World Cup Soccer : Three More Countries Reach Finals
Spain, West Germany and Bulgaria each assured themselves of a place in next summer’s World Cup soccer tournament in Mexico Wednesday by avoiding defeat in key qualifying games in Europe.
Spain, which played host to the 1982 World Cup, earned its berth with a 2-1 victory over Iceland before a sellout crowd of 50,000 at Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville, Spain.
The victory clinched the group title for Spain and left second-place Scotland needing to play the as-yet-undetermined winner of the Oceania group for a place in next summer’s finals.
West Germany, the runner-up to Italy in 1982, managed a 2-2 tie with Sweden in Stockholm to claim its spot in the final 24.
Bulgaria, which last qualified in 1974, made sure of advancing this time with a convincing 3-1 victory over host Luxembourg.
The Bulgarians’ victory left Yugoslavia and France, the reigning European champion, to fight for the second spot. They meet Nov. 16 in Paris.
A total of 11 countries so far have qualified for the May 31-June 29 tournament, the other eight being Italy, the defending world champion; Mexico, the host nation; Hungary; Uruguay; Argentina; Brazil; Poland, and Canada.
In other qualifying matches Wednesday, the Soviet Union improved its chances of advancing by scoring a 1-0 win over Denmark at Lenin Stadium in Moscow.
In Czechoslovakia, the Czechs kept their faint hopes alive and at the same time severly damaged Portuguese chances by scoring a 1-0 win over Portugal at Prague.
