The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, the quadrennial international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in which teams had to qualify to take part. Thirty-two nations entered the competition; 16 teams would qualify for the final tournament. Reigning champions

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

boycotted the tournament as only four European teams had accepted their invitation to the 1930 tournament.

beat

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, 2–1, to become the second World Cup champions and the first European winners. The 1934 World Cup was marred by being a high-profile instance of a sporting event being used for overt political gain. In particular, Benito Mussolini was keen to use this World Cup as a means of promoting fascism. Although some historians and sports journalists have made accusations of corruption and meddling by Mussolini to influence the competition to the benefit of Italy, Italy has always claimed to have deserved victory in the competition and the successful national team, considered to be one of the best in the country's history, emerged victorious also in the Olympic football tournament of 1936 hosted by Germany and in the 1938 World Cup hosted by France. The Federale 102 ball, which was manufactured in Italy, was the match ball provided for the 1934 World Cup.

Host selection

After a lengthy decision-making process in which FIFA's executive committee met eight times, Italy was chosen as the host nation at a meeting in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 9 October 1932. The decision was taken by the executive committee without a ballot of members. The Italian bid was chosen in preference to one from Sweden; the Italian government assigned a budget of Lire 3.5 million to the tournament.

Qualification and participants

36 countries applied to enter the tournament, so qualifying matches were required to thin the field to 16. Even so, there were several notable absentees. Reigning World Cup holders

declined to participate, in protest at the refusal of several European countries to travel to South America for the previous World Cup, which Uruguay had hosted in 1930. As a result, the 1934 World Cup is the only one in which the reigning champions did not participate. The British

Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

, in a period of self-imposed exile from FIFA, also refused to participate, even though FIFA had offered England and Scotland direct entry to the tournament without qualification. Football Association committee member

Charles Sutcliffe Charles Edward Sutcliffe (8 July 1864 – 11 January 1939) was a British lawyer, football administrator and referee. Football career In the 1880s Sutcliffe played for Burnley. One of the more notable matches he played in was an 1885 FA Cup tie ag ...

called the tournament "a joke" and claimed that "the national associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have quite enough to do in their own International Championship which seems to me a far better World Championship than the one to be staged in Rome". Despite their role as hosts,

were still required to qualify, the only time the host needed to do so. The qualifying matches were arranged on a geographical basis. Withdrawals by

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

meant

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

qualified without playing a single match. Twelve of the 16 places were allocated to Europe, three to the Americas, and one to Africa or Asia (including Turkey). Only 10 of the 32 entrants, and four of the 16 qualified teams (Brazil, Argentina, United States and Egypt, the first African team to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament), were from outside Europe. The last place in the finals was contested between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

only three days before the start of the tournament in a one-off match in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, which the United States won.

List of qualified teams

The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. * * * * * * * * * * (hosts) * * * * * * 10 of these teams made their first World Cup appearance. This included 9 of the 12 European teams (Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland) as well as Egypt. Egypt was the first team from Africa in the finals and would not qualify again until the next time the competition was held in Italy, in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Venues

The number of supporters travelling from other countries was higher than at any previous football tournament, including 7,000 from the Netherlands and 10,000 each from Austria and Switzerland.

Format

The group stage used in the first World Cup was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament. If a match was tied after ninety minutes, then thirty minutes of extra time were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match was replayed the next day. The eight seeded teams – Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary – were kept apart in the first round.

Summary

All eight first-round matches kicked off at the same time. Hosts and favourites Italy won handsomely, defeating the USA 7–1; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' correspondent wrote that "only the fine goal-tending of Julius Hjulian of Chicago kept the score as low as it was". Internal disputes meant Argentina's squad for the tournament did not contain a single member of the team which had reached the final in 1930. In the end, ''La Albiceleste'' would partake with an amateur squad. Against Sweden in Bologna, Argentina twice took the lead, but two goals by

Sven Jonasson Sven Jonasson (9 July 1909 – 17 September 1984) was a Swedish football striker and manager. Career He played for Sweden at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born in Borås and died in Varberg. He played for IF Elfsborg and the Sweden national ...

and a winner by Knut Kroon gave Sweden a 3–2 victory. Fellow South Americans Brazil also suffered an early exit. Spain beat them comfortably; 3–1 the final score. For the only time in World Cup history, the last eight consisted entirely of European teams –

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. All four non-European teams who made the journey to Italy were eliminated after one match. In the quarter-finals, the first replayed match in World Cup history took place, when Italy and Spain drew 1–1 after extra time. The match was played in a highly aggressive manner with several players of both sides injured: rough play injured the Spanish goalkeeper

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Cata ...

in the first match, leaving him unable to participate in the replay, while on the other side rough play by Spaniards broke the leg of the Italian

