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==