The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, 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 and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938.

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 ...

defended its title in the final, beating

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 ...

4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach,

Vittorio Pozzo Vittorio Pozzo (; 2 March 1886 – 21 December 1968) was an Italian football player, manager and journalist. The creator of the '' Metodo'' tactical formation, Pozzo is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and is the only man ...

. It would be the last World Cup until 1950 due to the disruption from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Host selection

France was chosen as host nation by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 13 August 1936. France was chosen over Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting. The decision to hold a second consecutive tournament in Europe (after Italy in 1934) caused outrage in South America, where it was believed that the venue should alternate between the two continents. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Qualification

Because of anger over the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, neither

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 ...

nor

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 ...

entered the competition.

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 ...

meanwhile could not participate due to the ongoing

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. It was the first time that the hosts,

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 ...

, and the title holders,

, qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup from 1938 until

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

(inclusive), since abolished. Of the 14 remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, two to the Americas, and one to Asia. As a result, only three non-European nations took part: Brazil, Cuba and the Dutch East Indies. This is the smallest ever number of teams from outside the host continent to compete at a FIFA World Cup.

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 ...

qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently withdrew from the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad, although not including Austrian star player

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 ...

, who refused to play for the unified team.

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

was the runner-up in Austria's qualification group, but was not invited to participate; instead Austria's place remained empty, and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second-round by default. This tournament saw the first, and the only, participation in a World Cup tournament from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and the Dutch East Indies (now

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

). It also saw the World Cup debuts of Poland and Norway. Romania would not qualify for another World Cup until

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, Poland and the Netherlands would not reappear at a finals tournament until 1974, and Norway would not qualify for another World Cup finals until 1994. A unified

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 ...

team would not appear again until

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, although

returned in 1954 and won third place.

List of qualified teams

The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament. However, 15 teams participated after Austria's withdrawal due to the

. * 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 ...
(withdrew) * * * * * * (hosts) * * * (1934 champions) * * * * * *

Format

The knockout format from 1934 was retained. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, then 30 minutes of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match would be replayed. This was the last World Cup tournament that used a straight knockout format.

Summary

Germany, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Cuba and Brazil were seeded for the draw taking place in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, on 5 March 1938. Sweden was given a bye due to Austria's withdrawal. Five of the seven first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. In one replay,

advanced to the next round at the expense of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. In the other replay,

, which had led 1–0 in the first game against

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 ...

, led 2–0 but eventually was beaten 2–4. This loss, which took place in front of a hostile, bottle-throwing crowd in Paris, was blamed by German coach

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

on a defeatist attitude from the five Austrian players he had been forced to include; a German journalist later commented that "Germans and Austrians prefer to play against each other even when they're in the same team". Until they were knocked out in the first round in 2018, this was the only time Germany had failed to advance past the first round.

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 ...

advanced directly to the quarter-finals as a result of

's withdrawal, and they proceeded to beat Cuba 8–0. The hosts,

, were beaten by the holders,

, and Switzerland were seen off by

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

took

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 ...

to extra time in a notoriously feisty match in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

before succumbing in a replay; the South Americans proved too strong for the depleted Czechoslovak side (both

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 ...

and

František Plánička František Plánička (; 2 July 1904 – 20 July 1996) was a Czech football goalkeeper and one of the most honoured players in the history of Czechoslovak football. He played all his career for Slavia Prague, during which time the club won the ...

had suffered broken bones in the first game) and won 2–1. This was the last match to be replayed in a World Cup. Hungary destroyed Sweden in one of the semi-finals 5–1, while Italy and Brazil had the first of their many important World Cup clashes in the other. The Brazilians were without their star player

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 ...

, who was injured, and the Italians won 2–1. Brazil topped Sweden 4–2 for third place. Rumour has it, before the finals

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

was to have sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). This should not have been meant as a literal threat, but instead just an encouragement to win. However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player

Pietro Rava Pietro Rava (; 21 January 1916 – 5 November 2006) was an Italian football defender and coach, who played as a full-back. He won the 1936 Summer Olympics and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team. Club career Rava, born in ...

said, when interviewed, "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die'." The final itself took place at the Stade Olympique de Colombes in

's Italian side took the lead early, but Hungary equalised within two minutes. The Italians took the lead again shortly after, and by the end of the first half were leading the Hungarians 3–1. Hungary never really got back into the game. With the final score favouring the Italians 4–2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup winners. Because of

, the World Cup would not be held for another 12 years, until 1950. As a result, Italy were the reigning World Cup holders for a record 16 years, from 1934 to 1950. The Italian Vice-President of FIFA, Dr. Ottorino Barassi, hid the trophy in a shoe-box under his bed throughout the Second World War and thus saved it from falling into the hands of occupying troops.

Venues

Eleven venues in ten cities were planned to host the tournament; of these, all hosted matches except the

Stade de Gerland The Stade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons as Matmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known as Municipal de Gerland or Stade Gerland ) is a stadium in the city of Lyon, France, which serves as home to Top 14 rugby club Lyon OU. It has a ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, which did not due to Austria's withdrawal.

Squads

For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see '' 1938 FIFA World Cup squads''.

Final tournament

Bracket

Round of 16

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

Replays

----

Quarter-finals

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

Replay

Semi-finals

----

Third place play-off

Final

Goalscorers

With seven goals, Leônidas was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 84 goals were scored by 42 players, with two of them credited as own goals. ;7 goals *

;5 goals *

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 ...

Gyula Zsengellér Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A legend of Újpest FC, he is most famous for his part in taking the Hungarian national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that ...

