page_title: 1934 FIFA World Cup
section_title: Summary
hierarchical_section_title: 1934 FIFA World Cup / Summary
caption_attribution_description: English: 1934 FIFA World Cup, derived from free licenced world map, showing: 1st (dark blue) 2nd (light blue) 3rd (dark green) 4th (light green) Quarterfinals (yellow) Round 1 (red) Yellow square is host nation.
context_page_description: The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934.
  The 1934 World Cup was the first for which teams had to qualify to take part. Thirty-two nations entered the competition, and after qualification, 16 teams participated in the finals tournament. Reigning champions Uruguay refused to participate due to the fact that just four European teams had accepted their invitation to the 1930 tournament. Italy became the second World Cup champions and the first European team to win, beating Czechoslovakia 2–1 in the final.
  The 1934 World Cup was a high-profile instance of a sporting event being used for overt political gain, much like the Berlin Olympics two years later. Benito Mussolini was keen to use this World Cup as a means of promoting fascism, and there were accusations of bribery, corruption and meddling in the Italian team's matches by Mussolini himself.
  The Federale 102, which was manufactured in Italy, was the match ball provided for the 1934 World Cup.
context_section_description: All eight first-round matches kicked off at the same time. Hosts and favourites Italy won handsomely, defeating the USA 7–1; The New York Times correspondent wrote that "only the fine goal-tending of Julius Hjulian of Chicago kept the score as low as it was".
  Internal disputes meant Argentina's squad for the tournament did not contain a single member of the team which had reached the final in 1930. Against Sweden in Bologna, Argentina twice took the lead, but two goals by Sven Jonasson and a winner by Knut Kroon gave Sweden a 3–2 victory. Fellow South Americans Brazil also suffered an early exit. Spain beat them comfortably; 3–1 the final score.
  For the only time in World Cup history, the last eight consisted entirely of European teams – Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. All four non-European teams who made the journey to Italy were eliminated after one match.
  In the quarter-finals, the first replayed match in World Cup history took place, when Italy and Spain drew 1–1 after extra time. The match was played in a highly aggressive manner with several players of both sides injured: rough play injured the Spanish goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora in the first match, leaving him unable to participate in the replay, while on the other side rough play by Spaniards broke the leg of the Italian Mario Pizziolo who would not play in the national team again. Italy won the replay 1–0; their play so physical that at least three Spaniards had to depart the field with injuries. Italy then went on to beat Austria in the semi-finals by the same score. Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia secured their place in the final by beating Germany 3–1.
  The Stadium of the National Fascist Party was the venue for the final. With 80 minutes played, the Czechoslovaks led 1–0. The Italians managed to score before the final whistle and then added another goal in extra time to be crowned World Cup winners.
  Throughout the years, several sources have reported that the tournament was marred by bribery and corruption, and could have been influenced by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who used the tournament as a propaganda tool for fascism. According to these accusations, Mussolini personally selected referees for the matches where the Italian national team were playing, while the Italian government meddled in FIFA's organisation of events, re-organizing the logistics of the matches to further promote fascism. Nonetheless, Italy also won the following edition of the World Cup (held in France) as well as the Olympic football tournament in 1936.
caption: Qualifying countries and their results
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