1930 FIFA World Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1930 FIFA World Cup

1er Campeonato Mundial de Fútbol  (Spanish)
Official poster, designed by Guillermo Laborde
Tournament details
Host country	Uruguay
City	Montevideo
Dates	13–30 July
Teams	13 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)	3 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Uruguay (1st title)
Runners-up	Argentina
Third place	United States
Fourth place	Yugoslavia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	18
Goals scored	70 (3.89 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Guillermo Stábile (8 goals)
1934 →

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the very first World Cup tournament in soccer history. It was the premier world championship for men's national football teams. The big contest took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930. The global governing organization, known as FIFA, chose Uruguay to be the host nation. Uruguay was celebrating the 100th birthday of its first constitution. Also, the talented Uruguay national football team had won the gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All the thrilling matches took place in the capital city of Montevideo. Most games occurred in a giant new stadium called Estadio Centenario.

Thirteen nations came to play in the exciting summer event. Seven teams traveled from South America, four came from Europe, and two arrived from North America. Not many European teams joined because sailing across the sea during the hard economic times of the Great Depression was tough. The tournament separated the teams into four groups. The top team from each group earned a ticket directly to the semi-finals. The opening games kicked off at the exact same time. The France squad beat the Mexico team 4–1. At that exact moment, the United States defeated the Belgium squad 3–0. A French player named Lucien Laurent scored the very first goal in World Cup history. American goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas achieved the first game without conceding a goal.

Four powerful squads reached the semi-finals: Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, and the Yugoslavia team. In the championship final, Uruguay beat their neighbours Argentina 4–2 in front of almost 70,000 cheering fans. Uruguay proudly lifted the trophy as the very first World Cup winner. An Argentine forward named Francisco Varallo lived to be 100 years old as the last surviving athlete from the tournament. The tournament established an amazing tradition that sports lovers continue to enjoy today.

How the Tournament Was Created

FIFA spent several years organizing a brand new competition just for national soccer teams. Before this tournament, the largest international soccer matches took place during the Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee worked closely with FIFA during the early 20th century to showcase soccer. Huge crowds attended soccer games at the 1924 Games and the 1928 Olympic Games. These fun games proved that fans all over the world loved international competitions. At a meeting held in Amsterdam in May 1928, FIFA president Jules Rimet suggested an independent tournament. FIFA administrator Henri Delaunay agreed that soccer needed its own global stage outside the Olympic Games.

Participating countries on a map, tinted by order of finish

The 1930 edition became the only tournament that did not need qualifying games. Any country that belonged to FIFA received a friendly invitation to play. Teams had until 28 February 1930 to accept the special offer. Organizers originally hoped for 16 teams to fill out four even groups. Nations across the Americas were very eager to enter the tournament. Entries quickly arrived from Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. Seven South American nations joined, which was a record number.

European countries hesitated because traveling across the huge Atlantic Ocean took weeks on steamships. Many players could not leave their regular jobs for two whole months during the Great Depression. The Uruguayan Football Association even reached out to The Football Association in Britain. The British Home Nations, including England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, declined the offer. From Asia, neither Japan nor Siam chose to make the long journey. The Egypt squad wanted to play, but bad weather in the Mediterranean delayed their ship, causing them to miss the boat to South America.

The Journey to Uruguay

President Rimet personally helped find European participants along with a diplomat named Enrique Buero. Four European teams finally agreed to sail: France, Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia. In Romania, King Carol II stepped in to select players personally. He spoke with company owners so the athletes kept their regular jobs after coming home. The Romanian team was led by manager Constantin Rădulescu and team captain Rudolf Wetzer. France joined thanks to Rimet, although star defender Manuel Anatol and coach Gaston Barreau stayed home. Belgian official Rodolphe Seeldrayers persuaded the Belgian side to take part.

