An Alternate History of FIFA, the World Cup, and International Football.

[Atzyn]

The 1912 United States World Cup of Football – Group Stage​

Now, it was time for the World Cup in America! For the first time, pots were used instead of a random draw. The United States were seeded to Group 1, while the rest were ordered in their pots by their performance in the previous World Cup, qualifiers and regional strength. National teams from all over the world made the trip to the Eastern Coast of the United States. The groups were to all play their games in a certain city: Group 1 played their games in New York City, Group 2 played their games in Philadelphia, Group 3 played their games in Boston, Group 4 played their games in Washington DC, Group 5 played their games in Baltimore and Group 6 played their games in Pittsburgh.

These were the pots used in the draw:

And these were the results of the draw:

• Group 1: United States, Basque Country, São Paulo, Styria
• Group 2: Denmark, Scotland, Wales, China
• Group 3: Argentina, Uruguay, Austria, Natalia
• Group 4: Romania, Netherlands, Bohemia, New England
• Group 5: England, France, Canada, Finland
• Group 6: Cornwall, Sweden, Bahia, New Zealand

Group 1​

United States 2-1 Styria
São Paulo 0-0 Basque Country
United States 3-3 São Paulo
Basque Country 4-1 Styria
Basque Country 2-1 United States
São Paulo 1-0 Styria

The Basque Country and São Paulo went unbeaten, as hosts the United States scraped by with a win and a draw, and Styria was eliminated.

Group 2​

Denmark 5-2 China
Scotland 3-0 Wales
Denmark 8-1 Wales
China 2-1 Scotland
Denmark 5-1 Scotland
China 4-0 Wales

The little-known China national team surprised everyone by defeating Scotland and Wales, while Denmark comfortably advanced at the top of the group. Scotland barely managed to edge out a spot in the knockout stages.

Group 3​

Argentina 3-0 Natalia
Uruguay 2-1 Austria
Argentina 2-0 Austria
Uruguay 6-0 Natalia
Argentina 5-3 Uruguay
Natalia 0-0 Austria

Argentina and Uruguay faced each other once again accompanied by Austria. The South Americans dominated the group as Austria and Natalia only managed a draw between the two of them.

Group 4​

Romania 1-0 New England
Netherlands 4-1 Bohemia
Romania 3-0 Bohemia
New England 2-0 Netherlands
Netherlands 1-0 Romania
New England 1-0 Bohemia

Romania, New England and the Netherlands all advanced with 2 victories and 1 loss each, at the expense of Bohemia.

Group 5​

England 3-1 Finland
Canada 0-0 France
England 2-2 Canada
Finland 1-0 France
England 5-0 France
Canada 2-1 Finland

This group showed France slipping back into mediocrity, as Canada advanced over them and Finland, an improvement from their performance in the previous World Cup. England topped the group.

Group 6​

New Zealand 1-1 Cornwall
Sweden 2-0 Bahia
Cornwall 3-2 Bahia
New Zealand 1-0 Sweden
Sweden 3-1 Cornwall
Bahia 2-0 New Zealand

The Oceanians impressed by making it through the group stage on roughly equal footing with Cornwall and with only one loss against Bahia, even triumphing against group winners Sweden.

The World Cup was kicking into gear, and many Americans in the host cities went to watch the matches, filling the relatively small stadia to their absolute limit. The tournament began to inspire many young people across the country to create their own football clubs.

Now, it was time for the knockout rounds, featuring the brand new Round of 16.

 

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The 1912 United States World Cup of Football – Knockout Stage​

The round of 16 kicked off with the Basque Country defeating the Netherlands 2-1 with a domineering style of play barely letting the Dutch touch the ball. The plucky underdog New Zealanders were thrown out by the Argentines after being demolished 3-0. Many Englishmen went across the pond to watch their team, but they had to exit early after the Chinese unexpectedly defeated them 4-1. Uruguay was back in their usual form, knocking reigning 3rd-place Cornwall out of the competition with a 2-1 scoreline.

Reigning champions Denmark scrapped with the hosts, but they were no match for the Scandinavians and disappointed local fans by losing 3-0. Romania would prove itself worthy of their silver-medal status after thrashing previous World Cup champions Scotland 5-2. The Paulistas would have their first proper World Cup success after just barely beating giants Sweden 1-0 with 2 minutes to go on the clock. Canada and New England didn’t have to make that big of a trip, so they were the most energetic teams in the tournament; Canada defeated the locals 4-2.

