1930 World Cup
The 1930 Fifa World Cup was the inaugural edition of the mega event. It took place in Uruguay from July 13 to 30, 1930. Thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America) entered the tournament. Only a few European teams participated because of the difficulty of travelling to South America.
The teams were divided into 4 groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals.
Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while US goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first official “clean sheet” in the tournament.
In the final, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 68,346 people, and became the first nation to win the World Cup.
Because of a dispute, a different ball was used in each half in the final, one chosen by each team. Argentina’s ball was used for the first half, and Uruguay’s ball was used for the second half.
The first World Cup was the only one without qualification. Every country affiliated with Fifa was invited to compete, and given a deadline of February 28, 1930 to accept.
The last surviving player from Uruguay’s World Cup-winning side was Ernesto Mascheroni, who died on July 3, 1984 at the age of 76.
1934 World Cup
The 1934 World Cup took place in Italy from May 27 to June 10, 1934.
The 1934 World Cup was the first for which teams had to qualify to take part. Thirtytwo nations entered the competition, and after qualification, 16 teams participated in the finals. Reigning champions Uruguay refused to participate due to the fact just four European teams had accepted their invitation to the 1930 tournament.
Italy became the second World Cup champions and the first European team to win, beating Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the final.
With five goals, Oldrich Nejedly was the top scorer.
1938 World Cup
The 1938 World Cup was the third edition of the event, and was held in France from June 4 to 19. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Italy retained the championship by beating Hungary 4-2 in the final. Italy’s 1934 and 1938 teams became the only ones to have won two World Cups under the same coach, Vittorio Pozzo.
Because of anger over the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, neither Uruguay nor Argentina entered the competition. Spain could not participate due to the ongoing Spanish Civil War.
It was the first time that the hosts, France, and the title holders, Italy, qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup from 1938 until 2006.
This tournament saw the first, and as of 2018 the only, participation in a World Cup tournament from Cuba and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). A unified Germany team would not appear again until 1994.
