1938 FIFA World Cup

Notes

Third FIFA World Cup, the last before WW2 (no tournaments in 1942 or 1946). Originally 16 teams: Austria qualified but withdrew after the March 1938 Anschluss annexed it into Nazi Germany; Sweden received a walkover into the QFs. Italy retained their title under coach Vittorio Pozzo — the only manager to win two World Cups. Spain absent (Civil War); England, Argentina, Uruguay declined. Brazil's Leônidas won the Golden Boot with 7 goals including a famous hat-trick in Brazil 6-5 Poland (a.e.t.). Two R16 ties needed replays (Switzerland-Germany; Cuba-Romania) and one QF tie did (Brazil-Czechoslovakia).

Top scorers

1. 1.LeônidasBrazil· Forwards7
2. 2.Silvio PiolaItaly· Forwards5
3. 3.György SárosiHungary· Forwards5
4. 4.Gyula ZsengellérHungary· Forwards5
5. 5.Gino ColaussiItaly· Forwards4
6. 6.Gustav WetterströmSweden· Forwards4
7. 7.Ernst WilimowskiPoland· Forwards4
8. 8.PerácioBrazil· Forwards3
9. 9.Arne NybergSweden· Forwards3
10. 10.André AbegglenSwitzerland· Forwards3

Italy's road to the title

1. r16vs Norway2-1 (a.e.t.)
2. qfvs France3-1
3. sfvs Brazil2-1
4. finalvs Hungary4-2

Confederation breakdown

• UEFA12
• CONMEBOL1
• Concacaf1
• CAF0
• AFC1
• OFC0

📚 Trivia (5)

• contextAustria qualified for 1938 but withdrew after the March 1938 Anschluss annexed it into Nazi Germany. Sweden received a walkover into the quarter-finals. Several Austrian players (Sindelar, Bican) refused to join the German national team afterwards — Sindelar died mysteriously a few months later. Eight ex-Austrian players were forced into Germany's 1938 squad post-Anschluss.
• recordsVittorio Pozzo of Italy is the only manager ever to win two FIFA World Cups (1934 + 1938). Italy in 1938 became the first nation to retain the World Cup title.
• matchesBrazil 6-5 Poland in the 1938 round of 16 was an extra-time goal-fest with hat-tricks on both sides — Leônidas for Brazil and Ernst Wilimowski for Poland. Wilimowski's 4 goals in a single match remain a World Cup record matched only a handful of times since.
• firstsCuba made their only-ever World Cup appearance in 1938 and reached the quarter-finals (after upsetting Romania in a R16 replay). They have never qualified again.
• format1938 needed three replays — Switzerland-Germany (R16), Cuba-Romania (R16), and Brazil-Czechoslovakia (QF) — bringing the total to 18 matches in 16 days. Penalty shootouts didn't yet exist; ties went to a full replay 24-48 hours later.