West Germany hosts the World Cup as numbers begin to swell.

It may be “the greatest show on earth” but in 1974 only 99 countries had the opportunity to win a ticket to the party.

However, the number of nations hoping to qualify for the World Cup had steadily grown since the first tournament, 44 years previously, and 1974 was to be the last year when fewer than 100 teams would aim to qualify for the main event.

For the 2010 tournament 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams were involved in qualifying.