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 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).
- Groups 10 and 11 - The Americas: 2 places, contested by 9 teams.
- 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. FIFA did not offer participation to the runner-up of the group, that Austria had played in, Latvia.
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 |
Germany and Sweden qualified.
[edit] Results
| 16 June 1937 | Sweden |
4 - 0 | Finland |
Solna Råsunda Stadion, Stockholm Attendance: 19,544 Referee: Kolbjørn Daehlen (Norway) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bunke  60' 82'Personn 65'Svanström 68' |
| 20 June 1937 | Sweden |
7 - 2 | Estonia |
Solna Råsunda Stadion, Stockholm Attendance: 18,270 Referee: Otto Remke (Denmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josefsson 7' 41' Bunke 40'Jonasson 49' (pen)Wetterström 73' 77' 84' |
2' Siimenson 3' Uukkivi |
| 29 June 1937 | Finland |
0 - 2 | Germany |
Pallokenttä, Helsinki Attendance: 6,619 Referee: Otto Remke (Denmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26' Lehner 38' Urban |
| 19 August 1937 | Finland |
0 - 1 | Estonia |
Urheilupuisto, Turku Attendance: 4,797 Referee: Ivan Eklind (Sweden) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56' Kuremaa |
| 29 August 1937 | Germany |
4 - 1 | Estonia |
Horst-Wessel Stadion, Königsberg Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Bruno Pfützner (Czechoslovakia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehner 50' 65' Gauchel 53' 86' |
34' Siimenson |
| 21 November 1937 | Germany |
5 - 0 | Sweden |
Altonaer Stadion, Hamburg Attendance: 51,000 Referee: Bruno Pfützner (Czechoslovakia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siffling 2' 57' Szepan 8'Schön 48' 63' |
[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 |
Norway qualified
[edit] Results
| 10 October 1937 | Norway |
3 - 2 | Ireland |
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Peco Bauwens (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kvammen 30' 64' Martinsen 78' |
37' Geoghegan 49' Dunne |
| 7 November 1937 | Ireland |
3 - 3 | Norway |
Dalymount Park, Dublin Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Thomas Gibbs (England) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunne 10' O'Flanagan 62'Duggan 88' |
16' 33' Kvammen 49' Martinsen |
[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 |  Yugoslavia |
2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 |
Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average
[edit] Results
| 10 October 1937 | Poland |
4 - 0 | Yugoslavia |
Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Lucien Leclercq (France) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piatek 3' 20' Wostal 59'Wilimowski 78' |
| 3 April 1938 | Yugoslavia |
1 - 0 | Poland |
Stadion BSK, Belgrade Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Rinadlo Barlassina (Italy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marjanovic 61' |
[edit] Group 4
Egypt withdrew, so 
Romania qualified automatically.
[edit] Group 5
| 1 May 1938 |  Switzerland |
2 - 1 |  Portugal |
Stadio Civico Arena, Milan Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Francesco Mattea (Italy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeby 24' Amado 29' |
72' (pen) Payroteo |
[edit] Group 6
[edit] First round
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Greece |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 |  Palestine/Eretz Israel |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
[edit] Results
| 22 January 1938 | Palestine/Eretz Israel |
1 - 3 | Greece |
Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Mohammed Youssef (Egypt) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neufeld 36' |
15' 30' Vikelidis 73' Migiakis |
| 20 February 1938 | Greece |
1 - 0 | Palestine/Eretz Israel |
Stadio Leoforos Alexandras, Athens Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Mika Popovic (Yugoslavia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikelidis 88' (pen) |
[edit] Final round
| 25 March 1938 |  Hungary |
11 - 1 | Greece |
Hungária, Budapest Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zsengellér 15' 23' (pen) 25' 65' 81' Titkos 18' 75'Vincze 26'Nemes 34' 40' 52' |
89' Makris |
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 |
[edit] Results
| 7 November 1937 | Bulgaria |
1 - 1 | Czechoslovakia |
Junak Stadion, Sofia Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Rinaldo Barlassina (Italy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panchediev 89' (pen) |
44' Ríha |
| 24 April 1938 | Czechoslovakia |
6 - 0 | Bulgaria |
AC Sparta Stadion, Prague Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Pál von Hertzka (Hungary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Šimůnek 21' 79' 89' Nejedlý 57' 77'Ludl 73' |
[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 |
[edit] Results
| 27 July 1937 | Latvia |
4 - 2 | Lithuania |
ASK Stadion, Riga Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Gustav Krist (Czechoslovakia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaneps 19' 52' 83' Vestermans 50' |
79' Gudelis 90' Paulionis |
| 3 September 1937 | Lithuania |
1 - 5 | Latvia |
Valstybinis stadionas, Kaunas Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Hans Frankenstein (Austria) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulionis 72' |
4' 45' (pen) Kaneps 11' 30' Borduško 67' Vestermans |
[edit] Final round
| October 10, 1937 | Austria |
2 - 1 | Latvia |
Stadion Prater, Wien Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Pál von Hercka (Hungary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem 15' Binder 33' |
6' Vestermans |
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, but FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short, although they could offer participation to the runner-up of Austria's group, Latvia, but didn't do so.
[edit] Group 9
| 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 |
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
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
| 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
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