1934 FIFA World Cup qualification
International football competition
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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][a] 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]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 11 June 1933 â 24 May 1934 |
| Teams | 29 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 141 (5.42 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Isidro Lángara Mario López Dionisio MejÃa(7 goals each) |
1938 â | |
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.[b] 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 â Europe: 12 places, contested by 21 teams.
- Groups 9, 10 and 11 â Americas: 3 places, contested by 8 teams.
- Group 12 â 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
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sweden |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4.000 | 4 | Final tournament |
| 2 |  Estonia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0.333 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Lithuania |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.500 | 0 |
Estonia v Lithuania was not played since neither team could qualify with a win.[3]
Sweden qualified.
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 11.000 | 4 | Final tournament |
| 2 |  Portugal |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0.091 | 0 |
Spain qualified.
Group 3
Italy qualified, as Greece declined to play the second match.[1][2]
Group 4
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
| 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 |
| Czechoslovakia | 2â0 awarded[c] | Poland |
|---|---|---|
Czechoslovakia qualified.[4]
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 |
| Yugoslavia | 2â2 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
KragiÄ  50'MarjanoviÄ 61' |
Report | Frigerio 76' Jäggi 80' |
| Switzerland | 2â2[d] | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| Hufschmid 75' Hochstrasser 80' (pen.) |
Report | Sepi 18' Dobay 67' |
Romania and Switzerland qualified.
Group 7
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 2.250 | 4 | Final tournament |
| 2 |  Belgium |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0.750 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Irish Free State |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0.667 | 1 |
| Irish Free State | 4â4 | Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Moore 27', 48', 56', 75' |
Report | Capelle 15' S. Vanden Eynde 30'F. Vanden Eynde 47', 60' |
| Netherlands | 5â2 | Irish Free State |
|---|---|---|
| Smit 41', 85' Bakhuys 67', 78'Vente 83' |
Report | Squires 44' Moore 57' |
| Belgium | 2â4 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Grimmonprez 51' Voorhoof 71' |
Report | Smit 60' Bakhuys 62', 84'Vente 64' |
Netherlands and Belgium qualified (Belgium finished above the Irish Free State on goal average).[1]
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 |
| Luxembourg | 1â9 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Mengel 27' |
Report Report |
Rasselnberg 2', 35', 57', 89' Wigold 12'Albrecht 24'Hohmann 30', 52', 53' |
Germany v France was not played since both teams were already assured of the top two spots.[3]
Germany and France qualified.
Group 9
Peru withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.[1]
Group 10
Chile withdrew, so Argentina qualified automatically.[1]
Group 11
First round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuba |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 5.000 | 5 | Advance to second round |
| 2 |  Haiti |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0.200 | 1 |
| Haiti | 0â6 | Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Report | H. Socorro 5' López 18', 86'F. Socorro 37'Ferrer 62'Soto 78' |
Cuba advanced to the Second Round.
Second round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 4.000 | 6 | Advance to final round |
| 2 | Cuba |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0.250 | 0 |
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]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2.000 | 2 | Final tournament |
| 2 | Mexico |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0.500 | 0 |
| United States | 4â2 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Donelli 28', 32', 74', 87' |
Report | Alonso 25' MejÃa 75' |
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]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Egypt |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5.500 | 4 | Final tournament |
| 2 |  Palestine, British Mandate |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0.182 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Turkey |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | â | 0 | Withdrew |
11â2 on aggregate; Egypt qualified.
Qualified teams
Only six of the teams qualifying for the final competition â Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Romania, and the USA â had already attended the World Cup in 1930.[1]
| Team | Finals Appearance | Streak | Last Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
 Austria |
1st | 1 | â |
| Belgium |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
 Brazil |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
| Czechoslovakia |
1st | 1 | â |
| Egypt |
1st | 1 | â |
| France |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
| Germany |
1st | 1 | â |
 Hungary |
1st | 1 | â |
 Italy |
1st | 1 | â |
| Netherlands |
1st | 1 | â |
| Romania |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
| Spain |
1st | 1 | â |
| Sweden |
1st | 1 | â |
| Switzerland |
1st | 1 | â |
| United States |
2nd | 2 | 1930 |
Goalscorers
- 7 goals
Mario López
Dionisio MejÃa
Isidro Lángara
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
Johann Horvath
Mohamed Latif
Karl Hohmann
Gábor P. Szabó- Manuel Alonso
Kick Smit
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Matthias Sindelar
- Rudolf Viertl
- Karl Zischek
Jean Capelle- Stan Vanden Eynde
- Laurent Grimmonprez
- Bernard Voorhoof
Dimitar Baikushev- Mihail Lozanov
- Vladimir Todorov
- Enrique Ferrer
- Ãngel MartÃnez
- Francisco Socorro
- Salvador Soto
František Pelcner- Josef Silný
- Abdulrahman Fawzi
Leonhard Kass- Richard Kuremaa
Alfred Aston- Ernest Libérati
- Ernst Albrecht
- Willi Wigold
- Imre Markos
- György Sárosi
- Géza Toldi
Johnny Squires
Giovanni Ferrari- Anfilogino Guarisi
Ernest Mengel- Théophile Speicher
Avraham Nudelmann- Yohanan Sukenik
- Fernando Marcos
- Felipe Rosas
- José Ruvalcaba
- Jorge Sota
Henryk Martyna
VÃtor Silva
Sándor Schwartz- GraÈian Sepi
- Eduardo González
- Martà VentolrÃ
Sven Andersson- Lennart Bunke
- Torsten Bunke
- Knut Kroon
Alessandro Frigerio- Erwin Hochsträsser
- Ernst Hufschmid
- Willy Jäggi
Blagoje MarjanoviÄ
Footnotes
- 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.
- Some sources report it as an own goal by Estonian goalkeeper Evald Tipner instead.
- 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 2â0 to Czechoslovakia.[5]
- FIFA reports a 2â2 draw.[5] According to some sources FIFA later awarded the match as 2â0 to Switzerland as a result of Romania having fielded ineligible player Iuliu Baratky.[6][7] Despite this, both Switzerland and Romania still qualified with 3 and 2 points respectively, which keep them in top two of the group.