1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates11 June 1933 – 24 May 1934
Teams29
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored141 (5.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)Spain Isidro Lángara
Cuba Mario López
Mexico Dionisio Mejía
(7 goals each)

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. Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to earn its spot, the only time this has been the case. 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.

Of the 32 teams which entered,

The first match, between Sweden and Estonia, took place in Stockholm on 11 June 1933, with Swedish player Knut Kroon scoring the first goal. 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:

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

Key:

Groups

Group 1

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Sweden 2 2 0 0 8 2 4.00 4
2  Estonia 1 0 0 1 2 6 0.33 0
3  Lithuania 1 0 0 1 0 2 0.00 0
11 June 1933
Sweden 6–2 Estonia
Kroon 7'
L. Bunke 10'
Ericsson 13', 70'
T. Bunke 43'
Andersson 79' (pen)		 Report Kass 47'
Kuremaa 61'
Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, SwedenAttendance: 8,123Referee: Reidar Randers-Johansen (Norway) 29 June 1933
Lithuania 0–2 Sweden
Report Hansson 55', 65'
Kariuomenės Stadionas, Kaunas, LithuaniaAttendance: 6,000Referee: August Silber (Estonia)

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

Sweden qualified.

Group 2

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Spain 2 2 0 0 11 1 11.0 4
2  Portugal 2 0 0 2 1 11 0.09 0
11 March 1934
Spain 9–0 Portugal
González 3'
Lángara 13', 14' (pen.), 46', 71', 85'
Regueiro 65', 70'
Ventolrà 68'		 Report
Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, SpainAttendance: 50,000Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium) 18 March 1934
Portugal 1–2 Spain
Silva 10' Report Lángara 12', 25'
Estádio do Lumiar, Lisbon, PortugalAttendance: 35,000Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium)

11–1 on aggregate; Spain qualified.

Group 3

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Italy 1 1 0 0 4 0 4.00 2
2  Greece 1 0 0 1 0 4 0.00 0
25 March 1934
Italy 4–0 Greece
Guarisi 40'
Meazza 44', 71'
Ferrari 69'		 Report
San Siro, Milan, ItalyAttendance: 20,000Referee: René Mercet (Switzerland)

Italy qualified, as Greece declined to play the second match.

Group 4

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Hungary 2 2 0 0 8 2 4.00 4
2  Austria 1 1 0 0 6 1 6.00 2
3  Bulgaria 3 0 0 3 3 14 0.21 0
25 March 1934
Bulgaria 1–4 Hungary
Baikushev 27' Report Sárosi 29'
Szabó 61' (pen.)
Toldi 88'
Markos 89'
A.S. 23 Stadium, Sofia, BulgariaAttendance: 10,000Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania) 25 April 1934
Austria 6–1 Bulgaria
Horvath 19', 22', 33'
Zischek 59'
Viertl 62'
Sindelar 67'		 Report Lozanov 66'
Praterstadion, Vienna, AustriaAttendance: 25,000Referee: František Cejnar (Czechoslovakia) 29 April 1934
Hungary 4–1 Bulgaria
Szabó 9', 58'
Solti 60', 73'		 Report Todorov 61'
Hungária-körút, Budapest, HungaryAttendance: 10,000Referee: Hans Frankenstein (Austria)

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

Hungary and Austria qualified.

Group 5

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Czechoslovakia 2 2 0 0 4 1 4.00 4
2  Poland 2 0 0 2 1 4 0.25 0
15 October 1933
Poland 1–2 Czechoslovakia
Martyna 52' (pen) Report Silný 33'
Pelcner 77'
Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, PolandAttendance: 16,000Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania) 15 April 1934
Czechoslovakia 2–0
awarded		 Poland
Prague, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 6

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Romania 2 1 1 0 4 3 1.33 3
2   Switzerland 2 0 2 0 4 4 1.00 2
3  Yugoslavia 2 0 1 1 3 4 0.75 1
24 September 1933
Yugoslavia 2–2  Switzerland
Kragić 50'
Marjanović 61'		 Report Frigerio 76'
Jäggi 80'
Stadion BSK, Belgrade, YugoslaviaAttendance: 17,000Referee: Alois Beranek (Austria) 29 October 1933
Switzerland 2–2 Romania
Hufschmid 75'
Hochstrasser 80' (pen.)		 Report Sepi 18'
Dobay 67'
Wankdorf Stadion, Bern, SwitzerlandAttendance: 15,000Referee: Hans Boekmann (Netherlands) 29 April 1934
Romania 2–1 Yugoslavia
Schwartz 38'
Dobay 74'		 Report Kragić 71'
Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, RomaniaAttendance: 20,000Referee: John Langenus (Belgium)

Romania and Switzerland qualified.

