1938 FIFA World Cup qualification

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A total of 37 teams entered the 1938 FIFA World Cup 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 had to withdraw 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).
  • Group 10 - South America: 1 place, contested by 2 teams.
  • Group 11 - North, Central America and Caribbean: 1 place, contested by 7 teams (including Colombia).
  • 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.

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).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.


Contents

[edit] Groups

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

  • Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams would play against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
  • Groups 2, 3, 4 and 7 had 2 teams each. The teams would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
  • Group 5: had 2 teams. The teams would play against each other once on neutral ground. The group winner would 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 would play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
    • Final Round: The seeded team would play against the winner of the First Round at home. The winner would qualify.
  • Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams would play 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.

[edit] Group 1

June 16, 1937, Stockholm, Sweden - Sweden 4 - 0 Finland

June 20, 1937, Stockholm, Sweden - Sweden 7 - 2 Estonia

June 29, 1937, Helsinki, Finland - Finland 0 - 2 Germany

August 19, 1937, Turku, Finland - Finland 0 - 1 Estonia

August 29, 1937, Königsberg, Germany - Germany 4 - 1 Estonia

November 21, 1937, Hamburg, Germany - Germany 5 - 0 Sweden

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1 Germany 6 3 3 0 0 11 1
2 Sweden 4 3 2 0 1 11 7
3 Estonia 2 3 1 0 2 4 11
4 Finland 0 3 0 0 3 0 7

Germany and Sweden qualified.

[edit] Group 2

October 10, 1937, Oslo, Norway - Norway 3 - 2 Irish Free State

November 7, 1937, Dublin, Irish Free State - Irish Free State 3 - 3 Norway

Norway qualified.

[edit] Group 3

October 10, 1937, Warsaw, Poland - Poland 4 - 0 Yugoslavia

April 3, 1938, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 1 - 0 Poland

Poland qualified.

[edit] Group 4

Egypt withdrew, so Romania qualified automatically.

[edit] Group 5

May 1, 1938, Milan, Italy - Switzerland 2 - 1 Portugal

Switzerland qualified.

[edit] Group 6

[edit] First round

January 22, 1938, Tel Aviv, Palestine - Palestine 1 - 3 Greece

February 20, 1938, Athens, Greece - Greece 1 - 0 Palestine

Greece advanced to the Final Round.

[edit] Final round

March 25, 1938, Budapest, Hungary - Hungary 11 - 1 Greece

Hungary qualified.

[edit] Group 7

November 7, 1937, Sofia, Bulgaria - Bulgaria 1 - 1 Czechoslovakia

April 24, 1938, Prague, Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia 6 - 0 Bulgaria

Czechoslovakia qualified.

[edit] Group 8

[edit] First round

July 29, 1937, Riga, Latvia - Latvia 4 - 2 Lithuania

September 3, 1937, Kaunas, Lithuania - Lithuania 1 - 5 Latvia

Latvia advanced to the Final Round.

[edit] Final round

October 5, 1937, Vienna, Austria - Austria 2 - 1 Latvia

Austria qualified, but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss. FIFA offered the place to England, who had opted not to enter the competition, but they declined. FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.

[edit] Group 9

November 28, 1937, Rotterdam, Netherlands - Netherlands 4 - 0 Luxembourg

March 13, 1938, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Luxembourg 2 - 3 Belgium

April 3, 1938, Antwerpen, Belgium - Belgium 1 - 1 Netherlands

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
1 Netherlands 3 2 1 1 0 5 1
2 Belgium 3 2 1 1 0 4 3
3 Luxembourg 0 2 0 0 2 2 7

Netherlands and Belgium qualified.

[edit] Group 10

Argentina withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

[edit] Group 11

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

[edit] Group 12

Japan withdrew, so Dutch East Indies qualified automatically.

[edit] Qualified teams

Qualifying countries
Qualifying countries
Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance
Belgium 3rd 3 1934
Brazil 3rd 3 1934
Cuba 1st 1 -
Czechoslovakia 2nd 2 1934
Dutch East Indies 1st 1 -
France (h) 3rd 3 1934
Germany 2nd 2 1934
Hungary 2nd 2 1934
Italy (c) 2nd 2 1934
Netherlands 2nd 2 1934
Norway 1st 1 -
Poland 1st 1 -
Romania 3rd 3 1934
Sweden 2nd 2 1934
Switzerland 2nd 2 1934

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

[edit] Notes

  • It was originally intended that the World Cup would be held alternately between the continents of South America and Europe. Nevertheless, Jules Rimet, the creator of the World Cup, convinced FIFA to hold the competition in France, his home country. Because of this controversy, many American countries, including Argentina (the most likely hosts if the event was held in South America), Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Dutch Guiana, Uruguay, and the United States all withdrew or refused to enter.

[edit] External links

FIFA World Cup qualification

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 | USA 1994 | France 1998 | Korea/Japan 2002 | Germany 2006 | South Africa 2010
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