The seeded teams were Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and the United States. Please see 1930 World Cup squads for a comprehensive list of all the squads that competed in the 1930 FIFA World Cup. Montevideo was the sole host city for the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
Uruguay was the only team to win both its opening match 3-1 against Argentina and its second match 1-0 against Brazil. The United States finished last of the four teams with one point from two matches. In the first round, all games were played on June 14 and 15, 1930. In the second round, all games were played on June 28 and 29, 1930. The final match was held on July 4, 1930. Uruguay won its third game by defeating Argentina 2-1. This is still the highest number of victories achieved by a single team at a World Cup finals tournament.
1930 Uruguay FIFA's World Cup
| Campeonato Mundial de Fútbol Uruguay 1930 | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Uruguay |
| Dates | 13–30 July |
| Teams | 13 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 1 host city) |
Uruguay France defeated Mexico 4-1 and the United States defeated Belgium 3-0 in the first-ever World Cup football matches, held concurrently in Montevideo, Uruguay. Since then, the World Cup has become the most watched athletic event on the planet. The 1930 tournament was the first of six World Cups.
The 1930 World Cup was the first world championship that was not played within one country. It was also the first time that all countries involved agreed to play each other according to the rules set by the international soccer body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The hosts, Uruguay, are therefore given full credit for starting off the modern game of world football. However, many critics claim that Uruguay's success can be attributed to the fact that they had one of the best national teams in world football at the time while the other participating nations were still developing as a team. Furthermore, some have argued that if certain changes were made to the rules of football, such as allowing two substitutes instead of one, then many more countries could have qualified for this event.
Some countries that failed to qualify include England, Germany, and Argentina. These countries were the winners of respective regions of the world cup qualification process. The British team didn't enter the tournament because the Football Association wanted to focus on domestic football and only send its strongest side. The Germans did not participate because there was no German league ready to compete yet.
England was the sixth country to win the tournament, and the third host country to do so, following Uruguay in 1930 and Italy in 1934. Brazil were the reigning champions, however they did not advance past the group round. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be staged in English-speaking countries. England won their first match 1-0 against South Africa, before losing to Germany 2-3. They then defeated France 4-1 to claim the title.
England qualified for the final stage by finishing first in a group containing both strong regional teams (South Africa and France) and lesser known nations (Northern Ireland, Israel, and New Zealand). The English team was favored to win the cup, as they were the only remaining European team left in the competition. In the opening match of the tournament England faced Uruguay, who were defending their title. The match ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time, with England winning on penalties. This was followed by a quarter-final defeat to Germany, who went on to win the cup. After the tournament had finished England went onto lose 3-2 to Argentina in the semi-finals of the Olympic football tournament held in 1936 in Berlin. Despite this setback England remained Europe's pre-eminent soccer power and was expected to retain its title at the next World Cup in 1938.
However, during the 1937 season Britain entered into a civil war between the government and independence fighters.
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