1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates11 June 1933 – 24 May 1934
Teams29
Tournament statistics
Matches played26
Goals scored141 (5.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)Spain Isidro Lángara
Cuba Mario López
Mexico Dionisio Mejía
(7 goals each)
1938 →

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]

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.

  1. ^ a b c d "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. ^ Hart, Jim (27 July 2016). "When the World Cup rolled into fascist Italy in 1934". These Football Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.


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