| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 November 1971 – 13 February 1974 |
| Teams | 99 (from 6 confederations) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 226 |
| Goals scored | 620 (2.74 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Steve David (12 goals) |
99 teams entered the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for 16 places in the final tournament. West Germany, as the hosts, and Brazil, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
The 16 spots available in the 1974 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows:
- Europe (UEFA): 9.5 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier West Germany, while the other 8.5 places were contested by 32 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from CONMEBOL).
- South America (CONMEBOL): 3.5 places, 1 of them went to automatic qualifier Brazil, while the other 2.5 places were contested by 9 teams. The winner of the 0.5 place would advance to the Intercontinental Play-offs (against a team from UEFA).
- North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF): 1 place, contested by 14 teams.
- Africa (CAF): 1 place, contested by 24 teams.
- Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC): 1 place, contested by 18 teams.
90 teams played at least one qualifying match. 226 qualifying matches were played, and 620 goals were scored (an average of 2.74 per match).