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World Cup 1930

Winner

Uruguay

Highlights

The first World Cup in history was played in Uruguay, the reigning two-time Olympic champions, from 13 to 30 July 1930. Only thirteen teams took part, with no qualifying competition: seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America. Every match was played in Montevideo, where the Estadio Centenario had been built for the occasion.

Frenchman Lucien Laurent scored the very first goal in the tournament's history, in France's 4-1 win over Mexico. Argentina's Guillermo Stábile finished as top scorer with eight goals, while the United States and Yugoslavia reached the semi-finals, both of which ended 6-1.

The final brought together the two neighbours from the River Plate, who had already met in the 1928 Olympic final. Trailing 2-1 at half-time, Uruguay turned the match around in the second half to beat Argentina 4-2 and become football's first world champions.

Statistics

Total goals
70
Matches played
18
Goals/match
3.89
Best attack (goals scored)
18
Argentina
Best defense (goals conceded)
2
Brazil

First round

Qualified for the next round

Group 1

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Argentina 6 3 3 0 0 10 4 +6
2.Chile 4 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2
3.France 2 3 1 0 2 4 3 +1
4.Mexico 0 3 0 0 3 4 13 -9
Match results
France - Mexico4 - 1
Argentina - France1 - 0
Chile - Mexico3 - 0
Chile - France1 - 0
Argentina - Mexico6 - 3
Argentina - Chile3 - 1

Group 2

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.YUGYugoslavia 4 2 2 0 0 6 1 +5
2.Brazil 2 2 1 0 1 5 2 +3
3.Bolivia 0 2 0 0 2 0 8 -8
Match results
Yugoslavia - Brazil2 - 1
Yugoslavia - Bolivia4 - 0
Brazil - Bolivia4 - 0

Group 3

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.Uruguay 4 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5
2.Romania 2 2 1 0 1 3 5 -2
3.Peru 0 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3
Match results
Romania - Peru3 - 1
Uruguay - Peru1 - 0
Uruguay - Romania4 - 0

Group 4

Team PtsPldWDLGFGAGD
1.United States 4 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6
2.Paraguay 2 2 1 0 1 1 3 -2
3.Belgium 0 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4
Match results
United States - Belgium3 - 0
United States - Paraguay3 - 0
Paraguay - Belgium1 - 0

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Argentina - United States6 - 1
Uruguay - Yugoslavia6 - 1

Final

Uruguay4
Argentina2

Top Scorers

Rank Player Goals Penalties Goals/match
1 Guillermo Stábile 8 0 2.00
2 Pedro Cea 5 0 1.25
3 Bert Patenaude 4 0 1.33
4 Juan Anselmo 3 0 1.50
4 Preguinho 3 0 1.50
4 Ivica Bek 3 0 1.00
4 Carlos Peucelle 3 0 0.75
8 Adolfo Zumelzú 2 0 2.00
8 Moderato 2 0 2.00
8 Héctor Castro 2 0 1.00
8 André Maschinot 2 0 1.00
8 Manuel Rosas 2 1 0.67
8 Pablo Dorado 2 0 0.67
8 Djordje Vujadinovic 2 0 0.67
8 Guillermo Subiabre 2 0 0.67
8 Carlos Vidal 2 0 0.67
8 Luis Monti 2 0 0.50
8 Victoriano Iriarte 2 0 0.50
19 Alejandro Scopelli 1 0 1.00
19 Constantin Stanciu 1 0 1.00
19 Luis Souza 1 0 0.50
19 Luis Vargas Pena 1 0 0.50
19 Nicolae Kovacs 1 0 0.50
19 Roberto Gayón 1 0 0.50
19 Adalbert Desu 1 0 0.50
19 Lucien Laurent 1 0 0.50
19 Jim Brown 1 0 0.33
19 Juan Carreno 1 0 0.33
19 Tom Florie 1 0 0.33
19 Marcel Langiller 1 0 0.33
19 Blagoje Marjanovic 1 0 0.33
19 Bart Mcghee 1 0 0.33
19 Héctor Scarone 1 0 0.33
19 Aleksandar Tirnanic 1 0 0.33
19 Mario Evaristo 1 0 0.25
19 Francisco Varallo 1 0 0.25