A total of 37 teams entered the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. For the first time the title holders and the host country were given automatic qualification. Therefore, France, as the hosts, and Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition. Due to the Spanish Civil War, Spain withdrew from the competition. The remaining 34 teams were divided into 12 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows: *Groups 1 to 9 – Europe: ''11 places'', contested by 23 teams (including Egypt and

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

). *Groups 10 and 11 –

The Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

: ''2 places'', contested by 9 teams. *Group 12 – Asia: ''1 place'', contested by 2 teams. However, due to the withdrawal of Austria after qualifying (they had been annexed by Germany), only 15 teams actually competed in the final tournament. FIFA did not offer participation to the runner-up of the group that Austria had played in,

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 ...

. A total of 21 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 22 qualifying matches were played, and 96 goals were scored (an average of 4.36 per match).

Format

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows: *Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify. *Groups 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 had 2 teams each. The teams, except in Group 5, played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. In Group 5, Switzerland and Portugal were to play only one match on a neutral ground with the winner to qualify. *Groups 6 and 8 had 3 teams each. The strongest team of each group was seeded. There would be two rounds of play: ** First Round: The seeded team received a bye and advanced to the Final Round directly. The remaining 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round. ** Final Round: The seeded team played against the winner of the First Round at home. The winner would qualify. *Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify. *Group 10 had 2 teams. The group winner would qualify. *Group 11 had 7 teams. The group winner would qualify. *Group 12 had 2 teams. The group winner would qualify. Key: *Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals. *Teams highlighted in Orange qualified for the final phase of their group.

Groups

Group 1

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Germany and Sweden qualified.

Group 2

---- Norway qualified.

Group 3

---- Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average, and thus qualified.

Group 4

Egypt were to play Romania on 17 December 1937. However, Egypt withdrew from the competition after Egyptian officials objected to playing on this date since it was in the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, Romania qualified after Egypt invited Austrian club side First Vienna to play the friendly match against the national team.

Group 5

Switzerland qualified.

Group 6

First round

---- Greece qualified for the final round.

Final round

Hungary qualified.

Group 7

---- Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 8

First round

---- Latvia qualified for the final round.

Final round

Austria qualified, but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss.

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 ...

offered the place to England (winner of the

1937–38 British Home Championship The 1937–38 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations during the 1937–38 season. The competition was won by England after they defeated Ireland and Wales in their opening games. Even though Sco ...

), who had opted not to enter the competition, but they declined the offer; FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.

Group 9

---- ---- Netherlands and Belgium qualified.

Group 10

Argentina withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

Group 11

First round

Costa Rica, Dutch Guiana, El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia and the United States all withdrew, so Cuba qualified automatically for the second round.

Second round

All other teams than Cuba had withdrawn from competition, so thus qualified automatically for the finals.

Group 12

Japan withdrew, so the Dutch East Indies qualified automatically.

Qualified teams

Qualification for the 1938 FIFA World Cup

* withdrew after qualifying due to the Anschluss. *(h) – qualified automatically as hosts *(c) – qualified automatically as defending champions

Goalscorers

;5 goals *

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 ...

* Fricis Kaņeps ;4 goals *

Reidar Kvammen Reidar Kvammen (23 July 1914 – 27 October 1998) was a Norwegian football (soccer), footballer. Kvammen was an inside-forward who played his entire career for Viking F.K., Viking, and is regarded as one of Norway's greatest footballers of al ...

;3 goals *

Ladislav Šimůnek Ladislav Šimůnek (4 October 1916 – 7 December 1969) was a Czech football player. He was a devoted player of SK Slavia Praha. He played for the Czechoslovakia national team (4 matches/3 goals) and was a participant at the 1938 FIFA World Cu ...

* Ernst Lehner * Kleanthis Vikelidis *

József Nemes József Nemes (12 January 1914 – 17 October 1987) was a Hungarian footballer. He played in one match for the Hungary national football team in 1938. He was also named in Hungary's squad for the Group 6 qualification tournament for the 193 ...

Iļja Vestermans Iļja Vestermans (28 September 1915 – 2005) was a Latvian football forward of Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins an ...

* Piet de Boer * Lennart Bunke * Gustav Wetterström ;2 goals *

Oldřich Nejedlý Oldřich Nejedlý (26 December 1909 – 11 June 1990) was a Czechs, Czech Association football, footballer, who spent his entire professional career at Sparta Prague as an Forward (association football)#Inside forward, inside-forward. He is cons ...

* Georg Siimenson *

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, ...

* Helmut Schön *

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 ...

* Pál Titkos * Jimmy Dunne * Vaclavs Borduško * Jonas Paulionis *

Alf Martinsen Alf "Kaka" Martinsen (29 December 1911 – 23 August 1988) was a Norwegian football (soccer) player. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he was a member of the Norwegian team, which won the bronze medal in the football tournament. He also took part ...

* Leonard Piontek *

Gustaf Josefsson Karl Gustaf Ragnvald "Niggern" Josefsson-Reinsell (16 February 1916 – 16 April 1983) was a Swedish footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was a part of the AIK team that won the 1936–37 Allsvensk ...

