The 1934 World Cup in Italy

Italy 1934

Italy hosted the second World Cup in 1934. In a politically charged atmosphere, the Italians claimed victory on home soil, with the organization and referees ensuring the conditions favored their triumph.

For this World Cup, 34 countries registered, but due to the country’s political climate, only 16 teams participated:

12 from Europe
3 from the Americas
1 from Africa

Uruguay did not attend as retaliation for Italy’s absence in 1930.

Participating Teams: 16

Germany
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Czechoslovakia
Egypt
Spain
United States
France
Hungary
Italy
Netherlands
Romania
Sweden
Switzerland

This World Cup featured the longest match in World Cup history, lasting 210 minutes. In the quarterfinals, Italy and Spain played a historic and violent elimination match. With 10 injured players—3 Italians and 7 Spaniards—the game had to be replayed the next day. In the 11th minute of the rematch, a corner kick by Orsi led to a goal by Meazza, securing Italy's passage. Swiss referee Mercet heavily favored Italy during the match and was later disqualified by the federation.

Best Players of the Tournament

Ricardo Zamora (Spain): Considered by some as the greatest goalkeeper of all time.
Giuseppe Meazza (Italy): The brain of the midfield and a top scorer.
Matthias Sindelar (Austria): A legend of the tournament, who later tragically committed suicide with his wife; both were Jewish.
Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia): The top scorer with 5 goals.

The final took place on June 10, 1934. Czechoslovakia initially led 1–0, but Italy equalized and later scored in extra time to secure a 2–1 victory and win the cup.