🔟 stories from the first World Cup in history 🔎 | OneFootball

This summer marks the 96th anniversary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay, and you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the competition has changed a lot over the years.

1. FIFA chose Uruguay to host the tournament because that year the country was celebrating the centenary of its first constitution. All the matches were played in Montevideo, the capital, and the final’s stadium — the 90,000-capacity Estadio Centenario — was built especially for the occasion.

2. The first World Cup was the only one in history without qualifiers. All nations affiliated with FIFA were invited to take part and had until February 28, 1930, to accept.

3. Seventeen nations took part in the 1930 World Cup: seven from South America, two from North America, and only four from Europe. Many European nations declined to participate because of the long and expensive boat journey across the Atlantic Ocean, and the lengthy absence this would require from the players, few of whom were full-time professionals at the time.

4. Their desire to take part in European competitions was so strong that the Uruguayan Football Federation wrote to its English counterpart to beg to be allowed to play. Their request was rejected by the FA Committee on November 18, 1929.

5. The four European nations that made the trip were Belgium, France, Yugoslavia, and Romania. The Romanian team was personally selected by the newly crowned King Carol II, who also negotiated with employers to guarantee the players jobs when they returned.

6. When putting their squad together, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia faced a problem. Croatia’s boycott of the national team had significantly reduced their talent pool, and the Yugoslav team that ultimately took part in the tournament was made up entirely of Serbian players. With an average age of 21 years and 258 days, Yugoslavia also had the youngest squad at the World Cup that year. After their first match against Brazil, the local media nicknamed them the “Ichachos,” as most of the players’ surnames ended with the suffix “-ić” or “-vić.”

7. The first goal of the 1930 World Cup was a 19th-minute volley against Mexico, scored by France’s Lucien Laurent. Laurent worked for car manufacturer Peugeot and received nothing from the French Football Federation beyond reimbursement of his travel expenses to represent his country in the tournament.

8. The first clean sheet in World Cup history was recorded by American goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas in a 3-0 win over Belgium. Later, in the semi-final against Argentina, Douglas was forced to keep playing despite a knee sprain, as substitutions were not yet allowed under the rules at that stage of the competition.

9. The very first World Cup final fiercely pitted South American rivals Uruguay and Argentina against each other in front of 93,000 fans. A dispute over the match ball forced Argentina to play the first half with their own ball, while the Uruguayans used theirs for the second. Belgian referee John Langenus agreed to officiate only a few hours before the match, on condition that a boat be ready at the port one hour after the final whistle in case he needed to make a quick getaway.

10. As hosts, Uruguay became football’s first-ever world champions by beating Argentina 4-2 in the final. The following day was declared a national holiday in Uruguay, and their cumulative goal difference of +12 across four matches, an average of +3 per game, remains the highest in history among world champions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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