The final tournament of the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

was a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

involving the 16 teams which qualified for the tournament. The tournament began with the round of 16 on 27 May and concluded with the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

on 10 June 1934.

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 ...

won the final 2–1 for their first World Cup title. ''All times are in

Central European Time Central European Time (CET) is a standard time which is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time offset from UTC can be written as UTC+01:00. It is used in most parts of Europe and in a few North African countries. CET ...

(

UTC+01 UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in: *Central European Time *West Africa Time *Western European Summer Time **Br ...

).''

Bracket

Round of 16

Spain vs Brazil

Brazil – who had only kept

Carvalho Leite Carlos Antônio Dobbert de Carvalho Leite (June 25, 1912 – July 19, 2004), best known as Carvalho Leite was a Brazilian Association footballer who played as a striker. Leite was born in Rio de Janeiro. In a career that spanned 15 years be ...

from the squad participating in the previous edition of the World Cup – were outclassed by Spain in the first half, who scored thrice. In the second half, Spanish players played more complacently.

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 ...

pulled one back for Brazil, then he scored again moments later, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Later,

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 ...

saved a penalty from

Waldemar de Brito Waldemar de Brito (, 17 May 1913 – 21 February 1979) was a Brazilian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward for several clubs in Brazil and Argentina, as well as for the Brazil national football ...

Hungary vs Egypt

Hungary scored twice in 31 minutes. Rather than being disheartened, Egypt showed a positive attitude and leveled with two goals from

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 ...

. In the second half, Hungary played better and dictated the tempo, scoring two more goals and deserving to reach the quarter-finals.

Switzerland vs Netherlands

Netherlands were narrowly defeated by Switzerland. Switzerland took an early lead thanks to

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 ...

finishing off a good piece of play from André Abegglen. Netherlands equalised with

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.Puck van Heel. Kielholz restored the Swiss advantage before half-time with a long-range effort. After the interval, the lead was extended thanks to Abegglen's goal. Netherlands frequently threatened the Swiss goal, scoring one from a free-kick, but Switzerland held on for the victory.

Italy vs United States

A superior Italian team had a comfortable victory against the United States, which had played against Mexico in the qualifying just three days earlier. Schiavio scored two goals in the first half, one of which was from more than 30 yards out. A good performance from the US goalkeeper Julius Hjulian did not prevent Italy scoring seven goals before the final whistle.

Czechoslovakia vs Romania

Romania were the underdogs, yet they went ahead after just 11 minutes with a close range goal from

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 ...

. After

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 ...

missed an opportunity to double Romania's advantage, Czechoslovakia scored twice and held on for the victory.

Sweden vs Argentina

Argentina proved a shadow of the team that was finalist in the 1930 World Cup. In fact, they presented a roster of newcomers as only Alfredo Devincenzi and

Arcadio López Arcadio Julio López (September 15, 1910 – April 12, 1972) was an Argentine football defender who played for Argentina in the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He played for many clubs, including Club Atlético Lanús (1931-1934 and 1942), Club Sportivo B ...

were previously capped by the team. Argentina took the lead with a 25-yard free kick by Ernesto Belis. A more organised Sweden team soon equalized with

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 ...

. Argentina showed an excellent attacking prowess and went ahead again with an individual effort from Alberto Galateo. However, an efficient Sweden team took advantage of the defensive weakness of Argentina to score twice before the final whistle and hold on for the victory.

Austria vs France

France took the lead with a goal from

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 ...

, who had suffered a head injury in the early stages of the match. Austria drew level on the brink of half time thanks to a goal from the star

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 ...

. An uneventful second half followed, so the match became the first in the history of World Cup to go to extra time. In the extra time, Austria prevailed and scored twice before France got a late second goal from the spot.

Germany vs Belgium

A clinical Germany took their chance to achieve a scoreline that did not reflect the balance of the game. Belgium closed the first half in the lead, however, Germany came out stronger from the dressing room and overturned the results. Edmund Conen scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

Quarter-finals

Austria vs Hungary

An extremely tough game prevented the two teams from truly showing the technical skills they possessed. Austria took an early lead with

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 ...

