1934 Fifa World Cup Qualification

With 32 teams having entered the 1934 competition, FIFA organized qualification rounds to select 16 teams for the finals. Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to earn its spot, the only time this has been the case. The previous champion Uruguay refused to defend its title because many European nations had declined to take part in the 1930 World Cup, held in Uruguay.

1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tournament details
Dates	11 June 1933 – 24 May 1934
Teams	29
Tournament statistics
Matches played	26
Goals scored	141 (5.42 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Isidro Lángara Mario López Dionisio Mejía (7 goals each)
1938 →

Of the 32 teams which entered,

• Chile, Peru and Turkey all withdrew before qualifying began.
• Brazil and Argentina qualified without playing any matches owing to the withdrawal of their opponents.
• The other 27 teams played at least one qualifying match.
• Greece, Bulgaria and Poland withdrew partway through the planned schedule of qualifying matches.

The first match, between Sweden and Estonia, took place in Stockholm on 11 June 1933, with Swedish player Knut Kroon scoring the first goal. The last match was played in Rome only three days before the start of the tournament, as late entrant United States beat Mexico to become the final team to qualify.

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

• Groups 1 to 8 – Europe: 12 places, contested by 21 teams.
• Groups 9, 10 and 11 – Americas: 3 places, contested by 8 teams.
• Group 12 – Africa and Asia: 1 place, contested by 3 teams (including Turkey).

The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

• Group 1 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other once. The group winner would qualify.
• Groups 2, 3 and 5 had 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
• Group 4 had 3 teams. The teams played against each other twice. The group winner and runner-up would qualify.
• Groups 6, 7 and 8 had 3 teams each. The teams played against each other once. The group winners and runners-up would qualify.
• Groups 9 and 10 had 2 teams each. The group winners would qualify.
• Group 11 had 4 teams. There would be three rounds of play:
  • First Round: Haiti played against Cuba thrice. The winner would advance to the Second Round.
  • Second Round: Mexico played against the winner of the First Round thrice at home. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
  • Final Round: USA played against the winner of the Second Round in a single match on neutral ground. The winner would qualify.
• Group 12 had 3 teams. After Turkey withdrew before the matches began, the remaining 2 teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner would qualify.

Key:

• Teams highlighted in green qualified for the finals.
• Teams highlighted in orange qualified for the next phase of their group.

Group 1

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Sweden	2	2	0	0	8	2	4.00	4
2	Estonia	1	0	0	1	2	6	0.33	0
3	Lithuania	1	0	0	1	0	2	0.00	0

11 June 1933

Sweden	6–2	Estonia
Kroon   7' L. Bunke   10' Ericsson   13', 70' T. Bunke   43' Andersson   79' (pen)	Report	Kass   47' Kuremaa   61'

Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden

Attendance: 8,123

Referee: Reidar Randers-Johansen (Norway)

29 June 1933

Lithuania	0–2	Sweden
	Report	Hansson   55', 65'

Kariuomenės Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania

Attendance: 6,000

Referee: August Silber (Estonia)

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	2	2	0	0	11	1	11.0	4
2	Portugal	2	0	0	2	1	11	0.09	0

11 March 1934

Spain	9–0	Portugal
González   3' Lángara   13', 14' (pen.), 46', 71', 85' Regueiro   65', 70' Ventolrà   68'	Report

Estadio Chamartín, Madrid, Spain

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium)

18 March 1934

Portugal	1–2	Spain
Silva   10'	Report	Lángara   12', 25'

Estádio do Lumiar, Lisbon, Portugal

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Raphael van Praag (Belgium)

11–1 on aggregate; Spain qualified.

Group 3

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Italy	1	1	0	0	4	0	4.00	2
2	Greece	1	0	0	1	0	4	0.00	0

25 March 1934

Italy	4–0	Greece
Guarisi   40' Meazza   44', 71' Ferrari   69'	Report

San Siro, Milan, Italy

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: René Mercet (Switzerland)

Italy qualified, as Greece declined to play the second match.

