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1934 FIFA World Cup

Campionato Mondiale di Calcio
1934 FIFA World Cup official logo
Tournament details
Host country	Italy
Dates	27 May – 10 June
Teams	16 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)	8 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Italy (1st title)
Runner-up	Czechoslovakia
Third place	Germany
Fourth place	Austria
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	70 (4.12 per match)
Attendance	358,000 (21,059 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Oldřich Nejedlý (5 goals)

The 1934 FIFA World Cup, or the World's Cup^[1] as it was known then, was the second football World Cup staged, and hosted by Italy from 27 May to 10 June. Italy was chosen as hosts by FIFA at the Stockholm congress of October 1932. It was the first World Cup for which teams would have to qualify in order to take part. 32 nations entered the competition, and after qualification, 16 teams participated in the finals tournament. Italy became the second World Cup champions, beating Czechoslovakia in the final, 2–1.

Qualification and participants

Qualifying countries

After a lengthy decision-making process in which FIFA's executive committee met eight times,^[2] Italy was chosen as the host nation at a meeting in Stockholm on 9 October 1932.^[3] The decision was taken by the executive committee without a ballot of members.^[3] The Italian bid was chosen in preference to one from Sweden;^[4] the Italian government assigned a budget of 3.5 million lire to the tournament.^[5] 32 countries applied to enter the tournament, so qualifying matches were required to thin the field to 16.^[3] Even so, there were several notable absentees. Reigning World Cup holders Uruguay declined to participate, in protest at the refusal of several European countries to travel to South America for the previous World Cup, which Uruguay hosted in 1930.^[6] As a result, the 1934 World Cup is the only one in which the reigning champions did not participate.^[7] The Home Nations, in a period of self-imposed exile from FIFA, also refused to participate. Football Association committee member Charles Sutcliffe's view was typical of British attitudes: "the national associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland have quite enough to do in their own International Championship which seems to me a far better World Championship than the one to be staged in Rome".^[8]

Despite their role as hosts, Italy were still required to qualify, the first and only time the host nation was not granted automatic qualification.^[3] The qualifying matches were arranged on a geographical basis. Withdrawals by Chile and Peru meant Argentina and Brazil qualified without playing a single match.^[9]

Only ten of the 32 entrants, and four of the 16 qualified teams (Brazil, Argentina, United States and Egypt, the first African team to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament), were from outside Europe. The last place in the finals was contested between the United States and Mexico only three days before the start of the tournament in a one-off match in Rome, which the United States won.^[10]

Italy as hosts

Like the Berlin Olympics two years later, the 1934 World Cup was a high-profile instance of a sporting event being used for overt political gain. Benito Mussolini was keen to use the tournament as a means of promoting fascism.

The number of supporters travelling from other countries was higher than at any previous tournament, including 7,000 from the Netherlands and 10,000 each from Austria and Switzerland.^[11]

Eight cities hosted the tournament:

• Bologna, Stadio Littoriale
• Florence, Stadio Giovanni Berta
• Genoa, Stadio Luigi Ferraris
• Milan, Stadio San Siro
• Naples, Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli
• Rome, Stadio Nazionale PNF
• Trieste, Stadio Littorio
• Turin, Stadio Benito Mussolini

Summary

The group stage used in the first World Cup was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament. Hosts and favourites Italy won handsomely, defeating the USA 7–1; the New York Times correspondent wrote that "only the fine goal-tending of Julius Hjulian of Chicago kept the score as low as it was".^[12]

Eight European teams—Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland—advanced to the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, the first replayed match in World Cup history took place, after Italy and Spain drew 1-1 after extra time. The match was played in a highly aggressive manner. Rough play injured the Spanish goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora in the first match, leaving him unable to participate in the replay.^[13] Italy won the replay 1-0, their play so physical that at least three Spaniards had to depart the field with injuries.^[14] Italy then went on to beat Austria in the semifinals by the same score. Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia secured their place in the final by beating Germany 3-1.

