A total of 37 teams entered the 1938 FIFA World Cupqualification 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).
Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
Groups 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 had 2 teams each. The teams, except in Group 5, played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify. In Group 5, Switzerland and Portugal were to play only one match on a neutral ground with the winner to 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.
Egypt were to play Romania on 17 December 1937. However, Egypt withdrew from the competition after Egyptian officials objected to playing on this date since it was in the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, Romania qualified after Egypt invited Austrian club side First Vienna to play the friendly match against the national team.[1]
Austria qualified, but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss. FIFA offered the place to England (winner of the 1937–38 British Home Championship), who had opted not to enter the competition, but they declined the offer; FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.
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,[citation needed] his home country. Because of this controversial move, many American countries, including Argentina (the most likely hosts if the event was held in South America), Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Dutch Guiana, Uruguay, and the United States, all withdrew or refused to enter.[citation needed]. Brazil and Cuba were the only countries from the Americas to enter qualification and thus qualified for the World Cup by default.
References
^Dietschy, Paul (6 June 2013). "Making football global? FIFA, Europe, and the non-European football world, 1912–74". Journal of Global History. 8 (02): 288. doi:10.1017/S1740022813000223.
External links
RSSSF - 1938 World Cup Qualification
January 06, 2023
1938, fifa, world, qualification, total, teams, entered, rounds, competing, total, spots, final, tournament, first, time, title, holders, host, country, were, given, automatic, qualification, therefore, france, hosts, italy, defending, champions, qualified, au. 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 1938 FIFA World Cup QualificationTournament detailsDates16 June 1937 1 May 1938Teams37 from 3 confederations Tournament statisticsMatches played22Goals scored96 4 36 per match Top scorer s Fricis Kaneps Gyula Zsengeller 5 goals each 19341950 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 1 Format 2 Groups 2 1 Group 1 2 2 Group 2 2 3 Group 3 2 4 Group 4 2 5 Group 5 2 6 Group 6 2 6 1 First round 2 6 2 Final round 2 7 Group 7 2 8 Group 8 2 8 1 First round 2 8 2 Final round 2 9 Group 9 2 10 Group 10 2 11 Group 11 2 11 1 First round 2 11 2 Second round 2 12 Group 12 3 Qualified teams 4 Goalscorers 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksFormat EditThe 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 5 and 7 had 2 teams each The teams except in Group 5 played against each other on a home and away basis The group winners would qualify In Group 5 Switzerland and Portugal were to play only one match on a neutral ground with the winner to 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 Groups EditGroup 1 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 1 Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Germany 3 3 0 0 11 1 11 0 62 Sweden 3 2 0 1 11 7 1 57 43 Estonia 3 1 0 2 4 11 0 36 24 Finland 3 0 0 3 0 7 0 00 016 June 1937Sweden 4 0 FinlandBunke 60 82 Persson 65 Svanstrom 68 ReportSolna Rasunda Stadion Stockholm SwedenAttendance 19 554Referee Kolbjorn Daehlen Norway 20 June 1937Sweden 7 2 EstoniaJosefsson 7 41 Bunke 40 Jonasson 49 pen Wetterstrom 73 77 84 Report Siimenson 2 Uukkivi 3 Solna Rasunda Stadion Stockholm SwedenAttendance 20 000Referee Otto Remke Denmark 29 June 1937Finland 0 2 GermanyReport Lehner 26 Urban 38 Pallokentta Helsinki FinlandAttendance 6 519Referee Otto Remke Denmark 19 August 1937Finland 0 1 EstoniaReport Kuremaa 56 Urheilupuisto Turku FinlandAttendance 4 797Referee Ivan Eklind Sweden 29 August 1937Germany 4 1 EstoniaLehner 50 65 Gauchel 53 86 Report Siimenson 34 Horst Wessel Stadion