For the first time, non-Europeans outnumbered Europeans in the quarter-finals (5 out of 8 teams weren’t from Europe).

The Basque Country continued their streak of incredibly close wins after edging out Argentina 3-2 during a very close 2-2 game. Despite their good showing against Cornwall, nothing could prepare the Uruguayans for China. Their playstyle kept the ball in Uruguay’s half for most of the match, although they were unable to get one past the keeper until the second half. Uruguay couldn’t equalise, and the Chinese advanced to the semi-finals.

Denmark and Romania would meet once more, and Denmark was even more prepared than last time. The defending champions easily dispatched the Romanians 4-0, further cementing their status as best team in the world. São Paulo sent the Canadians packing after putting 6 past them, leaving no hope for the Northerners. Despite crashing out like this, the Canadians were praised for getting this far back home and it revitalized interest in the sport of football in the country.

The Vasconians would have a go at the Chinese, which would lead to a boring 0-0 game for most of the first half. The Basques put themselves ahead with 2 consecutive goals at 39’ and 42’ by exploiting holes in China’s defence, though the Asians quickly patched it up. China was unable to get back into the match, and their campaign ended right there, being sent off to play against whoever lost the other semi-final for scraps.

Denmark and São Paulo hadn't pulled any punches throughout the tournament, and they went all out in their semi-final match. However, the Danes were simply too good for the Brazilians to contain. A goal at 20’, another at 55’ and yet another one at 70’ cemented Denmark’s lead, reaching their second final in a row. The Paulistas would have to play the bronze medal match to salvage some honour after the loss.

The scrap between São Paulo and China was the most vibrant 3rd-place match in any World Cup up to that point. Both teams clearly wanted to take something home with them. China would get ahead with one goal at 35’, but the Paulistas would equalise it in the 50th minute. Local American crowds were split on who to support, as both had been underdogs throughout the tournament, but São Paulo had the most vocal support due to the few Brazilians in the audience. In the end, São Paulo scored at 72’ and finished off the game 2-1, taking their bronze medal home like a badge of honour to show off against all other Brazilian teams.

Now, the final. Denmark had conceded no goals throughout the entire knockout stage and had won every game by a margin of 3 goals or more. As reigning champions, they were the favourites to take it once again. The Basques, on the other hand, had a good time in the group stage but barely made it out of their knockout stage match-ups. Still, their style of play could be the counter against Denmark that the world needed, and, if they won, they would become the first regional team to win a World Cup.

The match kicked off smack dab in the middle of New York City, with tens of thousands of New Yorkers, some of whom had never heard of the World Cup before, going to watch the final. Denmark was rooted for the most, as few knew what the Basque Country was. However, the Basques would get the head start, with a goal 5 minutes into the match. The Basques would try to go for their usual strategy of maintaining possession by all means possible, but this broke down at the 22nd minute after a Danish forward stole the ball from a Basque defender and dribbled it past the goalkeeper, scoring without even kicking the ball. It was 1-1 by the end of the first half.

The draw wouldn’t last long. At the 52nd minute, the Danish would pull another show-off move, by making an attempt at goal from the midfield. The ball was punted up high, and the Basque goalkeeper was unable to catch it in mid-air, allowing the ball to go in and give the Danes the lead. Despite only leading by 1 goal, the Danish had secured their victory. Another, simpler goal from a header at 79’ destroyed any chance the Basque had to recover. They were unable upset the score.

3-1.

Denmark remain World Champions!

 

[Atzyn]

The 1912 United States World Cup of Football – Aftermath​

The Danes would lift the trophy once more, as the Basque accepted their silver medals. Many started to speculate how long it would take until Denmark was finally bested. As per usual, a few teams stuck around to play a few matches, but, due to the lack of a proper centralized club scene, the teams simply played the United States. There were only a few this time:

Basque Country 3-2 United States
China 2-0 United States
Bahia 1-1 United States
São Paulo 0-0 United States
New Zealand 1-4 United States
Cornwall 5-3 United States
Natalia 0-3 United States

Despite not being as big of a monetary success as the World Cup in England, this tournament had been very successful. The format was well-received, and the tournament led to a significant increase in interest in the sport throughout North America. Things were looking up for FIFA, and they would get an enormous intake of new teams during this period. They began to prepare for the upcoming Olympic tournament.