The Stadium of the National Fascist Party was the venue for the final. With 70 minutes played, the Czechoslovakians were ahead 1-0. The Italians managed to score before the final whistle, and then added another goal in extra time to be crowned World Cup Winners.

Results

First Round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

27 May – Rome

Italy

7

31 May – Florence (replayed 1 June)

United States

1

Italy

1 (1)

27 May – Genoa

Spain

1 (0)

Spain

3

3 June – Milan

Brazil

1

Italy

1

27 May – Turin

Austria

0

Austria (a.e.t.)

3

31 May – Bologna

France

2

Austria

2

27 May – Naples

Hungary

1

Hungary

4

10 June – Rome

Egypt

2

Italy (a.e.t.)

2

27 May – Trieste

Czechoslovakia

1

Czechoslovakia

2

31 May – Turin

Romania

1

Czechoslovakia

3

27 May – Milan

Switzerland

2

Netherlands

2

3 June – Rome

Switzerland

3

Czechoslovakia

3

27 May – Florence

Germany

1

Third place

Germany

5

31 May – Milan

7 June – Naples

Belgium

2

Germany

2

Germany

3

27 May – Bologna

Sweden

1

Austria

2

Sweden

3

Argentina

2

First round

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Spain	3 – 1	Brazil	Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa Attendance: ~25,000 Referee: Alfred Birlem (Germany)
	Iraragorri  18' (pen.), 25'[15] Lángara  29'	(Report)	Leônidas  55'

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Hungary	4 – 2	Egypt	Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli, Naples Attendance: ~12,000 Referee: Rinaldo Barlassina (Italy)
	Teleki  11' Toldi  27', 61'[16] Vincze  53'	(Report)	Fawzi  31', 39'[17]

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Switzerland	3 – 2	Netherlands	Stadio San Siro, Milan Attendance: ~40,000 Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)
	Kielholz  7', 43'[18] Abegglen  69'	(Report)	Smit  19' Vente  84'

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Italy	7 – 1	United States	Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome Attendance: ~13,000 Referee: Rene Mercet (Switzerland)
	Schiavio  18', 29', 64' Orsi  20', 69' Ferrari  63' Meazza  90'[19]	(Report)	Donelli  57'

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Czechoslovakia	2 – 1	Romania	Stadio Littorio, Trieste Attendance: ~8,000 Referee: Jean Langenus (Belgium)
	Puč  50' Nejedlý  67'	(Report)	Dobay  11'

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Sweden	3 – 2	Argentina	Stadio Littorale, Bologna Attendance: ~15,000 Referee: Eugen Braun (Austria)
	Jonasson  9', 67' Kroon  79'	(Report)	Belis  4' Galateo  48'[20]

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Austria	3 – 2 (a.e.t.)	France	Stadio Benito Mussolini, Turin Attendance: ~20,000 Referee: Johannes van Moorsel (Netherlands)
	Sindelar  44' Schall  93' Bican  109'	(Report)	Nicolas  18' Verriest  116' (pen.)[21]

27 May 1934 16:30 CET	Germany	5 – 2	Belgium	Stadio Giovanni Berta, Florence Attendance: ~8,000 Referee: Francesco Mattea (Italy)
	Kobierski  25' Siffling  49' Conen  66', 70', 87'	(Report)	Voorhoof  29', 43'

Quarter-finals

31 May 1934 16:30 CET	Austria	2 – 1	Hungary	Stadio Littoriale, Bologna Attendance: ~25,000 Referee: Francesco Mattea (Italy)
	Horvath  8' Zischek  51'	(Report)	Sárosi  60' (pen.)

