It was contested by the thirteen winners from the preliminary round, along with Austria, Luxembourg and the Soviet Union, who had received a bye.
The winners of each of eight home-and-away ties progressed to the quarter-finals.
The round of 16 was played in two legs on a home-and-away basis.
Republic of Ireland won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the quarter-finals.
Soviet Union won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the quarter-finals.