s designated opponent -- and Chile, who were meant to face Argentina, both withdrew from qualifying.

The next tournament was hosted by France. In protest against Europe hosting the World Cup for a second consecutive time, most countries from North and South America boycotted the qualifiers. Among those withdrawing were Argentina, the United States, Mexico, and Colombia. As a result, Cuba qualified for the World Cup for the first time without playing a single match. In the same tournament, Japan’s withdrawal from Asian qualifying allowed the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) to advance uncontested.

The wave of withdrawals peaked during the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina all pulled out, allowing Uruguay, Bolivia, and Chile to qualify automatically. Remarkably, Uruguay -- who had not played a single minute in qualifying -- went on to stun Brazil at the Maracana and win the World Cup.

In that same edition, Burma (now Myanmar), Indonesia, and the Philippines withdrew from Asian qualifying, handing India direct qualification. However, India later withdrew as well, reportedly due to the financial burden of the long journey and a desire to focus on the 1952 Olympics. Though a popular belief persists that FIFA’s ban on playing barefoot was the main reason behind India’s withdrawal.

The trend continued in 1954. Hungary secured their place in the World Cup finals without even entering the qualifiers after Poland withdrew.

Turkey’s fate decided by a 14-year-old boy

That same 1954 qualification campaign also produced one of the most extraordinary stories in football history. Due to FIFA’s haphazard tournament structure, some European qualifying groups consisted of just two teams. One such group featured Spain and Turkey.

Both sides won one match each. Spain claimed a 4-1 victory at home in the first leg, while Turkey responded with a 1-0 win on home soil in the return fixture. Based on goals scored, Spain should have progressed. However, goal difference had not yet been introduced as a tiebreaker, prompting FIFA to arrange a playoff at a neutral venue.

The playoff in Rome went to extra time, but the two teams still could not be separated, ending in a 2-2 draw. FIFA then decided that the World Cup berth would be determined by lottery.

The responsibility fell on 14-year-old Italian schoolboy Luigi Franco Gemma, whose father worked at the stadium.

Blindfolded, Luigi was asked to pick one of two balls from a hat. In front of a packed crowd, he drew the ball bearing Turkey’s name. And just like that, Turkey advanced to the World Cup, while powerhouse Spain were eliminated by sheer chance.

Political boycotts, FIFA rule changes, and Wales’ fairy tale

By the time the 1958 World Cup in Sweden came around, FIFA had realised that allowing teams to qualify without playing was unsustainable. Matters came to a head when Egypt, Sudan, and Indonesia all refused to face Israel in the Africa-Asia qualifiers for political reasons.

In response, FIFA introduced a strict new rule: apart from the host nation and defending champions, no team could qualify for the World Cup without playing at least one match.

To resolve Israel’s situation, FIFA held a draw among the runners-up from European qualifying groups. Belgium were initially selected but declined the opportunity. Wales were then chosen as replacements.

Given a second chance, Wales made sure not to waste it. They defeated Israel 2-0 in both legs of the intercontinental playoff, securing their first-ever World Cup berth in dramatic fashion.

Santiago’s ghost match and the goal into an empty net

The intercontinental playoff for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany pitted the Soviet Union against Chile. The first leg in Moscow ended in a goalless draw, shifting all attention to the decisive second leg in Santiago.

But the match, scheduled for November 21, 1973, remains infamous because of the intense political turmoil surrounding it -- one of football history’s darkest episodes.

The venue was Santiago’s National Stadium. Just two months earlier, Chile had undergone a military coup, and Augusto Pinochet’s new regime had turned the stadium into a detention center and execution site for political prisoners.

The Soviet Union strongly objected to playing in a stadium stained by such violence and requested that FIFA move the match to another venue within Chile. When no agreement was reached, the Soviets ultimately refused to play.

FIFA disqualified them and awarded Chile qualification by walkover.

But the strangest part came on matchday itself. Despite having no opponents, FIFA insisted the fixture go ahead as scheduled. Chile’s players entered the field, took kickoff, and passed the ball unchallenged into an empty net to complete the formalities of victory.

The referee then blew the final whistle.

The match lasted approximately 30 seconds.

Winless in qualifying, yet Sweden still make the World Cup

While political boycotts and outdated regulations once created these strange qualification stories, modern football has produced its own quirks through the increasingly complex qualification systems -- especially in Europe.

Sweden’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup is a perfect example.

The Scandinavian side failed to win a single match in their six-game qualifying campaign and finished rock-bottom of Group B. Under normal circumstances, elimination would have been inevitable.

But thanks to UEFA Nations League rankings, Sweden were handed a second life.

They made the most of it.

Under coach Graham Potter, Sweden comfortably defeated Ukraine in the playoff semifinal before edging Poland 3-2 in a dramatic final. The decisive moment came in the 88th minute, when striker Viktor Gyokeres found the target to seal Sweden’s return to football’s biggest stage after an eight-year absence.