| 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) | (7 goals each) |
1938 → | |
The1934 FIFA World Cup was the firstWorld Cup for which teams had to qualify, after the finalists in theinaugural 1930 World Cup had participated by invitation fromFIFA. With 32 teams having entered the 1934 competition, FIFA organizedqualification rounds to select 16 teams for the finals.[1] Even Italy, the host of the World Cup, had to earn its spot, the only time this has been the case.[1][a] 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.[1][2]
Of the 32 teams which entered,
The first match, between Sweden and Estonia, took place in Stockholm on 11 June 1933, with Swedish playerKnut Kroon scoring the first goal.[b] 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:
The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:
Key:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4.000 | 4 | Final tournament | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0.333 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.500 | 0 |
| Sweden | 6–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kroon L. Bunke Ericsson T. Bunke Andersson | Report | Kass Kuremaa |
Estonia v Lithuania was not played since neither team could qualify with a win.[3]
Sweden qualified.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 11.000 | 4 | Final tournament | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0.091 | 0 |
Spain qualified.
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.00 | 2 | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 | 0 |
Italy qualified, as Greece declined to play the second match.[1][2]
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4.00 | 4 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0.21 | 0 |
Bulgaria withdrew, and the remaining matches were not played since Hungary and Austria were already assured of the top two spots.[1]
Hungary andAustria qualified.
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 | 4 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.25 | 0 |
| Czechoslovakia | 2–0 awarded[c] | |
|---|---|---|
Czechoslovakia qualified.[4]
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1.33 | 3 | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.75 | 1 |
| Yugoslavia | 2–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Kragić Marjanović | Report | Frigerio Jäggi |
| Switzerland | 2–2[d] | |
|---|---|---|
| Hufschmid Hochstrasser | Report | Sepi Dobay |
Romania andSwitzerland qualified.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 2.250 | 4 | Final tournament | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0.750 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0.667 | 1 |
| Irish Free State | 4–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Moore | Report | Capelle S. Vanden Eynde F. Vanden Eynde |
| Netherlands | 5–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Smit Bakhuys Vente | Report | Squires Moore |
| Belgium | 2–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Grimmonprez Voorhoof | Report | Smit Bakhuys Vente |
Netherlands andBelgium qualified (Belgium finished above the Irish Free State ongoal average).[1]
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9.00 | 2 | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6.00 | 2 | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 0.13 | 0 |
| Luxembourg | 1–9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mengel | Report Report | Rasselnberg Wigold Albrecht Hohmann |
Germany v France was not played since both teams were already assured of the top two spots.[3]
Germany andFrance qualified.
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Withdrew | ||||||||
Peru withdrew, soBrazil qualified automatically.[1]
| Rank | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Withdrew | ||||||||
Chile withdrew, soArgentina qualified automatically.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 5.000 | 5 | Advance tosecond round | |
| 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0.200 | 1 |
| Haiti | 0–6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | H. Socorro López F. Socorro Ferrer Soto |
Cuba advanced to the Second Round.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 4.000 | 6 | Advance tofinal round | |
| 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0.250 | 0 |
Mexico advanced to the 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.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2.000 | 2 | Final tournament | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0.500 | 0 |
United States qualified.
The Palestine football team consisted exclusively of Jewish and British players.[8]
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-dayPalestine national team.[9] However, the region currently known asPalestine is considered one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[10]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5.500 | 4 | Final tournament | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0.182 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Withdrew |
| Egypt | 7–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| El-Tetsh Taha Latif | Report Report | Nudelmann |
| Palestine, British Mandate | 1–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sukenik | Report Report | Latif El-Tetsh Fawzi |
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.[1]


| Team | Finals Appearance | Streak | Last Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 | |
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 1st | 1 | — | |
| 2nd | 2 | 1930 |
The modern Palestine, an Arab State, has no connection with the Jewish delegation from Palestine (at the time a British Mandate) who were the first Jewish national team, and as such the forerunner of Israel.