Group 4

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Hungary	2	2	0	0	8	2	4.00	4
2	Austria	1	1	0	0	6	1	6.00	2
3	Bulgaria	3	0	0	3	3	14	0.21	0

25 March 1934

Bulgaria	1–4	Hungary
Baikushev   27'	Report	Sárosi   29' Szabó   61' (pen.) Toldi   88' Markos   89'

A.S. 23 Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania)

25 April 1934

Austria	6–1	Bulgaria
Horvath   19', 22', 33' Zischek   59' Viertl   62' Sindelar   67'	Report	Lozanov   66'

Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: František Cejnar (Czechoslovakia)

29 April 1934

Hungary	4–1	Bulgaria
Szabó   9', 58' Solti   60', 73'	Report	Todorov   61'

Hungária-körút, Budapest, Hungary

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Hans Frankenstein (Austria)

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	2	2	0	0	4	1	4.00	4
2	Poland	2	0	0	2	1	4	0.25	0

15 October 1933

Poland	1–2	Czechoslovakia
Martyna   52' (pen)	Report	Silný   33' Pelcner   77'

Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland

Attendance: 16,000

Referee: Denis Xifando (Romania)

15 April 1934

Czechoslovakia	2–0 awarded	Poland

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia qualified.

Group 6

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Romania	2	1	1	0	4	3	1.33	3
2	Switzerland	2	0	2	0	4	4	1.00	2
3	Yugoslavia	2	0	1	1	3	4	0.75	1

24 September 1933

Yugoslavia	2–2	Switzerland
Kragić   50' Marjanović   61'	Report	Frigerio   76' Jäggi   80'

Stadion BSK, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Attendance: 17,000

Referee: Alois Beranek (Austria)

29 October 1933

Switzerland	2–2	Romania
Hufschmid   75' Hochstrasser   80' (pen.)	Report	Sepi   18' Dobay   67'

Wankdorf Stadion, Bern, Switzerland

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Hans Boekmann (Netherlands)

29 April 1934

Romania	2–1	Yugoslavia
Schwartz   38' Dobay   74'	Report	Kragić   71'

Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: John Langenus (Belgium)

Romania and Switzerland qualified.

Group 7

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Netherlands	2	2	0	0	9	4	2.25	4
2	Belgium	2	0	1	1	6	8	0.75	1
3	Irish Free State	2	0	1	1	6	9	0.67	1

25 February 1934

Irish Free State	4–4	Belgium
Moore   27', 48', 56', 75'	Report	Capelle   15' S. Vanden Eynde   30' F. Vanden Eynde   47', 60'

Dalymount Park, Dublin, Irish Free State

Attendance: 28,000

Referee: Thomas Crewe (England)

8 April 1934

Netherlands	5–2	Irish Free State
Smit   41', 85' Bakhuys   67', 78' Vente   83'	Report	Squires   44' Moore   57'

Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Attendance: 38,000

Referee: Otto Ohlsson (Sweden)

29 April 1934

Belgium	2–4	Netherlands
Grimmonprez   51' Voorhoof   71'	Report	Smit   60' Bakhuys   62', 84' Vente   64'

Bosuil Stadion, Antwerp, Belgium

Attendance: 33,000

Referee: Stanley Rous (England)

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	1	1	0	0	9	1	9.00	2
2	France	1	1	0	0	6	1	6.00	2
3	Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	2	15	0.13	0

11 March 1934

Luxembourg	1–9	Germany
Mengel   27'	Report Report	Rasselnberg   2', 35', 57', 89' Wigold   12' Albrecht   24' Hohmann   30', 52', 53'

Stade Municipal, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Attendance: 16,000

Referee: Jan de Wolf (Netherlands)

15 April 1934

Luxembourg	1–6	France
Speicher   47'	Report	Aston   3' Nicolas   26', 67', 85', 89' (pen.) Liberati   80'

Stade Municipal, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Marc Turfkruyer (Belgium)

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

Germany and France qualified.

Group 9

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Brazil
2	Peru	Withdrew

Peru withdrew, so Brazil qualified automatically.

Group 10

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Argentina
2	Chile	Withdrew

Chile withdrew, so Argentina qualified automatically.