Mario Pizziolo Mario Pizziolo (; 8 December 1909 – 30 April 1990) was an Italian football player and manager, who played as a central or defensive midfielder. Club career Pizziolo was born in Castellammare Adriatico, province of Pescara. He started his c ...

who would not play in the national team again. Italy won the replay 1–0; their play so physical that at least three Spaniards had to depart the field with injuries. Italy then went on to beat Austria in the semi-finals by the same score. Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia secured their place in the final by beating Germany 3–1. The Stadium of the National Fascist Party was the venue for the final. With 80 minutes played, the Czechoslovaks led 1–0. The Italians managed to score before the final whistle and then added another goal in extra time to be crowned World Cup winners. Throughout the years, several sources have reported that the tournament was marred by bribery and corruption, and could have been influenced by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who used the tournament as a propaganda tool for

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. According to these accusations, Mussolini personally selected referees for the matches where the Italian national team were playing, while the Italian government meddled in FIFA's organisation of events, re-organizing the logistics of the matches to further promote fascism. Nonetheless, Italy also won the following edition of the World Cup (held in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) as well as the Olympic football tournament in 1936.

Squads

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see '' 1934 FIFA World Cup squads''.

Final tournament

Bracket

Round of 16

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Replay

Semi-finals

----

Third place play-off

Final

Goalscorers

With five goals, Oldřich Nejedlý was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 70 goals were scored by 45 players, with none of them credited as an own goal. ;5 goals *

Oldřich Nejedlý Oldřich Nejedlý (26 December 1909 – 11 June 1990) was a Czech footballer, who spent his entire professional career at Sparta Prague as an inside-forward. He is considered to be one of Czechoslovakia's greatest players of all time. He was th ...

;4 goals * Edmund Conen *

Angelo Schiavio Angelo Schiavio (; 15 October 1905 – 17 September 1990) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, the club of the city where he was born and died; he won four league titles with the clu ...

;3 goals *

Raimundo Orsi Raimundo Bibiani "Mumo" Orsi (2 December 1901 – 6 April 1986) was an Italian Argentine footballer who played as a winger or as a forward. At the international level he represented both Argentina and Italy, winning the 1927 Copa América and ...

Leopold Kielholz Leopold "Poldi" Kielholz (9 June 1911 – 4 June 1980) was a Swiss football striker. He participated in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, scoring 3 goals, and also in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Historically, he was the first Swiss international to score ...

;2 goals *

Johann Horvath Johann "Hans" Horvath (20 May 1903 – 30 July 1968) was an Austrian footballer. Normally a forward, Horvath was one of the most noted Austrian footballers of his generation, and was well–known for his passing ability and technique. Club care ...

* Bernard Voorhoof *

Antonín Puč Antonín Puč (16 May 1907 – 18 April 1988) was a Czech footballer who played as a forward; he is the all-time leading scorer for the Czechoslovak national team. Puč's international career lasted from 1926 to 1939; in that time, he played ...

Abdulrahman Fawzi Abdelrahman Fawzy ( ar, عبدالرحمن فوزي) (August 11, 1909 – October 16, 1988) was an Egyptian professional football player and manager, who played as a centre forward. He played for Al-Masry SC and Zamalek SC (where he spent most of ...

Karl Hohmann Karl Hohmann (18 June 1908, in Düsseldorf – 31 March 1974, in Benrath) was a German football (soccer) player. Between 1930 and 1937, he played 26 times and scored 20 goals for the Germany national football team. He played in the 1934 FIFA Wo ...

Ernst Lehner Ernst Lehner (7 November 1912 – 10 January 1986) was a German footballer. He was born in Augsburg and died in Aschaffenburg. International He played for the Germany national football team in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and the 1938 FIFA World Cup. ...

Géza Toldi Géza Toldi (11 February 1909 – 16 August 1985) was a Hungarian footballer. He played for Ferencvárosi TC, and from 1934 to 1938 for the Hungarian national team, serving as captain in 1936. He scored a goal in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Club ...

Giovanni Ferrari Giovanni Ferrari (; 6 December 1907 – 2 December 1982) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder/inside forward on the left. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, one of Italy's best ever players, ...

Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza (; 23 August 1910 – 21 August 1979), also known as il Balilla, was an Italian football manager and player. Throughout his career, he played mainly for Inter Milan in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the ...

José Iraragorri José Iraragorri Ealo (16 March 1912 – 27 April 1983), nicknamed "Chato", was a Spanish footballer who played as an inside left. Career Club Born in Basauri, Iraragorri initially played for Athletic Bilbao between 1929 and 1936, during whic ...

;1 goal * Ernesto Belis * Alberto Galateo *

Josef Bican Josef "Pepi" Bican (25 September 1913 – 12 December 2001) was an Austrian-Czech professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the second-most prolific goalscorer in official matches in recorded history according to Rec.Sport.Soccer ...

