1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

1934 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Tournament details
Teams 32 (from 3 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 26
Goals scored 141 (5.42 per match)

The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup where the teams had to qualify, since the first edition in 1930 had no qualification rounds (the participating teams were invited by FIFA). This time, a total of 32 teams entered the competition, so FIFA had to organize qualification (or preliminary) rounds to reduce the field to 16 teams for the final tournament. Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to qualify (the only time the hosts had to qualify, and one of only two occasions the hosts have ever taken part in the qualification process[1]), while the defending champions Uruguay refused to participate and defend their title because many European nations declined to take part in the 1930 World Cup held in Uruguay.

The 32 teams were divided into 12 groups, based on geographical considerations, as follows:

A total of 27 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 26 qualifying matches were played, and 141 goals were scored (an average of 5.42 per match).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

Format

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

Group 1

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Sweden 2200824.004
2  Lithuania 1001020.000
3  Estonia 1001260.330

Estonia v Lithuania was not played, since neither team could qualify with a win.

Sweden qualified.

Group 2

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Spain 220011111.04
2  Portugal 20021110.090

11-1 on aggregate; Spain qualified.

Group 3

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Italy 1100404.002
2  Greece 1001040.000

Italy qualified, as Greece withdrew after the first match.

Group 4

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Hungary 2200824.004
2  Austria 1100616.002
3  Bulgaria 30033140.210

Bulgaria withdrew, and the remaining matches were not played since Hungary and Austria were already assured of the top two spots.

Hungary and Austria qualified.

Group 5

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Czechoslovakia 1100212.002
2  Poland 1001120.50

Poland withdrew before the second match.

Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 6

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1   Switzerland 2110422.003
2  Romania 2101230.672
3  Yugoslavia 2011340.751

Romania fielded an ineligible player, so FIFA accordingly awarded Switzerland a 2–0 win for the match.

Switzerland and Romania qualified.

Group 7

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Netherlands 2200942.254
2  Belgium 2011680.751
3  Irish Free State 2011690.671

Netherlands and Belgium qualified (Belgium finished above the Irish Free State on goal average).

Group 8

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Germany 1100919.002
2  France 1100616.002
3  Luxembourg 20022150.130

Germany v France was not played, since both teams were already assured of the top two spots.

Germany and France qualified.

Group 9

Peru withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

Group 10

Chile withdrew, so Argentina qualified automatically.

Group 11

First round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Cuba 32101025.005
2  Haiti 30122100.201

10-2 on aggregate; Cuba advanced to the Second Round.

Second round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Mexico 33001234.006
2  Cuba 30033120.250

12-3 on aggregate; Mexico advanced to the Final Round.

Final round

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  United States 1100422.002
2  Mexico 1001240.500

United States qualified.

Group 12

The Palestine football team consisted of nine British footballers, six Jewish footballers and one Arab footballer.[2] FIFA states in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team that the 'Palestine team' that had participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team and as such bears no relation to the national team of the Palestinian authority.[3] However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered "one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers".[4]

Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1  Egypt 22001125.504
2  Palestine, British Mandate 20022110.180
—  Turkey withdrew

11-2 on aggregate; Egypt qualified.

Qualified teams

FIFA World Cup qualification 1934
Qualifying countries
Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance
 Argentina 2nd21930
 Austria 1st1–
 Belgium 2nd21930
 Brazil 2nd21930
 Czechoslovakia 1st1–
 Egypt 1st1–
 France 2nd21930
 Germany 1st1–
 Hungary 1st1–
 Italy 1st1–
 Netherlands 1st1–
 Romania 2nd21930
 Spain 1st1–
 Sweden 1st1–
  Switzerland 1st1–
 United States 2nd21930

Notes

  • The match to decide whether USA or Mexico would qualify was played in Italy only three days before the start of the final tournament, as the USA team submitted their entry too late. Thus, the match was played on Italian ground, so that the winner would effectively stay for the tournament (the teams travelled by ship at that time, and travelling from America to Europe took around 15 days).
  • Chile, Peru and Turkey all withdrew before qualifying began, while Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Norway all withdrew before draw.

References

  1. ↑ Although South Africa were automatically qualified for the 2010 World Cup as hosts, they took part in the 2010 African qualifiers. The Confederation of African Football used its 2010 World Cup qualifiers as the qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, an event for which South Africa had to qualify separately. They were eliminated at the second of three rounds of qualifying.
  2. ↑ "A long wait for a home game". Reuters. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition (see page 43)" (PDF). FIFA. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  4. ↑ "Palestine (PLE)". FIFA. 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-23.

External links

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