The European players shared a memorable trip on an ocean liner called the SS Conte Verde. The ship departed from Genoa with the Romanian team on board. It soon stopped at Villefranche-sur-Mer to pick up the French team and the Yugoslavian team. It stopped again in Barcelona to welcome the Belgian athletes. The ship carried President Rimet, three European referees, and the shiny golden trophy in a suitcase. The famous referees included Belgians John Langenus and Henri Christophe, alongside Frenchman Thomas Balvay. The ship collected the Brazilian squad in Rio de Janeiro before reaching Montevideo.

Choosing the Host Nation

Several European nations wished to host the first soccer tournament. Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, and Hungary all applied to host the games. Uruguay also asked to host because the country was celebrating 100 years of its independence. Uruguay promised to pay the travel expenses of all the visiting squads. They also promised to construct a massive modern soccer stadium. The European nations soon withdrew their bids, leaving Uruguay as the proud host.

Stadiums and Match Venues in Montevideo

Every match took place in the capital city of Montevideo. The main attraction was the brand new Estadio Centenario, built specially for the tournament. Architect Juan Scasso designed the giant concrete stadium to hold 90,000 spectators. Jules Rimet called the huge building a wonderful temple of football. It was the largest soccer stadium outside the British Isles at that time.

Heavy rain slowed down construction during the cold winter months before the tournament began. Because the main stadium was not finished on opening day, organizers used two older stadiums. The first matches were played at Estadio Pocitos, which belonged to Peñarol, and Estadio Gran Parque Central, belonging to Nacional. Estadio Centenario opened on the sixth day of the tournament. The home side celebrated the opening by defeating Peru 1–0 with a goal by Héctor Castro.

List of stadiums

Stadium	Capacity	Image
Estadio Centenario	90,000	Estadio Centenario in 1930
Estadio Gran Parque Central	20,000	Gran Parque Central
Estadio Pocitos	10,000	Estadio Pocitos in 1930

Fifteen referees and linesmen managed the tournament games. Four officials traveled from Europe, while eleven came from the Americas. The officials held meetings before the games to understand the rules equally. Two referees stood out during the tournament. Brazilian referee Gilberto de Almeida Rêgo accidentally ended a game six minutes early. Bolivian referee Ulises Saucedo, who was also Bolivia's head coach, awarded three penalty kicks in one match. Argentine referee José Macías and linesman Gaspar Vallejo also assisted. Other officials included Gualberto Alonso, Martin Aphesteguy, Domingo Lombardi, Francisco Mateucci, Anibal Tejada, Ricardó Vallarino, and Álberto Warnken.

Tournament Format and Group Matches

The thirteen teams were sorted into four groups. Group 1 held four teams, while the other three groups contained three teams each. The squads competed in a round-robin format where each squad played everyone in their group once. The four group winners moved into the knockout semi-finals. Four top nations, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and the United States, were seeded to keep them apart in the draw.

Group 1 Battles

Group 1 featured Argentina, Chile, France, and Mexico. France defeated Mexico in the opening game 4–1. Lucien Laurent scored the first goal from a neat cross. Two days later, France faced Argentina in a physical game. French goalkeeper Alex Thépot had to leave early after getting hurt. Argentina won the match 1–0 with a late score from a free kick by Luis Monti. Referee Almeida Rêgo accidentally blew the final whistle early while French player Marcel Langiller was running toward the goal. The referee realized his mistake and brought the players back to finish.

Chile defeated Mexico 3–0 in their first match. During France's game against Chile, goalkeeper Thépot stopped a penalty kick taken by Carlos Vidal. That play was the very first penalty kick save in World Cup history. Argentina then played Mexico in an exciting 6–3 victory. Mexican goalkeeper Óscar Bonfiglio stopped a penalty kick taken by Fernando Paternoster. Argentine striker Guillermo Stábile scored three goals in a single game, which is called a hat-trick. Stábile played because captain Manuel Ferreira went home to take a college law exam. Argentina finished the group stage by defeating Chile 3–1. Forward Arturo Torres played hard for Chile, but Argentina won the group to advance.

