1934_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

International football competition


The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup for which teams had to qualify, after the finalists in the inaugural 1930 World Cup had participated by invitation from FIFA. With 32 teams having entered the 1934 competition, FIFA organized qualification rounds to select 16 teams for the finals.[1] Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to earn its spot, the only time this has been the case.[1][lower-alpha 1] The previous champion Uruguay refused to defend its title because many European nations had declined to take part in the 1930 World Cup, held in Uruguay.[1][2]

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...

Of the 32 teams which entered,

  • Chile, Peru and Turkey all withdrew before qualifying began.[1]
  • Brazil and Argentina qualified without playing any matches owing to the withdrawal of their opponents.
  • The other 27 teams played at least one qualifying match.
  • Greece, Bulgaria and Poland withdrew partway through the planned schedule of qualifying matches.

The first match, between Sweden and Estonia, took place in Stockholm on 11 June 1933, with Swedish player Knut Kroon scoring the first goal.[lower-alpha 2] The last match was played in Rome only three days before the start of the tournament, as late entrant United States beat Mexico to become the final team to qualify.

Format

The 32 teams were divided into 12 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:

  • Groups 1 to 8 – Europe: 12 places, contested by 21 teams.
  • Groups 9, 10 and 11 – Americas: 3 places, contested by 8 teams.
  • Group 12 – Africa and Asia: 1 place, contested by 3 teams (including Turkey).

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

  • Group 1 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner would qualify.
  • Groups 2, 3 and 5 had 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
  • Group 4 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other twice. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Groups 6, 7 and 8 had 3 teams each. The teams played against each other once. The group winners and runners-up would qualify.
  • Groups 9 and 10 had 2 teams each. The group winners would qualify.
  • Group 11 had 4 teams. There would be three rounds of play:
    • First Round: Haiti played against Cuba thrice. The winner would advance to the Second Round.
    • Second Round: Mexico played against the winner of the First Round thrice at home. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
    • Final Round: USA played against the winner of the Second Round in a single match on neutral ground. The winner would qualify.
  • Group 12 had 3 teams. After Turkey withdrew before the matches began, the remaining 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

Key:

  • Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
  • Teams highlighted in orange qualified for the next phase of their group.

Groups

Group 1

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Sweden, 6–2 ...
Attendance: 8,123
Referee: Reidar Randers-Johansen (Norway)

More information Lithuania, 0–2 ...
Kariuomenės Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: August Silber (Estonia)

Estonia v Lithuania was not played since neither team could qualify with a win.[3]

Sweden qualified.

Group 2

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Spain, 9–0 ...
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium)

More information Portugal, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium)

11–1 on aggregate; Spain qualified.

Group 3

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Italy, 4–0 ...
Attendance: 20,000

Italy qualified, as Greece declined to play the second match.[1][2]

Group 4

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Bulgaria, 1–4 ...
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania)

More information Austria, 6–1 ...

More information Hungary, 4–1 ...
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Hans Frankenstein (Austria)

Bulgaria withdrew, and the remaining matches were not played since Hungary and Austria were already assured of the top two spots.[1]

Hungary and Austria qualified.

Group 5

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Poland, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania)

More information Czechoslovakia, 2–0 awarded ...

Czechoslovakia qualified.[4]

Group 6

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Yugoslavia, 2–2 ...
Stadion BSK, Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Attendance: 17,000

More information Switzerland, 2–2 ...
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Hans Boekmann (Netherlands)

More information Romania, 2–1 ...
Attendance: 20,000

Romania and Switzerland qualified.

Group 7

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Irish Free State, 4–4 ...
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Thomas Crewe (England)

More information Netherlands, 5–2 ...

More information Belgium, 2–4 ...
Attendance: 33,000

Netherlands and Belgium qualified (Belgium finished above the Irish Free State on goal average).[1]

Group 8

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Luxembourg, 1–9 ...
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Jan de Wolf (Netherlands)

More information Luxembourg, 1–6 ...
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Marc Turfkruyer (Belgium)

Germany v France was not played since both teams were already assured of the top two spots.[3]

Germany and France qualified.

Group 9

More information Rank, Team ...

Peru withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.[1]

Group 10

More information Rank, Team ...

Chile withdrew, so Argentina qualified automatically.[1]

Group 11

First round

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Haiti, 1–3 ...
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Williams (United States)

More information Haiti, 1–1 ...
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Williams (United States)

More information Haiti, 0–6 ...
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: John Williams (United States)

10–2 on aggregate; Cuba advanced to the Second Round.

Second round

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Mexico, 3–2 ...

More information Mexico, 5–0 ...

More information Mexico, 4–1 ...

12–3 on aggregate; Mexico advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

The match to decide whether the United States or Mexico would qualify was played only three days before the start of the final tournament, as the United States submitted their entry too late. Thus, the match was played in Italy, so that the winner would effectively stay in the country for the tournament.[1]

More information Rank, Team ...
More information United States, 4–2 ...
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Yossouf Mohammed (Egypt)

United States qualified.

Group 12

The Palestine football team consisted exclusively of Jewish and British players.[8]

FIFA states, in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team, that the 'Palestine team' that participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team, and as such bears no relation to the modern-day Palestine national team.[9] However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[10]

More information Rank, Team ...
More information Egypt, 7–1 ...
British Army Ground, Cairo, Egypt
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Stanley Wells (England)

More information Palestine, British Mandate, 1–4 ...
Attendance: 5,000 / 8,000
Referee: Frederick Goodsby (England)

11–2 on aggregate; Egypt qualified.

Qualified teams

Only six of the teams qualifying for the final competition – Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Romania, and the USA – had already attended the World Cup in 1930.[1]

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification participants
Qualifying countries
More information Team, Finals Appearance ...

Goalscorers

7 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal

Footnotes

  1. 2010 host South Africa and 2022 host Qatar also participated in the respective World Cup qualification because those tournaments doubled as continental qualifiers, but those teams were guaranteed spots in the World Cups and were only vying for places in the continental finals.
  2. Some sources report it as an own goal by Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner instead.
  3. Poland were unable to travel to Prague for the second match as the Polish government denied the team visas for political reasons.[4] The match was awarded as 2–0 to Czechoslovakia.[5]
  4. FIFA reports a 2–2 draw.[5] According to some sources FIFA later awarded the match as 2–0 to Switzerland as a result of Romania having fielded ineligible player Iuliu Baratky.[6][7]

References

  1. "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. Hart, Jim (27 July 2016). "When the World Cup rolled into fascist Italy in 1934". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  3. "FIFA World Cup, 1934 - qualifying". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. "1934 FIFA World Cup Italy - Qualifiers - Europe". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. Seal, Brian (29 May 2015). "29 October 1933 – When Crossing The Border Crosses The Line". This Day In Football History. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  6. Rake, Julian (24 October 2008). "A long wait for a home game". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition (see page 43)" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010. The modern Palestine, an Arab State, has no connection with the Jewish delegation from Palestine (at the time a British Mandate) who were the first Jewish national team, and as such the forerunner of Israel.
  8. "Palestine (PLE)". FIFA.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2011.

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