Anton Schall Anton Schall (22 June 1907 – 5 August 1947) was an Austrian football forward who played for the celebrated Austrian national side of the early 1930s that became known as the ''Wunderteam''. He also played for Admira Vienna, and later managed ...

* Karl Sesta *

Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar (, cz, Matěj Šindelář; 10 February 1903 – 23 January 1939) was an Austrian professional footballer. Regarded as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time, Sindelar played for Austria Wien and the Austria national ...

* Karl Zischek *

Leônidas Leônidas da Silva (; 6 September 1913 – 24 January 2004) was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the most important players of the first half of the 20th century. Leônidas played for Braz ...

Jiří Sobotka Jiří Sobotka (also known as Georges Sobotka; 6 June 1911 – 20 May 1994) was a Czech football player and manager. He played internationally for Czechoslovakia. Career Sobotka played for Czechoslovakia national football team (23 caps, 8 goals ...

František Svoboda František Svoboda (5 August 1906 – 6 July 1948) was a Czech football player who played as a striker. His nickname was "Franci" (the French). Club career He started his career with Vinohrady Rapid, from where he moved to Slavia Prague in 19 ...

Jean Nicolas Jean Édouard Marie Nicolas (9 June 1913 – 8 September 1978) was a French international footballer who played as a striker. Born in Nanterre, Nicolas played club football for FC Rouen, and appeared in the 1934 and 1938 World Cup squads f ...

Georges Verriest Georges Verriest (15 July 1909 – 11 July 1985) was a French footballer. He played for RC Roubaix, and earned 14 caps for the France national football team, and scored a goal in the 1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second ...

* Stanislaus Kobierski * Rudolf Noack *

Otto Siffling Otto Siffling (3 August 1912 – 20 October 1939) was a German footballer who played as a forward for SV Waldhof Mannheim and the Germany national team. As Germany international, he made 31 appearances scoring 17 goals between 1934 and 1938 an ...

György Sárosi György Sárosi (; 5 August 1912 – 20 June 1993) was a Hungarian footballer. Sárosi was a complete footballer renowned for his versatility and technique among other things, and he played in several positions for Ferencváros and the Hungary ...

Pál Teleki Count Pál János Ede Teleki de Szék (1 November 1879 – 3 April 1941) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 to 1921 and from 1939 to 1941. He was also an expert in geography, a un ...

Jenő Vincze Jenő Vincze ''( sr, Eugen Vince)'' (20 November 1908 – 20 November 1988) was a Hungarian footballer and a legend of Újpest FC, most famous for playing for the Hungarian national team in the 1938 World Cup Final. Vincze started playing foo ...

Enrique Guaita Enrique Guaita (; 11 July 1910 – 18 May 1959), also known as Enrico Guaita (), was an Italian Argentine footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy as a forward. He helped win the 1933-35 Central European International Cup & the Worl ...

Kick Smit Johannes Chrishostomus "Kick" Smit (3 November 1911 – 1 July 1974) was a Dutch football player. He earned 29 caps and scored 26 goals for the Netherlands national football team, and played in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups.Leen Vente Leendert Roelof Jan "Leen" Vente (14 May 19119 November 1989) was a Dutch association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), striker. He earned 21 caps and scored 19 goals for the Netherlands national football team, a ...

Ștefan Dobay Ștefan Dobay ( hu, Dobay István, 26 September 1909 – 7 April 1994), was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker and manager. He played for Ripensia Timișoara and the Romania national football team for whom he got 41 caps, scored ...

* Isidro Lángara *

Luis Regueiro Luis Regueiro Pagola ( 1 July 1908 – 6 December 1995), sometimes nicknamed ''Corso'', was a footballer, and an Olympian from the Basque Country in the north of Spain. Football career He began his career in 1924 playing for Real Unión in t ...

Gösta Dunker Gösta Dunker (September 16, 1905 - June 5, 1973) was a Swedish footballer from who participated in 1934 FIFA World Cup, scoring one goal in the game versus Germany. Dunker spent most of his career in Sandvikens IF. In 1948-1950 he was a coach o ...

* Knut Kroon * André Abegglen *

Willy Jäggi Willy Jäggi (28 July 1906 – 1 February 1968) was a Swiss footballer who played for Switzerland in the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He also played for FC Solothurn, Servette FC, FC La Chaux-de-Fonds, Urania Genève Sport, FC Lausanne-Sport, FC Biel-Bi ...

Aldo Donelli Aldo Teo "Buff" Donelli (July 22, 1907 – August 9, 1994) was an American football player and coach, association football, soccer player, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Duquesne University from 193 ...

FIFA retrospective ranking

In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition (not counting replay results). The rankings for the 1934 tournament were as follows:

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

1934 FIFA World Cup
at FIFA.com

at RSSSF.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1934 Fifa World Cup FIFA World Cup tournaments International association football competitions hosted by Italy

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...