1982 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
Group 4 consisted of five of the 34 teams entered into the European zone:[1] England, Hungary, Norway, Romania, and Switzerland. These five teams competed on a home-and-away basis for two of the 14 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone, with the group's winner and runner-up claiming those spots. England beat already-qualified Hungary in the final game to leapfrog Romania for the second qualifying place.
Standings
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hungary
|
10 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 |
| 2 |  England
|
9 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 8 | +5 |
| 3 | .svg.png){kind=small} Romania
|
8 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | .svg.png){kind=small} Switzerland
|
7 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 |
| 5 |  Norway
|
6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | −7 |
Results
| Norway | 1 – 1 | Romania |
|---|---|---|
Hareide  23' |
Report | Iordănescu 10' |
| Switzerland | 2 – 1 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Scheiwiler 29' Sulser 31' |
Report | McDermott 55' |
| Norway | 1 – 1 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Davidsen 88' |
Report | Barberis 62' |
Lowly Norway's win was a major shock and prompted a rapturous English-language encomium from Norwegian radio commentator Bjørge Lillelien which became famous in Britain and Scandinavia.[2]
| Hungary | 3 – 0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Nyilasi 23', 50' Fazekas 59' |
Report |
Notes
- ^ Only 33 of the entered teams actually competed in the qualification tournament: Spain qualified for the World Cup automatically as host.
- ^ Barker, Philip (8 September 2011). "The radio man who gave England's boys a hell of a beating". Sports Journalists' Association. Retrieved 31 July 2025.