1938 FIFA World Cup
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The 1938 Football World Cup was played in France, the second tournament in a row to be played in Europe. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4-2 in the finals.
The decision of FIFA in 1936 during the celebration of the 1936 Summer Olympics to hold the tournament in France caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents. As a result neither Uruguay nor Argentina entered the competition. Spain has the record to be the first country to be out of the World Cup because of a war (i.e. the Spanish Civil War).
It was the first time that host (France) and holders of the World Cup (Italy) qualified automatically, with fifteen nations taking part. Austria qualified but withdrew after being annexed by Germany, so Sweden received automatic entry into the quarter-finals. Five of the first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. The replays saw Switzerland oust Germany 4-2, while Cuba managed to advance to the next round at the expense of Romania.
Sweden may have entered the competition at a later stage than the other teams, but they did so with style when they beat Cuba 8-0. The host nation were beaten by the holders, and Switzerland were seen off by Hungary. Czechoslovakia took Brazil to extra time and eventually a replay, but the South Americans proved too strong for the Europeans and won 2-1.
Hungary destroyed Sweden in one of the semi-finals 5-1, while Italy and Brazil had the first of their many important World Cup clashes in the other. The Brazilians rested their star player Leonidas confident that they would qualify for the final, but the Italians won 2-1. Brazil topped Sweden 4-2 for third place.
The final itself took place in the Stade Colombes, Paris. Vittorio Pozzo's Italian side took the lead early, but Hungary equalised within two minutes. The Italians took the lead again shortly after, and by the end of the first half were leading the Hungarians 3-1. Hungary never really got back into the game. With the final score favouring the Italians 4-2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup Winners.
Some argued that Hungary - or at least its goalkeeper - allowed Italy to win, as a measure to save the lives of the Italian Team, which had received telegrams by Mussolini with "Vincere o morire!" (mistranslated as "Win or die") written on them. Hungarian goalkeeper Antal Szabo expressed his relief following his side's defeat against Italy despite letting in four goals in the loss. Referring to Mussolini's pre-match threats, Szabo quipped "I may have let in four goals, but at least I saved their lives".
Actually, this is not the case. "Win or die" was a typical slogan of encouragement from fascist era, meaning "Victory or bust!" or "do your best to get victory". The fascist regime held sporting heroes and champions in high regard, greatly using them in their propaganda machine, so an act like the one suggested by Szabo was not realistic. Szabo's words may have been just an excuse for the lost match, or an honest misunderstanding. On this date in 1938, the most ominous of World Cup soccer games ever was played [...] The Italian team received a telegram from dictator Benito Mussolini reading simply, "Vincere o morire". The world, including Hungarian goalie Antal Szabo (ph), was told of the simple, terrifying translation, "Win or die". Hungary lost to Italy that day. Some say they lost deliberately, 4 to 1. "I may have let in four goals," said the net minder Szabo, "but at least I saved their lives." Only problem, "Vincere o morire," translated literally as "win or die", in Italian sports vernacular, however, it simply meant, “"Give it your all, guys." Oops. (Keith Olbermann, 19 june 2006) [link]
Venues
Ten cities hosted the tournament:
- Paris, Parc des Princes and Stade Olympique de Colombes
- Reims, Vélodrome Municipal
- Lyon, Stade de Gerland
- Toulouse, Stade Chapou
- Marseilles, Stade Vélodrome
- Strasbourg, Stade Meinau
- Le Havre, Stade Cavée Verte
- Lille, Stade Victor Boucquey
- Antibes, Stade du Fort Carré
- Bordeaux, Parc Lescure
Qualification
Tournament bracket
First round
Replays:
Quarter-finals
Replay:
Semi-finals
Third place match
Final
Awards
| 1938 World Cup Winners: |
|---|
|
ITALY Second title |