1938 FIFA World Cup qualification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 .svg/22px-Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946).svg.png){kind=small}
Italy, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition.
Due to the Spanish Civil War, 
Spain withdrew 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).
Contents |
[edit] Format
The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:
- Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
- Groups 2, 3, 4 and 7 had 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
- Group 5: had 2 teams. The teams played 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 played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
- Final Round: The seeded team played against the winner of the First Round at home. The winner would qualify.
- Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams played 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.
Key:
- Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
- Teams highlighted in Orange qualified for the final phase of their group.
[edit] Group 1
| 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 |
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
[edit] Group 2
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Norway |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 |  Ireland |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
October 10, 1937, Oslo, Norway - Norway 3 - 2 Ireland
November 7, 1937, Dublin, Ireland - Ireland 3 - 3 Norway
[edit] Group 3
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Ave |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Poland |
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 |
| 2 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Yugoslavia |
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 |
(Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average).
October 10, 1937, Warsaw, Poland - Poland 4 - 0 Yugoslavia
April 3, 1938, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 1 - 0 Poland
[edit] Group 4
Egypt withdrew, so 
Romania qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 5
May 1, 1938, Milan, Italy - 
Switzerland 2 - 1 
Portugal
[edit] Group 6
[edit] First round
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Greece_(1828-1978).svg.png){kind=small} Greece |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 |  Palestine/Eretz Israel |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
January 22, 1938, Tel Aviv, Palestine - Palestine/Eretz Israel 1 - 3 Greece
February 20, 1938, Athens, Greece - Greece 1 - 0 Palestine/Eretz Israel
[edit] Final round
March 25, 1938, Budapest, Hungary - 
Hungary 11 - 1 Greece
Hungary qualified.
[edit] Group 7
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Czechoslovakia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 |  Bulgaria |
1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
November 7, 1937, Sofia, Bulgaria - Bulgaria 1 - 1 Czechoslovakia
April 24, 1938, Prague, Czechoslovakia - Czechoslovakia 6 - 0 Bulgaria
[edit] Group 8
[edit] First round
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Latvia |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| 2 |  Lithuania |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
July 29, 1937, Riga, Latvia - Latvia 4 - 2 Lithuania
September 3, 1937, Kaunas, Lithuania - Lithuania 1 - 5 Latvia
[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
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Belgium |
3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 |  Luxembourg |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
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
[edit] Group 10
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Argentina_(alternative).svg.png){kind=small}
Argentina withdrew, so .svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil_(1889-1960).svg.png){kind=small}
Brazil qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 11
USA, 
Colombia, 
Costa Rica, .png/22px-Flag_of_Mexico_(1934-1968).png){kind=small}
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
| 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 |
- Austria withdrew after qualifying.
(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. However 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
|
||||||||||||