Group 2 Matches

Group 2 included Brazil, Bolivia, and Yugoslavia. Most fans expected Brazil to win this group easily. Yugoslavia surprised the crowd by defeating Brazil 2–1 in their first game. Bolivia wore special shirts that carried individual letters spelling out "Viva Uruguay" to thank the host nation. Bolivia defended bravely against Yugoslavia for an hour, but Yugoslavia broke through and won 4–0. Brazil then played Bolivia in a match where both sides showed great sportsmanship. Brazil won 4–0, with two smart goals scored by athlete Preguinho. Yugoslavia took first place in the group and earned a spot in the semi-finals.

Group 3 Action

Hosts Uruguay played in Group 3 alongside Peru and Romania. Romania played Peru in the group opener and won 3–1. Romanian forward Adalbert Deșu scored just 50 seconds after kick-off, the fastest goal of the competition. Peruvian player Plácido Galindo was sent off the field by the referee. The crowd for this match was tiny, with some historians estimating only about 300 fans attended.

Uruguay prepared for their opening game with intense physical training. Uruguayan goalkeeper Andrés Mazali was removed from the squad for breaking team curfew rules. Uruguay then played a hard match against Peru at Estadio Centenario. Peruvian goalkeeper Jorge Pardon made many brilliant saves to keep the game close. Uruguay finally scored to win 1–0 before defeating Romania 4–0 in their second game. Uruguay won Group 3 without conceding a single goal.

Group 4 Play

Group 4 featured Belgium, Paraguay, and the United States. Many players on the American team earned their first international caps in this tournament. French observers nicknamed the strong American athletes "the shot-putters." The Americans surprised European fans by beating Belgium 3–0 on a muddy pitch. Belgian players argued that one American goal was offside, but the score stood.

The United States played Paraguay in windy conditions. American forward Bert Patenaude scored three times to earn the first tournament hat-trick in World Cup history. For many years, soccer records credited one score to teammate Tom Florie, but FIFA corrected the record to award the hat-trick to Patenaude. The final game between Paraguay and Belgium was a game that did not change group standings. Paraguay won the game 1–0, while the United States advanced to the semi-finals.

The Semi-Final Games

All four group winners moved into the exciting semi-final round. Both games ended with the exact same score of 6–1. The first semi-final saw Argentina play the United States on a wet, rainy afternoon. American midfielder Raphael Tracey injured his leg early in the game, leaving his team short-handed. Luis Monti scored first to give Argentina the lead. Argentina's quick passing overwhelmed the United States in the second half. Argentina scored five more goals to secure a 6–1 victory and reach the final.

The second semi-final featured Uruguay and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia took an early lead when Đorđe Vujadinović scored a surprise goal. Uruguay answered quickly, scoring twice to take the lead before the break. Yugoslavian players thought they scored an equalizing goal, but the referee ruled it out for offside. In the second half, the host nation attacked with great energy. Forward Pedro Cea scored three goals to complete a brilliant hat-trick. Uruguay won the game 6–1 to book their spot in the championship.

Third Place Honors

During the 1930 tournament, organizers did not arrange a separate match for third place. The tradition of playing for bronze medals began at the 1934 tournament. Because no game was played, books sometimes disagreed about which team finished third. United States captain Tom Florie and Yugoslavian captain Milutin Ivković both returned home with commemorative medals. Many years later, FIFA looked back at the scores from the 1986 World Cup report. They officially ranked the United States in third place and Yugoslavia in fourth place based on total goals scored.

The Championship Final Match

A different ball was used in each half. Argentina's ball (top) was used first, and Uruguay's ball (bottom) was used second.

The final match on 30 July 1930 was a rematch of the 1928 Olympic final. More than 10,000 Argentine supporters crossed the water of the River Plate by boat to watch the game. The boats arrived in large numbers, filling the port in Montevideo. Thousands of fans rushed toward Estadio Centenario, and the gates opened six hours before kick-off. An enormous crowd of 93,000 supporters packed the stadium stands.