31 May 1934 16:30 CET	Italy	1 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Spain	Stadio Giovanni Berta, Florence Attendance: ~35,000 Referee: Louis Baert (Belgium)
	Ferrari  44'	(Report)	Regueiro  30'

Replay:

1 June 1934 16:30 CET	Italy	1 – 0	Spain	Stadio Giovanni Berta, Florence Attendance: ~45,000 Referee: Rene Mercet (Switzerland)
	Meazza  11'	(Report)

31 May 1934 16:30 CET	Germany	2 – 1	Sweden	Stadio San Siro, Milan Attendance: ~15,000 Referee: Rinaldo Barlassina (Italy)
	Hohmann  60', 63'	(Report)	Dunker  82'

31 May 1934 16:30 CET	Czechoslovakia	3 – 2	Switzerland	Stadio Benito Mussolini, Turin Attendance: ~12,000 Referee: Alois Beranek (Austria)
	Svoboda  24' Sobotka  49' Nejedlý  82'	(Report)	Kielholz  18' Jaeggi  78'

Semi-finals

3 June 1934 16:30 CET	Italy	1 – 0	Austria	Stadio San Siro, Milan Attendance: ~60,000 Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)
	Guaita  19'	(Report)

3 June 1934 16:30 CET	Czechoslovakia	3 – 1	Germany	Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome Attendance: ~10,000 Referee: Rinaldo Barlassina (Italy)
	Nejedlý  19', 71', 80'[22][23][24]	(Report)	Noack  62'[25]

Third place match

7 June 1934 18:00 CET	Germany	3 – 2	Austria	Stadio Giorgio Ascarelli, Naples Attendance: ~8,000 Referee: Albino Carraro (Italy)
	Lehner  1', 42'[26] Conen  27'[18]	(Report)	Horvath  28'[27] Sesta  54'[28]

Final

10 June 1934 17:30 CET	Italy	2 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Czechoslovakia	Stadio Nazionale PNF, Rome Attendance: ~45,000 Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden)
	Orsi  81' Schiavio  95'	(Report)	Puč  76'[29]

1934 FIFA World Cup Winners
Italy First title

Scorers

References

Bibliography

• Baker, William Joseph (1988). Sports in the Western World. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252060427.  
• Crouch, Terry (2002). The World Cup: The Complete History. London: Aurum. ISBN 1-85410-843-3.  
• Freddi, Cris (2006). Complete Book of the World Cup 2006. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-722916-X.  
• Glanville, Brian (2005). The Story of the World Cup. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22944-1.  
• Goldblatt, David (2007). The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-101582-8.  
• Hunt, Chris (2006). World Cup Stories: The history of the FIFA World Cup. Ware: Interact. ISBN 0-9549819-2-8.  
• Murray, Bill; Murray, William J. (1998). The World's Game: A History of Soccer. Champaign: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252067181.  
• Taylor, Matthew (2005). The leaguers: the making of professional football in England, 1900–1939. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9780853236399.  
• Wangerin, Dave (2006). Soccer in a Football World. London: WSC Books. ISBN 9780954013479.  
• Wilson, Jonathan (2008). Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics. London: Orion. ISBN 978-1-4091-0204-5.  

External links

• FIFA page for Italy 1934
• Details at RSSSF; note that they often disagree with FIFA on goal scorers and times
• History of the World Cup-1934

1934 FIFA World Cup finalists Champions Italy Runners-up Czechoslovakia Third place Germany Fourth place Austria Eliminated in quarter-finals Hungary · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland Eliminated in the first round Argentina · Belgium · Brazil · Egypt · France · Netherlands · Romania · United States

FIFA World Cup Tournaments Uruguay 1930 · Italy 1934 · France 1938 · Brazil 1950 · Switzerland 1954 · Sweden 1958 · Chile 1962 · England 1966 · Mexico 1970 · West Germany 1974 · Argentina 1978 · Spain 1982 · Mexico 1986 · Italy 1990 · United States 1994 · France 1998 · Korea/Japan 2002 · Germany 2006 · South Africa 2010 · Brazil 2014 · 2018 · 2022 Finals 1930 · 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 Squads 1930 · 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 Qualification 1934 · 1938 · 1950 · 1954 · 1958 · 1962 · 1966 · 1970 · 1974 · 1978 · 1982 · 1986 · 1990 · 1994 · 1998 · 2002 · 2006 · 2010 · 2014 Awards · Balls · Broadcasters · Goalscorers · Hat-tricks · History · Hosts · Mascots · Milestone goals · Qualification · Records · Team appearances · Trophy

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