Group 7

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Netherlands 2 2 0 0 9 4 2.25 4
2  Belgium 2 0 1 1 6 8 0.75 1
3  Irish Free State 2 0 1 1 6 9 0.67 1
25 February 1934
Irish Free State 4–4 Belgium
Moore 27', 48', 56', 75' Report Capelle 15'
S. Vanden Eynde 30'
F. Vanden Eynde 47', 60'
Dalymount Park, Dublin, Irish Free StateAttendance: 28,000Referee: Thomas Crewe (England) 8 April 1934
Netherlands 5–2 Irish Free State
Smit 41', 85'
Bakhuys 67', 78'
Vente 83'		 Report Squires 44'
Moore 57'
Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, NetherlandsAttendance: 38,000Referee: Otto Ohlsson (Sweden) 29 April 1934
Belgium 2–4 Netherlands
Grimmonprez 51'
Voorhoof 71'		 Report Smit 60'
Bakhuys 62', 84'
Vente 64'
Bosuil Stadion, Antwerp, BelgiumAttendance: 33,000Referee: Stanley Rous (England)

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

Group 8

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Germany 1 1 0 0 9 1 9.00 2
2  France 1 1 0 0 6 1 6.00 2
3  Luxembourg 2 0 0 2 2 15 0.13 0
11 March 1934
Luxembourg 1–9 Germany
Mengel 27' Report
Report		 Rasselnberg 2', 35', 57', 89'
Wigold 12'
Albrecht 24'
Hohmann 30', 52', 53'
Stade Municipal, Luxembourg, LuxembourgAttendance: 16,000Referee: Jan de Wolf (Netherlands) 15 April 1934
Luxembourg 1–6 France
Speicher 47' Report Aston 3'
Nicolas 26', 67', 85', 89' (pen.)
Liberati 80'
Stade Municipal, Luxembourg, LuxembourgAttendance: 18,000Referee: Marc Turfkruyer (Belgium)

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

Germany and France qualified.

Group 9

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Brazil
2  Peru Withdrew

Peru withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

Group 10

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Argentina
2  Chile Withdrew

Chile withdrew, so Argentina qualified automatically.

Group 11

First round
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Cuba 3 2 1 0 10 2 5.00 5
2  Haiti 3 0 1 2 2 10 0.20 1
28 January 193418:00 EST (UTC−05:00)
Haiti 1–3 Cuba
St. Fort 85' (pen.) Report López 20' (pen.)
H. Socorro 61'
Martínez 64'
Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, HaitiAttendance: 6,000Referee: John Williams (United States) 1 February 193418:00 EST (UTC−05:00)
Haiti 1–1 Cuba
St. Fort 25' (pen.) Report López 85'
Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, HaitiAttendance: 6,000Referee: John Williams (United States) 4 February 193418:00 EST (UTC−05:00)
Haiti 0–6 Cuba
Report H. Socorro 5'
López 18', 86'
F. Socorro 37'
Ferrer 62'
Soto 78'
Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, HaitiAttendance: 5,000Referee: John Williams (United States)

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

Second round
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Mexico 3 3 0 0 12 3 4.00 6
2  Cuba 3 0 0 3 3 12 0.25 0
4 March 1934
Mexico 3–2 Cuba
Mejía 12', 14', 16' Report López 40', 63'
Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, MexicoAttendance: 20,000Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States) 11 March 1934
Mexico 5–0 Cuba
Sota 24'
Mejía 31', 40', 79'
Rosas 72'		 Report
Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, MexicoAttendance: 22,000Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States) 18 March 1934
Mexico 4–1 Cuba
Alonso 32', 75'
Ruvalcaba 41'
Marcos 55'		 Report López 15'
Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, MexicoAttendance: 10,000Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States)

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.

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  United States 1 1 0 0 4 2 2.00 2
2  Mexico 1 0 0 1 2 4 0.50 0
24 May 1934
United States 4–2 Mexico
Donelli 28', 32', 74', 87' Report Alonso 25'
Mejía 75'
Stadio Nazionale, Rome, ItalyAttendance: 12,000Referee: Yossouf Mohammed (Egypt)

United States qualified.

Group 12

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

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. However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Egypt 2 2 0 0 11 2 5.50 4
2  Palestine, British Mandate 2 0 0 2 2 11 0.18 0
—  Turkey withdrew
16 March 1934
Egypt 7–1 Palestine, British Mandate
El-Tetsh 11', 35', 51'
Taha 21', 79'
Latif 43', 87'		 Report
Report		 Nudelmann 61'
British Army Ground, Cairo, EgyptAttendance: 13,000Referee: Stanley Wells (England) 6 April 1934
Palestine, British Mandate 1–4 Egypt
Sukenik 54' Report
Report		 Latif 2'
El-Tetsh 7', 22'
Fawzi 35'
Palms Ground, Tel Aviv, Mandatory PalestineAttendance: 5,000 / 8,000Referee: 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.

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification participants Qualifying countries
Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance
 Argentina 2nd 2 1930
 Austria 1st 1 –
 Belgium 2nd 2 1930
 Brazil 2nd 2 1930
 Czechoslovakia 1st 1 –
 Egypt 1st 1 –
 France 2nd 2 1930
 Germany 1st 1 –
 Hungary 1st 1 –
 Italy 1st 1 –
 Netherlands 1st 1 –
 Romania 2nd 2 1930
 Spain 1st 1 –
 Sweden 1st 1 –
  Switzerland 1st 1 –
 United States 2nd 2 1930

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. The match was awarded as 2–0 to Czechoslovakia.
  4. ^ FIFA reports a 2–2 draw. 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.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup, 1934 - qualifying". 11v11.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b "World Cup 1934 - Qualifying". RSSSF.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "1934 FIFA World Cup Italy - Qualifiers - Europe". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  6. ^ "World Cup 1934 Qualifying". RSSSF.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Palestine (PLE)". FIFA.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2011.

External links

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  • 1 Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host the inaugural games
  • 2 There was no qualification for the 1930 World Cup as places were given by invitation only.
  • 3 No final held; the article is about the decisive match of the final group stage.