page_title: 1982 FIFA World Cup
section_title: Qualification
hierarchical_section_title: 1982 FIFA World Cup / Qualification
caption_attribution_description: English: Status of countries with respect to 1982 FIFA World Cup: &#160;&#160; Qualified for World Cup finals &#160;&#160; Failed to qualify for World Cup finals &#160;&#160; Did not enter World Cup &#160;&#160; Not an associate member of FIFA
context_page_description: The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final, held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spanish capital of Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second group round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.
  The tournament featured the first penalty shoot-out in World Cup competition. This was the last World Cup to feature two rounds of group stages. It was also the third time in which all four semi-finalists were European.
  In the first round of Group 3, Hungary defeated El Salvador 10–1, equalling the largest margin of victory recorded in the finals.
context_section_description: For the first time, the World Cup finals expanded from 16 to 24 teams. This allowed more teams to participate from Africa and Asia.
  Teams absent from the finals were 1974 and 1978 runners-up Netherlands (eliminated by Belgium and France), Mexico (eliminated by Honduras and El Salvador), and the three times 1970s participants Sweden (eliminated by Scotland and Northern Ireland). Northern Ireland qualified for the first time since 1958. Belgium, Czechoslovakia, El Salvador, England and the Soviet Union were all back in the finals after 12-year absences. England had its first successful World Cup qualifying campaign in 20 years, having qualified automatically as hosts in 1966 and as defending champions in 1970 and failing to qualify in 1974 and 1978. Yugoslavia and Chile were also back after missing the 1978 tournament.
  Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand all participated in the World Cup for the first time. As of 2018, this was the last time that El Salvador and Kuwait qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the last time that Mexico and South Korea failed to qualify.
  There was some consideration given as to whether England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland should withdraw from the tournament because of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. A directive issued by the British sports minister Neil Macfarlane in April, at the start of the conflict, suggested that there should be no contact between British representative teams and Argentina. This directive was not rescinded until August, following the end of hostilities. Macfarlane reported to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that some players and officials were uneasy about participating because of the casualties suffered by British forces. FIFA advised the British Government that there was no prospect that Argentina (the defending champions) would be asked to withdraw. It also became apparent that no other countries would withdraw from the tournament. It was decided to allow the British national teams to participate so that Argentina could not use their absence for propaganda purposes, reversing the intended effect of applying political pressure onto Argentina.
caption:   Countries qualified for World Cup   Country did not qualify   Countries that did not enter World Cup   Country not a FIFA member
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