;1 goal *

Franz Binder Franz "Bimbo" Binder (1 December 1911 – 24 April 1989) was an Austrian football player and coach who played as a forward. Internationally he represented the Austria national football team and the Germany national football team during the Ansch ...

Camillo Jerusalem Camillo Jerusalem (3 April 1914 – 1 August 1979) was an Austrian football player. He played for Austria Wien, Sochaux, Roubaix-Tourcoing, Colmar, Besançon and Servette. He also coached Grenchen Grenchen (french: Granges) is a municipality in ...

Raymond Braine Raymond Ernest Michel Braine (28 April 1907 – 24 December 1978) was a Belgian football striker. He was also the first Belgian professional player, when he obtained a transfer to Sparta Prague in 1930. Braine played in 54 matches for the Be ...

Hendrik 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 ...

Bernard Voorhoof Bernard Voorhoof (10 May 1910 – 18 February 1974) was a Belgian footballer, for 34 years the Belgium national team top scorer with 30 goals in 61 matches. He was joined by Paul Van Himst in 1972 who needed 81 matches to score the same number ...

François Devries François De Vries , also named ''Sooi'' or ''Frans'' (born 21 August 1913 in Antwerp — died 17 February 1972) was a Belgian footballer. Biography He played for Royal Antwerp FC as a striker. He played with the Belgium team at the World ...

* Georgi Panchediev * Josef Ludl *

Jan Říha Jan Říha (11 November 1915 – 15 December 1995) was a Czech football player. He played for Czechoslovakia, for which he played 25 matches and scored 9 goals. Profile He was a participant in the 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup ...

* Richard Kuremaa * Heinrich Uukkivi * Fritz Szepan * Adolf Urban * Lefteris Makris * Antonis Migiakis *

Jenő Vincze Jenő Vincze ''( sr, Eugen Vince)'' (20 November 1908 – 20 November 1988) was a Hungarians, Hungarian footballer and a legend of Újpest FC, most famous for playing for the Hungary national football team, Hungarian national team in the 1938 FI ...

Harry Duggan Henry Anthony Duggan (1903–1968) was an Irish footballer. Described as a talented and speedy right winger, he played for both Leeds United and Newport County. Duggan was a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams – the F ...

Matty Geoghegan Matthew Geoghegan was a Republic of Ireland international footballer. Geoghegan was capped twice for the Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisti ...

* Kevin O'Flanagan *

Juozas Gudelis Juozas is a Lithuanian masculine given name, a shortened version of Juozapas, which in turn is the equivalent of English ''Joseph''. List of people named Juozas * Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas (1859–1922), Lithuanian scientific writer and book smugg ...

Gusty Kemp Gustave "Gusty" Kemp (24 February 1917 – 14 April 1948) was a Luxembourger footballer who played as a midfielder for the Luxembourg national football team The Luxembourg national football team (nicknamed the ''Red Lions''; lb, Lëtzeb ...

* Camille Libar *

Peri Neufeld Franz "Peri" Neufeld ( he, פרי נויפלד; 1 July 1913 – 17 January 1982), also known as Kfir Neufeld ( he, כפורי נויפלד, links=no), was an Israeli footballer who played as a forward. At club level, he played for Tersana in Egy ...

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.Henk van Spaandonck Henricus Josephus van Spaandonck (25 June 1913 – 31 July 1982) was a Dutch football forward who played for the Netherlands in the 1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial interna ...

Ernst Wilimowski Ernest Otton Wilimowski (, born Ernst Otto Prandella; 23 June 1916 – 30 August 1997), nicknamed "Ezi", was a Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He ranks among the best goalscorers in the h ...

Jerzy Wostal Jerzy Adolf Wostal (6 December 1914– 1991) was a Polish association football player, one of the best forwards of interwar Poland. He was born in 1914 in Königshütte (later Chorzów). In the late 1930s Wostal played for AKS Chorzów. The ...

* Fernando Peyroteo * Sven Jonasson * Erik Persson *

Kurt Svanström Kurt Svanström (24 March 1915 – 16 January 1996) was a Swedish football midfielder who played for Sweden in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

Georges Aeby Georges Aeby (21 September 1913 – 15 December 1999) was a Swiss footballer who played for Switzerland in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.Lauro Amadò * Blagoje Marjanović

Notes

* It was originally intended that the World Cup would be held alternately between the continents of South America and Europe. However Jules Rimet, the creator of the World Cup, convinced

to hold the competition in France, his home country. Because of this controversial move, many American countries, including Argentina (the most likely hosts if the event was held in South America), Chile, Paraguay, Peru,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, Mexico,

Dutch Guiana Dutch Guiana may refer to: * Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America * Surinam (Dutch colony), commonly called "Dutch Guiana" after the loss of other large colonies in the area ...

, Uruguay, and the United States, all withdrew or refused to enter.. Brazil and Cuba were the only countries from the Americas to enter qualification and thus qualified for the World Cup by default.

References

External links

FIFA World Cup Official Site - 1938 World Cup Qualification
{{FIFA World Cup qualification Qualification FIFA World Cup qualification

Football 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 has ...