1938 FIFA World Cup qualification

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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.

Due to the Spanish Civil War,  Spain had to withdraw 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).

 Group 10 - South America: 1 place, contested by 2 teams.
 Group 11 - North, Central America and Caribbean: 1 place, contested by 7 teams
(including Colombia).
 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.

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).

Listed below are the dates and results of the qualification rounds.

[edit] Groups
The 12 groups had different rules, as follows:

 Group 1 had 4 teams. The teams would play against each other once. The group winner
and runner-up would qualify.
 Groups 2, 3, 4 and 7 had 2 teams each. The teams would play against each other on a
home-and-away basis. The group winners would qualify.
 Group 5: had 2 teams. The teams would play against each other once on neutral ground.
The group winner would qualify.
 Groups 6 and 8 had 3 teams each. The strongest team of each group was seeded. There
would be two rounds of play:
o First Round: The seeded team received a bye and advanced to the Final Round
directly. The remaining 2 teams would play against each other on a home-and-away
basis. The winner would advance to the Final Round.
o Final Round: The seeded team would play against the winner of the First Round at
home. The winner would qualify.
 Group 9 had 3 teams. The teams would play 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.

[edit] Group 1

June 16, 1937, Stockholm, Sweden -  Sweden 4 - 0  Finland

June 20, 1937, Stockholm, Sweden -  Sweden 7 - 2  Estonia

June 29, 1937, Helsinki, Finland -  Finland 0 - 2  Germany

August 19, 1937, Turku, Finland -  Finland 0 - 1  Estonia

August 29, 1937, Königsberg, Germany -  Germany 4 - 1  Estonia

November 21, 1937, Hamburg, Germany -  Germany 5 - 0  Sweden

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Germany 6 3 3 0 0 11 1

2  Sweden 4 3 2 0 1 11 7

3  Estonia 2 3 1 0 2 4 11

4  Finland 0 3 0 0 3 0 7

Germany and Sweden qualified.

[edit] Group 2

October 10, 1937, Oslo, Norway -  Norway 3 - 2 Irish Free State

November 7, 1937, Dublin, Irish Free State - Irish Free State 3 - 3  Norway

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Norway 3 2 1 1 0 6 5

2 Irish Free State 1 2 0 1 1 5 6

Norway qualified.

[edit] Group 3

October 10, 1937, Warsaw, Poland -  Poland 4 - 0 Yugoslavia

April 3, 1938, Belgrade, Yugoslavia - Yugoslavia 1 - 0  Poland

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Poland 2 2 1 0 1 4 1

2 Yugoslavia 2 2 1 0 1 1 4

Poland qualified (Poland finished above Yugoslavia on goal average).

[edit] Group 4

 Egypt withdrew, so  Romania qualified automatically.

[edit] Group 5

May 1, 1938, Milan, Italy -  Switzerland 2 - 1  Portugal

Switzerland qualified.

[edit] Group 6

[edit] First round

January 22, 1938, Tel Aviv, Palestine - Palestine/Eretz Israel 1 - 3  Greece

February 20, 1938, Athens, Greece -  Greece 1 - 0 Palestine/Eretz Israel

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Greece 4 2 2 0 0 4 1

2 Palestine/Eretz Israel 0 2 0 0 2 1 4

Greece advanced to the Final Round.

[edit] Final round

March 25, 1938, Budapest, Hungary -  Hungary 11 - 1  Greece

Hungary qualified.

[edit] Group 7

November 7, 1937, Sofia, Bulgaria -  Bulgaria 1 - 1  Czechoslovakia

April 24, 1938, Prague, Czechoslovakia -  Czechoslovakia 6 - 0  Bulgaria

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Czechoslovakia 3 2 1 1 0 7 1

2  Bulgaria 1 2 0 1 1 1 7

Czechoslovakia qualified.

[edit] Group 8

[edit] First round

July 29, 1937, Riga, Latvia -  Latvia 4 - 2  Lithuania

September 3, 1937, Kaunas, Lithuania -  Lithuania 1 - 5  Latvia

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Latvia 4 2 2 0 0 9 3

2  Lithuania 0 2 0 0 2 3 9

Latvia advanced to the Final Round.

[edit] Final round

October 5, 1937, Vienna, Austria -  Austria 2 - 1  Latvia

Austria qualified, but was later incorporated by Germany during the Anschluss. FIFA offered the place
to  England, who had opted not to enter the competition, but they declined. FIFA decided not to
allow anyone else to qualify, leaving the World Cup one team short.

[edit] Group 9

November 28, 1937, Rotterdam, Netherlands -  Netherlands 4 - 0  Luxembourg

March 13, 1938, Luxembourg, Luxembourg -  Luxembourg 2 - 3  Belgium

April 3, 1938, Antwerpen, Belgium -  Belgium 1 - 1  Netherlands

Rank Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA

1  Netherlands 3 2 1 1 0 5 1

2  Belgium 3 2 1 1 0 4 3

3  Luxembourg 0 2 0 0 2 2 7

Netherlands and Belgium qualified.

[edit] Group 10

 Argentina withdrew, so  Brazil qualified automatically.

[edit] Group 11

USA,  Colombia,  Costa Rica,  Mexico,  El Salvador and Dutch Guiana all
withdrew, so  Cuba qualified automatically.

[edit] Group 12

 Japan withdrew, so Dutch East Indies qualified automatically.

[edit] Qualified teams

Qualifying countries

Finals Last
Team Streak
Appearance Appearance

 Belgium 3rd 3 1934

 Brazil 3rd 3 1934

 Cuba 1st 1 -

 Czechoslovakia 2nd 2 1934

Dutch East Indies 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.

(h) - qualified automatically as hosts

(c) - qualified automatically as defending champions

[edit] Notes
 It was originally intended that the World Cup would be held alternately between the
continents of South America and Europe. Nevertheless, Jules Rimet, the creator of the
World Cup, convinced FIFA to hold the competition in France, his home country. Because of
this controversy, many American countries, including Argentina (the most likely hosts if the
event was held in South America), Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Dutch
Guiana, Uruguay, and the United States all withdrew or refused to enter.