Before the match started, both teams argued about which soccer ball to use. FIFA resolved the problem by deciding Argentina would provide the ball for the first half, and Uruguay would supply their own ball for the second half. Belgian referee John Langenus walked onto the field to direct the famous game. Uruguay started well when Pablo Dorado scored a low shot from the right side. Argentina fought back with skillful team passing. Forward Carlos Peucelle beat his defender to score the tying goal. Near the end of the first half, Guillermo Stábile scored to give Argentina a 2–1 lead.

Uruguay returned to the field with great energy for the second half using their own ball. Pedro Cea scored an equalizer to tie the score at 2–2. Ten minutes later, Santos Iriarte scored from distance to give Uruguay the lead. Just before the final whistle blew, Héctor Castro headed the ball into the net to make the score 4–2. The stadium exploded with cheers as the referee ended the game. Jules Rimet stepped onto the field and presented the shiny trophy to Uruguayan official Raúl Jude. The country celebrated with a national holiday the following morning in Montevideo.

After the tournament ended, several traveling teams played friendly matches in South America before sailing home. The exciting event proved that global sports could bring different countries together.

Leading Goalscorers

Players scored a total of 70 goals across 18 tournament matches. Argentine striker Guillermo Stábile led all scorers with eight goals.

• Guillermo Stábile – 8 goals
• Pedro Cea – 5 goals
• Bert Patenaude – 4 goals
• Carlos Peucelle – 3 goals
• Preguinho – 3 goals
• Peregrino Anselmo – 3 goals
• Ivan Bek – 3 goals
• Luis Monti – 2 goals
• Adolfo Zumelzú – 2 goals
• Moderato – 2 goals
• Guillermo Subiabre – 2 goals
• Carlos Vidal – 2 goals
• André Maschinot – 2 goals
• Manuel Rosas – 2 goals
• Héctor Castro – 2 goals
• Pablo Dorado – 2 goals
• Santos Iriarte – 2 goals
• Đorđe Vujadinović – 2 goals
• Mario Evaristo – 1 goal
• Alejandro Scopelli – 1 goal
• Francisco Varallo – 1 goal
• Marcel Langiller – 1 goal
• Lucien Laurent – 1 goal
• Juan Carreño – 1 goal
• Roberto Gayón – 1 goal
• Luis Vargas Peña – 1 goal
• Luis de Souza – 1 goal
• Adalbert Deșu – 1 goal
• Nicolae Kovács – 1 goal
• Constantin Stanciu – 1 goal
• Jim Brown – 1 goal
• Tom Florie – 1 goal
• Bart McGhee – 1 goal
• Héctor Scarone – 1 goal
• Blagoje Marjanović – 1 goal
• Aleksandar Tirnanić – 1 goal

Tournament All-Star Team

Soccer experts and historians selected the finest players from the competition to form an All-Star team.

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Enrique Ballestrero	José Nasazzi Milutin Ivković	José Leandro Andrade Álvaro Gestido Luis Monti	Héctor Castro Pedro Cea Héctor Scarone Guillermo Stábile Bert Patenaude

Final Tournament Standings

FIFA ranked every participating squad according to their overall wins, goals, and progress during the championship.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Uruguay	4	4	0	0	15	3	+12	8
2	Argentina	5	4	0	1	18	9	+9	8
3	United States	3	2	0	1	7	6	+1	4
4	Yugoslavia	3	2	0	1	7	7	0	4
5	Chile	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	4
6	Brazil	2	1	0	1	5	2	+3	2
7	France	3	1	0	2	4	3	+1	2
8	Romania	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2	2
9	Paraguay	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2	2
10	Peru	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0
11	Belgium	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0
12	Bolivia	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	0
13	Mexico	3	0	0	3	4	13	−9	0

See also

In Spanish: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1930 para niños