Konigsberg GermanyAttendance 15 000Referee Bruno Pfutzner Czechoslovakia 21 November 1937Germany 5 0 SwedenSiffling 2 57 Szepan 8 Schon 48 63 ReportAltonaer Stadion Hamburg GermanyAttendance 55 000Referee Bruno Pfutzner Czechoslovakia Germany and Sweden qualified Group 2 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 2 Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Norway 2 1 1 0 6 5 1 20 32 Irish Free State 2 0 1 1 5 6 0 83 110 October 1937Norway 3 2 Irish Free StateKvammen 30 64 Martinsen 78 Report Geoghegan 37 Dunne 49 Ullevaal Stadion Oslo NorwayAttendance 20 000Referee Peco Bauwens Germany 7 November 1937Irish Free State 3 3 NorwayDunne 10 O Flanagan 62 Duggan 88 Report Kvammen 16 33 Martinsen 49 Dalymount Park Dublin Irish Free StateAttendance 27 000Referee Thomas Gibbs England Norway qualified Group 3 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 3 Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Poland 2 1 0 1 4 1 4 00 22 Yugoslavia 2 1 0 1 1 4 0 25 210 October 1937Poland 4 0 YugoslaviaPiatek 3 20 Wostal 59 Wilimowski 78 ReportStadion Wojska Polskiego Warsaw PolandAttendance 30 000Referee Lucien Leclercq France 3 April 1938Yugoslavia 1 0 PolandMarjanovic 61 ReportStadion BSK Belgrade YugoslaviaAttendance 25 000Referee Rinadlo Barlassina Italy Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average and thus qualified Group 4 Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Romania qualified Egypt withdrewEgypt were to play Romania on 17 December 1937 However Egypt withdrew from the competition after Egyptian officials objected to playing on this date since it was in the holy month of Ramadan Therefore Romania qualified after Egypt invited Austrian club side First Vienna to play the friendly match against the national team 1 Group 5 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 5 Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Switzerland 1 1 0 0 2 1 2 00 22 Portugal 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 50 01 May 1938Switzerland 2 1 PortugalAeby 24 Amado 29 Report Peyroteo 72 pen Stadio Civico Arena Milan ItalyAttendance 20 000Referee Francesco Mattea Italy Switzerland qualified Group 6 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 6 First round Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Greece 2 2 0 0 4 1 4 00 42 Mandatory Palestine 2 0 0 2 1 4 0 25 022 January 1938Mandatory Palestine 1 3 GreeceNeufeld 36 Report Vikelidis 15 30 Migiakis 73 Maccabiah Stadium Tel Aviv Mandatory Palestine Land of IsraelAttendance 5 000Referee Mohammed Youssef Egypt 20 February 1938Greece 1 0 Mandatory PalestineVikelidis 88 pen ReportStadio Leoforos Alexandras Athens GreeceAttendance 12 000Referee Mika Popovic Yugoslavia Greece qualified for the final round Final round Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Hungary 1 1 0 0 11 1 11 0 22 Greece 1 0 0 1 1 11 0 09 025 March 1938Hungary 11 1 GreeceZsengeller 15 23 pen 25 65 81 Titkos 18 75 Vincze 26 Nemes 34 40 52 Report Makris 89 Hungaria Budapest HungaryAttendance 14 000Referee Denis Xifando Romania Hungary qualified Group 7 Edit Main article 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification Group 7 Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Czechoslovakia 2 1 1 0 7 1 7 00 32 Bulgaria 2 0 1 1 1 7 0 14 17 November 1937Bulgaria 1 1 CzechoslovakiaPanchediev 89 pen Report Riha 44 Junak Stadion Sofia BulgariaAttendance 12 000Referee Rinaldo Barlassina Italy 24 April 1938Czechoslovakia 6 0 BulgariaSimunek 21 79 89 Nejedly 57 77 Ludl 73 ReportAC Sparta Stadion Prague CzechoslovakiaAttendance 31 458Referee Pal von Hertzka Hungary Czechoslovakia qualified Group 8 Edit First round Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Latvia 2 2 0 0 9 3 3 00 42 Lithuania 2 0 0 2 3 9 0 33 029 July 1937Latvia 4 2 LithuaniaKaneps 19 52 83 Vestermans 50 Report Gudelis 79 Paulionis 90 ASK stadions Riga LatviaAttendance 10 000Referee Gustav Krist Czechoslovakia 3 September 1937Lithuania 1 5 LatviaPaulionis 72 Report Kaneps 4 45 pen Bordusko 11 30 Vestermans 67 Valstybinis stadionas Kaunas LithuaniaAttendance 8 000Referee Hans Frankenstein Austria Latvia qualified for the final round Final round Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Austria 