Who won the World Cup in 1934?

The second edition of the World Cup was held in the year 1934. It was for the first time, that a qualification stage was introduced before the main tournament.

32 teams entered the qualification round out of which 16 teams made it to the final competition. Reigning champions Uruguay boycotted the tournament as a mark protest against European nations as only four European sides accepted Uruguay's invitation in the previous edition which they hosted.

Italy were selected as the host nation.

Who won the 1934 World Cup?

Italy, the hosts, became the World Champion in 1934, beating Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) in the final.

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Which teams participated in the qualifying round?

Other than defending champions Uruguay, the British nations too did not participate as they were on a self-imposed exile from FIFA. The teams who took part in the qualifying round were - Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, USA, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey.

The teams who eventually qualified were - Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Brazil, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States.

This was the only time the defending champions did not take part in the competition and a host nation participated in the qualifying round.

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What was the format of the 1934 World Cup?

Unlike the first World Cup where the group stages were held, in the second edition, it was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament. If a match was tied after ninety minutes, then thirty minutes of extra time were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match was replayed the next day.

The eight seeded teams – Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary – were kept apart in the Round of 16.

Who were the topscorers of the 1934 World Cup?

Czech Republic forward Oldřich Nejedlý was the Golden Boot winner with five goals to his name. The second-highest goalscorer in the tournament was Germany's Edmund who netted four goals. There was no formal Golden Boot Award though back in 1934 as FIFA started the award for the first time in 1982.

Let's take a look at the 22 Italian players who lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time in history.

The 22-man 1934 World Cup-winning Italy squad