Group 5 consisted of three of the 32 teams entered into the European zone: [a] Bulgaria, France, and Republic of Ireland. These three teams competed on a home-and-away basis for one of the 8.5 spots in the final tournament allocated to the European zone. The spot would be assigned to the group's winner.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
France
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 5 |
| 2 | 
Bulgaria
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| 3 | 
Republic of Ireland
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
Source: [
citation needed]
Matches
|
France | 2 – 0 |
Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
Platini  47'Bathenay 88' |
Report |
Referee: Maksimovic (
Yugoslavia)
|
Bulgaria | 2 – 1 |
Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|---|
|
Panov 14' Zhelyazkov 76' |
Report |
Givens 47' |
Referee: Zlatanos (
Greece)
|
France | 3 – 1 |
Bulgaria |
|---|---|---|
|
Rocheteau 38' Platini 63'Dalger 89' |
Report |
Tsvetkov 85' |
Referee:
Corver (
Netherlands)
Notes
- ^ Only 31 of the entered teams actually competed in the qualification tournament: West Germany qualified for the World Cup automatically as defending champions.