Group 11

First round

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Cuba	3	2	1	0	10	2	5.00	5
2	Haiti	3	0	1	2	2	10	0.20	1

28 January 1934

18:00 EST (UTC−05:00)

Haiti	1–3	Cuba
St. Fort   85' (pen.)	Report	López   20' (pen.) H. Socorro   61' Martínez   64'

Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Attendance: 6,000

Referee: John Williams (United States)

1 February 1934

18:00 EST (UTC−05:00)

Haiti	1–1	Cuba
St. Fort   25' (pen.)	Report	López   85'

Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Attendance: 6,000

Referee: John Williams (United States)

4 February 1934

18:00 EST (UTC−05:00)

Haiti	0–6	Cuba
	Report	H. Socorro   5' López   18', 86' F. Socorro   37' Ferrer   62' Soto   78'

Parc Leconte, Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Attendance: 5,000

Referee: John Williams (United States)

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

Second round

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Mexico	3	3	0	0	12	3	4.00	6
2	Cuba	3	0	0	3	3	12	0.25	0

4 March 1934

Mexico	3–2	Cuba
Mejía   12', 14', 16'	Report	López   40', 63'

Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, Mexico

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States)

11 March 1934

Mexico	5–0	Cuba
Sota   24' Mejía   31', 40', 79' Rosas   72'	Report

Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, Mexico

Attendance: 22,000

Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States)

18 March 1934

Mexico	4–1	Cuba
Alonso   32', 75' Ruvalcaba   41' Marcos   55'	Report	López   15'

Parque Necaxa, Mexico City, Mexico

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: Edward Donaghy (United States)

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

Final round

The match to decide whether the United States or Mexico would qualify was played only three days before the start of the final tournament, as the United States submitted their entry too late. Thus, the match was played in Italy, so that the winner would effectively stay in the country for the tournament.

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	United States	1	1	0	0	4	2	2.00	2
2	Mexico	1	0	0	1	2	4	0.50	0

24 May 1934

United States	4–2	Mexico
Donelli   28', 32', 74', 87'	Report	Alonso   25' Mejía   75'

Stadio Nazionale, Rome, Italy

Attendance: 12,000

Referee: Yossouf Mohammed (Egypt)

United States qualified.

Group 12

The Palestine football team consisted exclusively of Jewish and British players.

FIFA states, in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team, that the 'Palestine team' that participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team, and as such bears no relation to the modern-day Palestine national team. However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Rank	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Egypt	2	2	0	0	11	2	5.50	4
2	Palestine, British Mandate	2	0	0	2	2	11	0.18	0
—	Turkey	withdrew

16 March 1934

Egypt	7–1	Palestine, British Mandate
El-Tetsh   11', 35', 51' Taha   21', 79' Latif   43', 87'	Report Report	Nudelmann   61'

British Army Ground, Cairo, Egypt

Attendance: 13,000

Referee: Stanley Wells (England)

6 April 1934

Palestine, British Mandate	1–4	Egypt
Sukenik   54'	Report Report	Latif   2' El-Tetsh   7', 22' Fawzi   35'

Palms Ground, Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine

Attendance: 5,000 / 8,000

Referee: Frederick Goodsby (England)

11–2 on aggregate; Egypt qualified.

Only six of the teams qualifying for the final competition – Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Romania, and the USA – had already attended the World Cup in 1930.

 

 

Team	Finals Appearance	Streak	Last Appearance
Argentina	2nd	2	1930
Austria	1st	1	–
Belgium	2nd	2	1930
Brazil	2nd	2	1930
Czechoslovakia	1st	1	–
Egypt	1st	1	–
France	2nd	2	1930
Germany	1st	1	–
Hungary	1st	1	–
Italy	1st	1	–
Netherlands	1st	1	–
Romania	2nd	2	1930
Spain	1st	1	–
Sweden	1st	1	–
Switzerland	1st	1	–
United States	2nd	2	1930

7 goals

•   Mario López
•   Dionisio Mejía
•   Isidro Lángara

5 goals

4 goals

•   Jean Nicolas
•   Josef Rasselnberg
•   Beb Bakhuys
•   Aldo Donelli

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal