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The men's qualification for association football tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics was the first time the qualifying round was done on a home-and-away basis.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11–31 July 1956 |
| Teams | 20 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Goals scored | 46 (4.6 per match) |
1960 → | |
† Withdrew after qualifying
| Team | Method of qualification | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
 Australia | Hosts | – |
 Poland | Fourth place (1952) | |
 Bulgaria | Bulgaria v Great Britain winner | Round of 16 (1924, 1952) |
 Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia v Romania winner | Silver medal (1948, 1952) |
 Hungary | Gold medal (1952) | |
 Turkey | Quarter-finals (1948, 1952) | |
 West Germany | – | |
 Soviet Union | Soviet Union v Israel winner | First round (1952) |
 Egypt | Fourth place (1928) | |
 South Vietnam | – | |
 India | India v Thailand winner | First round (1948) |
 Thailand | India v Thailand winner | – |
 Japan | Japan v South Korea winner | Quarter-finals (1936) |
 China | First round (1936, 1948) | |
 Indonesia | Indonesia v Taiwan winner | – |
 United States | United States v Mexico winner | Silver medal (1904) |
 United Team of Germany | Formation by West Germany and East Germany | Fourth place (1952) |
 Great Britain | Replacement by Poland | Gold medal (1900, 1908, 1912) |
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The final tournament had 16 spots reserved with 28 countries initially showing interest in the tournament.
Automatic qualification was granted to Australia (host), 
Poland, Turkey, and United Team of Germany (originally as West Germany).
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Vietnam |
9–5 |  Cambodia |
5–2 | 4–3 |
Iran  |
n/p1 |  Afghanistan |
— | — |
| India |
bye2 | Thailand |
— | — |
Japan  |
2–23 |  South Korea |
2–0 | 0–2 |
| China |
w/o4 |  Philippines |
— | — |
| Indonesia |
w/o5 |  Republic of China |
— | — |
1 Both teams withdrew; the tie was scratched.
2 As the withdrawal of other teams left six winners, the tie was scratched and both teams qualified automatically.
3 Both matches were played in Japan due to the lack of a suitable stadium in South Korea; Japan advanced on the drawing of lots.
4 Philippines withdrew.
5 Republic of China withdrew after the organizing committee ruled they had to play under the FIFA flag during the first leg, due to concerns over social and political unrest in Indonesia relating to the use of the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.[1]
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| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
w/o1 |  Mexico |
— | — |
1 Mexico withdrew.
Before the official draw for the final tournament on September 1, 1956, Poland withdrew and was replaced by Great Britain.
After the draw, Hungary also withdrew: its place was offered to South Korea, however South Korea declined due to financial reasons.
Subsequently, South Vietnam and Turkey both withdrew, while the People's Republic of China and Egypt boycotted the Olympics.
Ethiopia  | 1–4 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
 |
El-Fanagily 3', 31' Ad-Diba 54'Adam 60' |
| Japan | 2–0 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Uchino 54' Iwabuchi 77' |
Report |
Attendance: 10,000
| Japan | 0–2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ? 58' ? 64' |
Attendance: 20,000
Japan advanced by the drawing of lots.
- Guinness Record of World Soccer, by Guy Oliver (1st ed., Guinness Publishing, 1992)
- The Times newspaper, various dates
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