1 1 0 0 2 1 2 00 22 Latvia 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 50 05 October 1937Austria 2 1 LatviaJerusalem 15 Binder 33 Report Vestermans 6 Stadion Prater Vienna AustriaAttendance 16 000Referee Pal von Hercka Hungary Austria qualified but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss FIFA offered the place to England winner of the 1937 38 British Home Championship who had opted not to enter the competition but they declined the offer FIFA decided not to allow anyone else to qualify leaving the World Cup one team short Group 9 Edit Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Netherlands 2 1 1 0 5 1 5 00 32 Belgium 2 1 1 0 4 3 1 33 33 Luxembourg 2 0 0 2 2 7 0 29 028 November 1937Netherlands 4 0 LuxembourgSmit 29 de Boer 68 78 82 ReportStadion Feyenoord Rotterdam NetherlandsAttendance 40 000Referee Karl Weingarter Austria 13 March 1938Luxembourg 2 3 BelgiumLibar 4 Kemp 33 Report Voorhoof 19 Braine 55 de Vries 59 Stade Municipal Luxembourg LuxembourgAttendance 12 500Referee Georges Capdeville France 3 April 1938Belgium 1 1 NetherlandsIsemborghs 53 Report van Spaandonck 37 Bosuil Stadion Antwerp BelgiumAttendance 47 660Referee Arthur Jewell England Netherlands and Belgium qualified Group 10 Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Brazil Bye2 Argentina WithdrewArgentina withdrew so Brazil qualified automatically Group 11 Edit First round Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Cuba Bye2 Costa Rica Withdrew Dutch Guiana El Salvador Colombia Mexico United StatesCosta Rica Dutch Guiana El Salvador Mexico Colombia and the United States all withdrew so Cuba qualified automatically for the second round Second round Edit All other teams than Cuba had withdrawn from competition so thus qualified automatically for the finals Group 12 Edit Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts1 Indonesia Bye2 Japan WithdrewJapan withdrew so Indonesia qualified automatically Qualified teams Edit FIFA World Cup qualification 1938 Qualifying countries Team Finals Appearance Streak Last Appearance Austria 2nd 2 1934 Belgium 3rd 3 1934 Brazil 3rd 3 1934 Cuba 1st 1 Czechoslovakia 2nd 2 1934 Indonesia 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 due to the Anschluss h qualified automatically as hosts c qualified automatically as defending championsGoalscorers Edit5 goals Gyula Zsengeller Fricis Kaneps 4 goals Reidar Kvammen 3 goals Ladislav Simunek Ernst Lehner Kleanthis Vikelidis Jozsef Nemes Ilja Vestermans Piet de Boer Lennart Bunke Gustav Wetterstrom 2 goals Oldrich Nejedly Georg Siimenson Josef Gauchel Helmut Schon Otto Siffling Pal Titkos Jimmy Dunne Vaclavs Bordusko Jonas Paulionis Alf Martinsen Leonard Piontek Gustaf Josefsson 1 goal Franz Binder Camillo Jerusalem Raymond Braine Hendrik Isemborghs Bernard Voorhoof Francois Devries Georgi Panchediev Josef Ludl Jan Riha Richard Kuremaa Heinrich Uukkivi Fritz Szepan Adolf Urban Lefteris Makris Antonis Migiakis Jeno Vincze Harry Duggan Matty Geoghegan Kevin O Flanagan Juozas Gudelis Gusty Kemp Camille Libar Peri Neufeld Kick Smit Henk van Spaandonck Ernst Wilimowski Jerzy Wostal Fernando Peyroteo Sven Jonasson Erik Persson Kurt Svanstrom Georges Aeby Lauro Amado Blagoje MarjanovicNotes EditIt 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 citation needed his home country Because of this controversial move many American countries including Argentina the most likely hosts if the event was held in South America Chile Paraguay Peru Colombia Costa Rica El Salvador Mexico Dutch Guiana Uruguay and the United States all withdrew or refused to enter citation needed Brazil and Cuba were the only countries from the Americas to enter qualification and thus qualified for the World Cup by default References Edit Dietschy Paul 6 June 2013 Making football global FIFA Europe and the non European football world 1912 74 Journal of Global History 8 02 288 doi 10 1017 S1740022813000223 External links EditFIFA World Cup Official Site 1938 World Cup Qualification RSSSF 1938 World Cup Qualification Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification amp oldid 1130947237, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