Silvio Piola Silvio Piola (; 29 September 1913 – 4 October 1996) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set, and he is regarded as one of th ...

;4 goals *

Gino Colaussi Luigi Colausig (4 March 1914 – 27 July 1991), known as Gino Colaussi (), was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He was the first player to score multiple goals in a World Cup final. Club career Colaussi was born in Gradisca d'I ...

Ernest Wilimowski Ernest Otton Wilimowski (, born Ernst Otto Prandella; 23 June 1916 – 30 August 1997), nicknamed "Ezi", was a footballer who played as a forward. He ranks among the best goalscorers in the history of both the Poland national team and Polish c ...

;3 goals * Perácio * Romeu *

Héctor Socorro Héctor Socorro Varela (26 June 1912 – 1980) was a Cuban footballer. International career He represented Cuba at the 1938 World Cup in France, scoring three goals in the two matches against Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a co ...

Harry Andersson Harry Emanuel Andersson (7 March 1913 – 6 June 1996) was a Swedish Association football, football Striker (association football), striker. He played for IK Sleipner and was the top scorer of the 1934–35 Allsvenskan. Andersson also played for ...

* Arne Nyberg *

Gustav Wetterström Karl Gustav Evert Wetterström (15 October 1911 – 16 November 1991) was a Swedish footballer who played as a striker. He played for IK Sleipner and the Sweden national football team, for whom he appeared in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. He scored ...

* André Abegglen ;2 goals *

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 ...

Pál Titkos Pál Titkos (8 January 1908 – 8 October 1988) was a Hungarian footballer. He played for MTK Hungária FC and the Hungary national football team. He scored two goals in the 1938 FIFA World Cup, including one in the final itself. He coached ...

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 ...

;1 goal *

Henri Isemborghs Hendrik Victor "Rik" Isemborghs (30 January 1914 in Antwerp – 9 March 1973) was a Belgian footballer. He played for Royal Beerschot AC and the Belgium national football team. He appeared in the 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World ...

Roberto The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

* Tomás Fernández * José Magriñá *

Vlastimil Kopecký Vlastimil Kopecký (14 October 1912 – 30 July 1967) was a Czech football player. He played 26 games for Czechoslovakia, scoring eight goals. He was a participant in the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups. Club career In his country he played for S ...

Josef Košťálek Josef Košťálek (31 August 1909 in Kladno – 21 November 1971) was a Czech footballer. He played for Sparta Prague and the Czechoslovakia national football team, for whom he played 43 matches, scoring two goals, and appeared in the 1934 and ...

* Josef Zeman *

Oscar Heisserer Oscar Heisserer (18 July 1914 – 7 October 2004) was a French footballer. Born in Schirrhein, Alsace-Lorraine, he played for RC Strasbourg, and appeared for France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country pri ...

* Émile Veinante *

Josef Gauchel Josef "Jupp" Gauchel (11 September 1916 – 21 March 1963) was a German football striker. In the 1930s, he played for TuS Neuendorf (now TuS Koblenz) and was an active member of the squad. Between 1936 and 1942, he played 16 times for Germany, ...

Wilhelm Hahnemann Wilhelm 'Willi' Hahnemann (14 April 1914 – 23 August 1991) was an Austrian and Germany, German Association football, football player who started his career at VfB Admira Wacker Mödling, Admira Vienna. Club career In the 1935-36 Austrian leag ...

Vilmos Kohut Vilmos "Willy" Kohut (17 July 1906 – 18 February 1986) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker for Ferencvárosi TC, French team Olympique Marseille and the Hungary national team. Kohut got 25 caps and 14 goals for the Hun ...

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 ...

Pietro Ferraris Pietro Ferraris (; 15 February 1912 – 11 October 1991) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward. Throughout his career, he won 6 Serie A titles with Ambrosiana-Inter and Torino, and the 1938 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national foo ...

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 ...

Arne Brustad Arne Brustad (14 April 1912 – 22 August 1987) was a Norwegian footballer. He is regarded as one of the country's best players of all time. Career Brustad was an outside-left for Lyn. He won 33 caps for Norway, and scored 17 international goal ...

Fryderyk Scherfke Friedrich Egon (Fritz) Scherfke, (; 7 September 1909 – 15 September 1983) was an ethnic German who became an interwar football midfield player for the Poland national football team. He is still one of the all time leading goalscorers of all t ...

Iuliu Barátky Gyula Barátky ( ro, Iuliu Baratky; 14 May 1910 – 14 April 1962) was an ethnic Hungarian football player who represented both Hungary and Romania internationally. His preferred position was the half right. He played a total of 155 games in ...

Silviu Bindea Silviu Bindea (24 October 1912 – 6 March 1992) was a Romanian football player and coach. He represented Romania at the 1934 and 1938 World Cups as a forward, scoring twice in a first-round game in 1938. Honours Player ;Ripensia Timișoara *L ...

Tore Keller Tore Bertil Gottfrid Keller (4 January 1905 – 15 July 1988) was a Swedish footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the Sweden team that won the bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He played 305 matches for IK Sleipner and sc ...

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 ...

* Alfred Bickel * Eugen Walaschek ;1 own goal * Sven Jacobsson (playing against

) * Ernst Lörtscher (playing against

)

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. The rankings for the 1938 tournament were as follows:

Footnotes

References

External links

1938 FIFA World Cup
at FIFA.com

at RSSSF.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1938 Fifa World Cup FIFA World Cup tournaments International association football competitions hosted by France

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 ...

International sports boycotts June 1938 sports events