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World Cup : 1938
posted May-31 | 390 hits
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Background
The third World Cup in the history of football was hosted by France in 1938, staying in Europe for a second consecutive tournament much to the disappointment of South America. Applicants Argentina stayed home as did Uruguay.
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Brazil were the only representatives from the continent and travelled to a Europe that was far from peaceful. The World Cup was not unaffected. The Spanish Civil War prevented Spain from attending and the Anschluss between Germany and Austria meant that the 16 hopefuls became 15 (FIFA didn’t allow Latvia, who had finished second behind Austria in qualification to participate) and Sweden gained a bye to the last eight.
Twelve came from Europe. Only Brazil, Cuba, who appeared after the withdrawal of Mexico, and Dutch East Indies gave the World Cup a global flavour in the stadiums around France. There was no African representation.
The Tournament
The tournament was a straight knockout. Games that were drawn were replayed and this happened twice in the first round. Swtizerland needed two attempts to defeat the Germans (the first game included the World Cup’s first ever own goal by Switzerland’s Ernst Loertscher) while Cuba squeezed past Romania.
Five games went to extra-time, the pick of which was a wild 6-5 win for Brazil over Poland while defending champions Italy survived a scare. A late goal from Norway’s Arne Brustad looked to have given the Scandinavians a famous win before the referee ruled it out. The Azzurri went on to win in extra-time.
Quarter-Finals
The Cubans were then thrashed 8-0 by Sweden while Italy defeated the hosts in Paris – though France was widely regarded as a winner off the pitch by staging a well-organised and entertaining tournament. Brazil needed a replay to get past Czechoslovakia while Hungary were too good for the Swiss.
Semi-Final
Brazilian hopes of a final place ended with a 2-1 loss to Italy though the South Americans made eight changes for the game that they obviously expected to win while Hungary were moving into top gear with a 5-1 win over Sweden and were looking very ominous indeed.
The Final
Italy endured a tough trip to the final and had to defeat Norway, France and Brazil.
Hungary, conquerors of Dutch Indies, Switzerland and Sweden, stood in their way.
The final was played in a great atmosphere with 60.000 fans in the Stade Olympique de Colombes. Italy had a great start with a sixth minute goal but just two minutes later the Magyars were level.
Two more first half goals put the Italians in control and they ran out 4-2 winners to lift the trophy once again and give coach Vittorio Pozzo a second World Cup title – an achievement that has still not been matched.
Heroes and Villians
The quarter-final between Brazil and Czechoslovakia will not be remembered for the football. Brazil's Machados and Czechoslovakia's Jan Riha were both ejected for fighting late in the match, long after Zeze had been sent off for a nasty challenge on Oldrich Nejedly, one of two Czechs to end the match with broken limbs.
Fans in Brazil were not too happy with Ademar Pimenta. The coach, saw Leonidas score six times in the first three games yet didn’t select the striker for the semi-final against Italy, claiming to be resting him for the final.
The Games To Remember
The game that people never forget was the match between Brazil and Poland. It was a strange game with many goals. After ninety minutes it was 4-4 and it ended 6-5 to the South Americans thanks to Leonidas, the ‘Black Diamond’ who ended up as the tournament’s top scorer.
Perhaps if he had been selected by coach Ademar Pimenta for the semi-final, Brazil may have seen off the Italian challenge.
Top scorers
7 Leonidas (Brazil)
5 Gyorgy Sarosi (Hongary)
5 Gyula Zsengeller (Hungary)
5 Silvio Piola (Italy)
4 Gino Colaussi (Italy)
4 Ernest Wilimowski (Poland)
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