– as the two nations that had qualified for the 1958 World Cup – receiving a bye to the second round. Denmark withdrew from the qualifying process before any matches were played, so Spain advanced automatically. Austria then also withdrew, leaving Wales and Spain to play off over two legs to determine who would advance. The first leg in Cardiff on 19 April 1961 saw Wales take an early lead through Phil Woosnam after seven minutes, only for Alfonso Rodríguez Salas to level the scores midway through the first half, before Alfredo Di Stéfano scored the winner for Spain with 12 minutes left. The return leg was played in Madrid a month later with Wales needing to win by a two-goal margin to surpass Spain. After a goalless first half, Joaquín Peiró opened the scoring in the 55th minute; Ivor Allchurch scored one of the three goals Wales now required, but they were unable to find the other two and were eliminated. England 1966 The 1966 FIFA World Cup was played in England and featured 16 teams. Qualifying saw 32 nations compete for the nine UEFA spots at the finals, in addition to host nation England. Wales were drawn into Group 7 with the Soviet Union, Greece and, for the second time in a row, Denmark. This time, Denmark did not withdraw and beat Wales in the group's opening match in Copenhagen in October 1964, thanks to Ole Madsen scoring the only goal of the game. Mimis Papaioannou and Andreas Papaemmanouil gave Greece a 2–0 win in Wales' next game in December. Papaioannou was on the scoresheet again in the two sides' meeting in Cardiff in March 1965, but it proved to be mere consolation as a brace from Ivor Allchurch and further goals from Mike England and Roy Vernon gave Wales a 4–1 win; however, defeat to the Soviet Union in Moscow in May, thanks to a goal from Valentin Ivanov and an own goal by Graham Williams, meant Wales' hopes of qualification were now out of their hands. The Soviet Union won their next three games, scoring 13 goals in the process and ending Wales' campaign, but the return fixture between the two sides in October 1965 saw Wales come out on top in Cardiff; Anatoliy Banishevskiy opened the scoring for the Soviet Union, but Vernon equalised three minutes later, before Ivor Allchurch scored the winner with 13