1938 FIFA World Cup facts for kids
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | France |
| Dates | 4 June – 19 June |
| Teams | 15 |
| Venue(s) | 10 (in 10 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Italy (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Hungary |
| Third place |  Brazil |
| Fourth place |  Sweden |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 18 |
| Goals scored | 84 (4.67 per match) |
| Attendance | 483,000 (26,833 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Leônidas (7 goals) |
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was a big international football tournament. It took place in France in 1938. Teams from all over the world came to compete. Italy won the championship. They beat Hungary in the final match. This was Italy's second World Cup win in a row.
Contents
The 1938 World Cup in France
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third time this global football event was held. It was a knockout tournament. This means that if a team lost a match, they were out of the competition. The tournament started on June 4th and ended on June 19th. Ten different cities in France hosted the matches.
Who Played?
Fifteen national teams took part in the 1938 World Cup. One team, Austria, had to withdraw before the tournament began. This was due to political reasons in their country.
Here are the countries that played:
Teams from Asia
Teams from Europe
Belgium (BEL)
Czechoslovakia (TCH)
France (FRA) (as the host nation)
Germany (GER)- Hungary (HUN)
- Italy (ITA) (as the defending champions)
Netherlands (NED)
Norway (NOR)
Poland (POL)
Romania (ROU)- Sweden (SWE)
Switzerland (SUI)
Teams from North and Central America
Teams from South America
Tournament Results
The tournament had several rounds. Teams played one-off matches. If a match was a draw after regular time, they played extra time. If it was still a draw, some matches had to be replayed on a different day.
| First Round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 5 June – Marseille | ||||||||||||||
| Italy (aet) |
2 | |||||||||||||
| 12 June – Paris (Olympique) | ||||||||||||||
| Norway |
1 | |||||||||||||
| Italy |
3 | |||||||||||||
| 5 June – Paris (Olympique) | ||||||||||||||
| France |
1 | |||||||||||||
| France |
3 | |||||||||||||
| 16 June – Marseille | ||||||||||||||
| Belgium |
1 | |||||||||||||
| Italy |
2 | |||||||||||||
| 5 June – Strasbourg | ||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Brazil |
1 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil (aet) |
6 | |||||||||||||
| 12 June – Bordeaux (replayed 14 June) |
||||||||||||||
| Poland |
5 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil |
1 (2) | |||||||||||||
| 5 June – Le Havre | ||||||||||||||
| Czechoslovakia |
1 (1) | |||||||||||||
| Czechoslovakia (aet) |
3 | |||||||||||||
| 19 June – Paris (Olympique) | ||||||||||||||
| Netherlands |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Italy |
4 | |||||||||||||
| 5 June – Reims | ||||||||||||||
 Hungary |
2
|
|||||||||||||
| Hungary |
6 | |||||||||||||
| 12 June – Lille | ||||||||||||||
| Dutch East Indies |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Hungary |
2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 June – Paris (Princes) (replayed 9 June) |
||||||||||||||
 Switzerland |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Switzerland |
1 (4) | |||||||||||||
| 16 June – Rome | ||||||||||||||
| Germany |
1 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Hungary |
5 | |||||||||||||
| 5 June – Lyon | ||||||||||||||
| Sweden |
1
|
Third place | ||||||||||||
| Sweden |
w/o | |||||||||||||
| 12 June – Antibes | 19 June – Bordeaux | |||||||||||||
 Austria |
- | |||||||||||||
| Sweden |
8 | Brazil |
4 | |||||||||||
| 5 June – Toulouse (replayed 9 June) |
||||||||||||||
 Cuba |
0
|
Sweden |
2 | |||||||||||
| Cuba |
3 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Romania |
3 (1)
|
|||||||||||||
Semi-finals
In the semi-finals, four teams remained. They played for a spot in the final.
| 16 June 1938 18:00 (WEST) |
Hungary  |
5–1 | Sweden |
Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Lucien Leclerq (France) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacobsson  19' (o.g.)Titkos 37'Zsengellér 39', 85'Sárosi 65' |
Report | Nyberg 1' |
| 16 June 1938 18:00 (WEST) |
Italy |
2–1 |  Brazil |
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 33,000 Referee: Hans Wüthrich (Switzerland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colaussi 51' Meazza 60' (pen.) |
Report | Romeu 87' |
Match for Third Place
The teams that lost in the semi-finals played for third place.
| 19 June 1938 17:00 (WEST) |
Sweden |
2–4 | Brazil |
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Attendance: 12,000 Referee: John Langenus (Belgium) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonasson 28' Nyberg 38' |
Report | Romeu 44' Leônidas 63', 74'Perácio 80' |
The Final Match
The final match was played between Italy and Hungary. Italy won the game, becoming champions for the second time in a row.
| 19 June 1938 17:00 (WEST) |
Hungary |
2–4 | Italy |
Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Georges Capdeville (France) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titkos 8' Sárosi 70' |
Report | Colaussi 6', 35' Piola 16', 82' |
Italy won the championship.
Images for kids
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Qualifying countries and their results
-
A ball from the tournament
See also
In Spanish: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 1938 para niños
