In History Magazine nr.16 we continuing with History of Football and World Cup History. Article will be published in Brasil, home of magic football players.

The History of Football (World Cup)

The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA president Jules Rimet decided to stage an international football tournament. The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling to its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world. In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs,and took responsibility for organising the event. This led the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, won by Belgium. Uruguay won the tournaments in 1924 and 1928.

1930

FIFA named Uruguay as the host country. The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. No European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia to make the trip.In total, 13 nations took part – seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.

The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously, and were won by France and the United States, who beat Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0,
respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. Four days later, the first World Cup hat-trick was achieved by Bert Patenaude of the U.S. in the Americans 3–0 win against Paraguay. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo to become the first nation to win a World Cup.



July 30, 1930 An aerial view of the Centenario stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay

1934

The 1934 World Cup was hosted by Italy and was the first World Cup to include a qualification stage. Sixteen teams qualified for the tournament, a number which would be retained until the expansion of the finals tournament in 1982. Uruguay, the titleholders from 1930, still upset about the poor European attendance at their World Cup in 1930, boycotted the 1934 World Cup. Bolivia and Paraguay were also absent, allowing Argentina and Brazil to progress to the finals in Italy without having to play any qualifying matches. Egypt became the first African team to compete, but lost to Hungary in the first round. Italy won the tournament, becoming the first European team to do so.



Italy 1934 World Champion

1938

The 1938 World Cup competition was also held in Europe, much to the consternation of many South Americans, with Uruguay and Argentina boycotting.
For the first time, the title holders and the host country were given automatic qualification. Following a play-off match against Latvia, Austria had officially qualified for the final round, but because of the Anschluss in April 1938 with Germany, the Austrian national team withdrew, with some Austrian players being added to the German squad (the combined German squad was eliminated in the first round for the only time in the World Cups history). Austrias place was offered to England, but they declined. This left the finals with 15 nations competing. France hosted, but for the first time the hosts did not win the competition, as Italy retained their title, beating Hungary in the final.



1938 World Cup final match

1950

Competition resumed with the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, which was the first to include British participants. British teams withdrew from FIFA in 1920,
partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against a foreign influence to football, but rejoined in 1946 following FIFAs invitation. Englands involvement, however, was not to be a success. The English failed to make the final group round in a campaign that included a surprise 1–0 loss to the United States.

The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the previous two World Cups. For political reasons, Eastern European countries (such as Hungary, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia) did not enter. The 1950 World Cup was the only tournament not to
 stage a final tie, replacing knockout rounds with two group phases. The last match of the second group phase, however, is sometimes referred to as
 a final, as the group standings meant the winners would be the overall winners.

Uruguay were surprise victors over hosts Brazil with a final score of 2–1 (the would later be known as Maracanazo), and became champions for the
second time. This game also held the record for the highest attendance at any sporting match, at roughly 200,000



1950 World Cup Final

1954

The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game. The tournament was
won by West Germany, who defeated Hungary 3–2 in the final, giving them their first title.



Morlock scored in the 1954 World Cup final

1958

Brazil won the 1958 World Cup, held in Sweden, and became the first team to win a World Cup outside their home continent (only four teams have done
this to date – Brazil in 1958, 1970, 1994 and 2002, Argentina in 1986, Spain in 2010 and Germany in 2014). The Soviet Union participated this time, most likely due to their win at Melbourne 1956.The tournament also saw the emergence of Pelé, who scored two goals in the final. French striker Just
Fontaine became the top scorer of the tournament with a still standing record of 13 goals.



1958 French goalkeeper Claude Abbes dives but fails to save Edvaldo Netto Vavas shot in the World Cup semi-final between France and Brazil.

1962

Chile hosted the 1962 World Cup. Before play began, an earthquake struck, the largest ever recorded at 9.5 magnitude, prompting officials to rebuild
due to major damage to infrastructure. When the competition began, two of the best players were in poor form as Pelé was injured in Brazils second
group match against Czechoslovakia. Also, the Soviet Union saw their goalkeeper Lev Yashin show poor form including a 2–1 loss to hosts Chile as the
hosts captured third place.When the final whistle blew, Brazil beat Czechoslovakia for the second World Cup in a row by a final of 3–1 led by Garrincha and Amarildo, in Pelés absence, and retained the Jules Rimet trophy.In this tournament, Colombias Marcos Coll made World Cup history when he scored a goal direct from a corner kick.



The 1962 FIFA World Cup quarter final between England and Brazil is famously remembered for the bond that formed between Garrincha  Brazils star
winger and a stray dog.

1966

The 1966 World Cup, hosted by England, was the first to embrace marketing, featuring a mascot and official logo for the first time. The trophy was stolen in the run-up to the tournament but was found a week later by a dog named Pickles.South Africa was banned for violating the anti-discrimination charter (apartheid). North Korea, became the first Asian team to reach the quarter-finals, eliminating Italy in the process. England won the tournament, although Joao Havelange (former FIFA president from 1974 to 1998) claimed that the 1966 and 1974 World Cups were fixed so that England and Germany would win respectively.Geoff Hurst became the first and to this day the only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final and Eusébio, whose team Portugal were taking part in their first World Cup, was the tournament top-scorer, with nine goals to his name.



1966 World Cup Final

1970

The qualification stages of the 1970 World Cup were coincidental with the Football War between Honduras and El Salvador. The finals were held in
Mexico. Israel had been with Europe, but due to political issues, it was becoming harder to place them adequately in the qualifying rounds. They were grouped in Asia/Oceania. Korea DPR then refused to meet them, even though this meant automatic disqualification. The group stage clash between
defending champions England and Brazil lived up to its billing, and is still remembered for England goalkeeper Gordon Banks save from a Pelé header on the six-yard line, arguably the best save ever. The tournament is also remembered for the semi-final match between Italy and West Germany, in which five goals were scored in extra time, and Franz Beckenbauer played with a broken arm, since Germany had used up all their allowed substitutions. Italy were the eventual 4–3 winners, but were defeated 1–4 in the final by Brazil, who became the first nation to win three World Cups.



1970 Carlos Alberto goal

1974

A new trophy was created for the 1974 edition, held in West Germany. After a draw in their first UEFA/CONMEBOL Intercontinental play-off match against
Chile in the qualifiers, the Soviet Union refused to travel to the Chilean capital for the return fixture for political reasons, and in accordance with the regulations, Chile were awarded a victory. East Germany, Haiti, Australia and Zaire made their first finals. The tournament also saw a new format, where the two top teams from each of the earlier four groups were divided into two groups of four each again, the winner of either group playing each other in the final. The West German hosts won the competition by beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the final, but it was also the revolutionary Total Football system of the Dutch that captured the footballing worlds imagination. The very well-playing Poland finished third, after defeating Brazil 1–0 (and after defeating Argentina 3–2 and eliminating Italy 2–1 in the initial group play), having barely lost in terrible rain in the semi-finals to West Germany 0–1.



1974 FIFA World Cup Final in Munich West Germany against Netherlands 2-1



to be continued...