, who finished a well-organised team move. Austria doubled their lead in the early stages of the second half. Shortly after, Hungary got one back thanks to a penalty caused by Karl Sesta. The match hung in the balance until Hungary lost two players: Imre Markos was red carded and

István Avar István Avar (german: Stefan Auer, ro, Ștefan Auer) (28 May 1905 – 13 October 1977) was a footballer and manager of German descent who at various times competed for both Hungary and Romania. He played for Újpest FC, most famous for playing f ...

got injured. After that, Austria comfortably cruised to the victory.

Italy vs Spain

The first game between Italy and Spain was one of the most contentious and marred by several poor refereeing decisions, especially seeing Italy players challenging roughly the goalkeeper

. Spain went ahead with Luis Regueiro, but their lead did not last long. Italy equalized when

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, ...

knocked in a rebound, while Zamora was blocked off by Schiavio. The tie required a replay to settle.

Germany vs Sweden

Pouring rain influenced the match, which saw very few notable moments in the first half. In the second half, Ernst Andersson suffered a head injury, and Germany took the lead with

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 ...

while the Swedish player was off. Hohmann scored again three minutes later. Sweden managed to get a goal back, but their subsequent efforts were not enough and Germany progressed to the first of many semi-finals.

Czechoslovakia vs Switzerland

In a well-balanced game, Switzerland took the lead with Kielholz thanks to a counter-attacking play. Czechoslovakia equalized soon after with

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 ...

, who turned a chance created by

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 ...

into a goal. In the second half, although Switzerland dominated the ball possession, it was Czechoslovakia scoring twice and holding on for the victory.

Replay: Italy vs Spain

The replay was played the day after the first game. The exhaustion and the injuries resulting from the first tie forced Italy and Spain to make four and seven changes respectively. Most notably, the experienced Zamora had to give way to the uncapped goalkeeper Juan José Nogués. Once again, the game was marred by controversial refereeing decisions. In the first five minutes, Crisant Bosch was hacked down by

Eraldo Monzeglio Eraldo Monzeglio (; 5 June 1906 – 3 November 1981) was an Italian association football coach and player, who played as a defender, in the position of full-back. Monzeglio had a highly successful career as a footballer, although he also later ...

in the penalty box. The penalty was not given, but the tackle resulted in the injury of Bosch. With no substitutes available, Spain had to play the remainder of the game with 10 men.

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 ...

scored soon after from a corner kick situation. In the second half, two Spanish goals were disallowed: one for offside and the other for a foul on a Spanish player. The referee, René Mercet, was suspended in the aftermath of the tournament.

Semi-finals

Italy vs Austria

A torrential downpour hampered the Austrians' passing game while benefiting the more varied Italian game. Italy took the lead when a ball broke free from the Austrian goalkeeper because of an intervention by

. The ball then hit the post and was turned into goal by a perfectly positioned

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 ...

. In the second half, Austrian efforts to equalize were stopped by

Gianpiero Combi Gianpiero Combi (; 20 November 1902 – 12 August 1956) was an Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

, and Italy managed to hold on for the victory.

Czechoslovakia vs Germany

The game proved to be a clash of styles, with a more technical Czechoslovakia facing a physical German side. Czechoslovakia took the lead in the first half, but Germany drew level in the second half when

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 ...

could not keep out a tame shot by Rudolf Noack. The Germany goal stimulated the Czechoslovakian side. Czechoslovakia took advantage of their finesse and attacking prowess to score twice with

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 ...

, who completed a hat-trick.

Third place play-off

Both teams changed their usual line-ups, resting several players. Austrian players wore an unusual light blue jersey borrowed from

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

because of the clash of colours between the two traditional jerseys. Germany took the lead inside 25 seconds with the fastest goal of the tournament, scored by

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. ...

. They doubled the lead with Edmund Conen, but Austria got one back immediately after with

. Germany's third goal came after Karl Sesta attempted to sit on the ball to ridicule a German player; the ball was stolen by Conen, who crossed to Lehner. Sesta then scored a goal, but Germany held on for the victory.

Final

References

External links

1934 FIFA World
at FIFA.com

at RSSSF.com {{1934 FIFA World Cup

Final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...