1930 FIFA World Cup
1930 FIFA World Cup
Main page
hub-image

1930 FIFA World Cup

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
1930 FIFA World Cup

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the 1st FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and the Uruguay national football team had retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the purpose built Estadio Centenario.

Thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe, and two from North America) entered the tournament. Only a handful of European teams chose to participate because of the difficulty of traveling to South America due to the Great Depression. The teams were divided into four groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0, respectively. Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while United States goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first clean sheet in the tournament the same day.

Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, and Yugoslavia won their respective groups to qualify for the semi-finals. In the final, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 68,346 people to become the first nation to win the World Cup. Francisco Varallo from Argentina was the last surviving player from this World Cup. He died in 2010 at the age of 100. The 2030 FIFA World Cup opening match to be played at Estadio Centenario will honor the centennial anniversary of the World Cup.

The 1930 FIFA World Cup final is the first and only one to date to have been contested between two Spanish-speaking sides. It is also the only one that was contested between two South American nations, as the 1950 match between Brazil and Uruguay was technically the deciding match of the final group stage rather than an actual cup final.

FIFA, the governing body of world football, had been discussing the creation of a competition for national teams for several years prior to 1930. The organisation had managed the football segment of the Summer Olympics on behalf of the International Olympic Committee since the early 20th century and the success of the competition at the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games led to the formation of the FIFA World Cup. At the 17th FIFA congress, held in Amsterdam in May 1928, the competition was proposed by president Jules Rimet and accepted by the organisation's board, with vice-president Henri Delaunay proclaiming "international football can no longer be held within the confines of the Olympics".

The first World Cup was the only one without qualification. Every country affiliated with FIFA was invited to compete and given a deadline of 28 February 1930 to accept. The competition was originally planned as a 16-team knockout tournament with a potential second division if enough teams entered; however, the number of teams failed to reach 16, so there were no qualifications. Plenty of interest was shown by nations in the Americas; Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and the United States all entered. A total of seven South American teams participated, more than in any subsequent World Cup Finals. However, because of the long, costly trip by ship across the Atlantic Ocean and the length of absence required for players, very few European teams were inclined to take part as the effects of the Great Depression set in across the continent. Some refused to countenance travel to South America in any circumstances, and no European entries were received before the February deadline. In an attempt to gain some European participation, the Uruguayan Football Association sent a letter of invitation to The Football Association, even though the British Home Nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) had resigned from FIFA at the time. This was rejected by the FA Committee on 18 November 1929. Out of the two Asian countries affiliated to FIFA at the time, Japan and Siam (modern-day Thailand), neither elected to enter the competition, while Egypt, the lone African team to enter, was delayed due to a storm in the Mediterranean, and the ship intended to take them to Uruguay departed without them.

Two months before the start of the tournament, no team from Europe had officially entered. FIFA president Rimet intervened and four European teams eventually made the trip by sea: Belgium, France, Romania and Yugoslavia. The Romanians, managed by Constantin Rădulescu and coached by their captain Rudolf Wetzer and Octav Luchide, entered the competition following the intervention of the newly crowned King Carol II. He selected the squad personally and negotiated with employers to ensure that the players would still have jobs upon their return. The French entered at the personal intervention of Rimet, but neither France's star defender Manuel Anatol nor the team's regular coach Gaston Barreau could be persuaded to make the trip. The Belgians participated at the instigation of German-Belgian FIFA vice-president Rodolphe Seeldrayers.

We were 15 days on the ship Conte Verde getting out there. We embarked from Villefranche-sur-Mer in the company of the Belgians and the Yugoslavians. We did our basic exercises down below and our training on deck. The coach never spoke about tactics at all ...

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.