 

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Football at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics​

Mere weeks after the end of the World Cup, it was time for the Olympics in Stockholm. This tournament featured 16 teams, the most ever, all from Europe, including the international debut of Greece and a return of the composite Great Britain team.

Like before, most of the strongest sides weren’t brought to the tournament, especially the nations that qualified for the World Cup, but those that had exited early did send their best. In the round of 16, hosts Sweden beat Italy 4-0, the Great Britain combination trumped Finland 6-1, Austria barely beat out Norway 3-2, France crushed first-timers Greece 5-1, Germany demolished Luxembourg 8-0, Denmark thrashed Russia 13-0, Bohemia had a shocking victory against the Netherlands 2-1 and Hungary returned to international competition with a 3-0 over Belgium.

In the quarter-finals, Sweden squared off against the Great Britain combination, losing 4-1 to a crowd of over 20,000 Swedish spectators; Austria continued their run beating France 2-0, Denmark added to their unbeaten run 9-2, and Hungary just barely finished off Bohemia 1-0.

The semi-finals saw Great Britain once again advancing to the final against Austria 2-1, ending the Austrians’ best run in any competition thus far. Denmark successfully dispatched Hungary 5-0, leading to an Austria-Hungary match-up for the bronze medal.

Hungary won the bronze by beating Austria 2-0. Great Britain and Denmark would play each other in the final once again, but the British were still no match for Denmark, as they dominated the game and bested them 6-2. They took their second Olympic gold to add to their trophy collection.

Denmark was an unstoppable force, and they were expected to win the upcoming first edition of the European Championship.

 

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1912 and 1913 – Hosting Duties​

Newly founded national and regional associations all over the world joined FIFA in the lead-up to the first continental competitions:

• Andorra
• Assam
• Bihar and Orissa
• Bukovina
• Bulgaria
• Carinthia
• Carniola
• Cochin
• Colombia
• Congo
• Cuba
• Dalmatia
• Egypt
• Fiume
• Greece
• Guatemala
• Malacca
• Montenegro
• Moravia
• Newfoundland
• Papua
• Penang
• Persia
• Salzburg
• Serbia
• Siam
• Siebenbürgen (a team for Transylvanian Saxons)
• Silesia
• Szeklerland
• Transylvania
• Travancore
• Turkey
• Tyrol
• Vorarlberg

In October 1912, FIFA held a meeting to discuss potential hosts for all remaining competitions in the 1910s and 1920, both the World Cup and the continental competitions. During the meeting, it was decided that the World Cup would swap hosting duties between Europe and the rest of the world every other edition. The nations in bold were picked as hosts:

World Cup of Football​

• 1914 World Cup of Football: Denmark, Wales, Germany, Sweden
• 1916 World Cup of Football: Canada, Argentina, Uruguay
• 1918 World Cup of Football: Netherlands, Romania, Austria
• 1920 World Cup of Football: United States, Argentina, Bahia

European Championship​

• 1913 European Championship: England, Germany, Hungary
• 1915 European Championship: Germany, Belgium, Russia
• 1917 European Championship: Russia, Switzerland, Austria
• 1919 European Championship: Sweden, Italy

South American Championship​

• 1913 South American Championship: Argentina
• 1915 South American Championship: Rio de Janeiro, Uruguay
• 1917 South American Championship: Uruguay
• 1919 South American Championship: São Paulo

North American Championship​

• 1913 North American Championship: Canada, New England
• 1915 North American Championship: United States, New England, Mexico, Haiti
• 1917 North American Championship: Mexico, New England
• 1919 North American Championship: Jamaica, New England, Haiti

Asian Championship​

• 1913 Asian Championship: China, Singapore, Hyderabad
• 1915 Asian Championship: Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Hyderabad
• 1917 Asian Championship: Singapore, Hong Kong, Bengal, Hyderabad
• 1919 Asian Championship: Hong Kong, Bengal, Hyderabad

African Championship​

• 1913 African Championship: Cape
• 1915 African Championship: Cape
• 1917 African Championship: Cape
• 1919 African Championship: Cape

Australasian Championship​

• 1913 Australasian Championship: New South Wales
• 1915 Australasian Championship: South Australia, New Zealand
• 1917 Australasian Championship: New Zealand
• 1919 Australasian Championship: Western Australia

There were complaints from the South American delegations that they had been rejected for the 1920 World Cup, but FIFA said there was nothing they could do about the long travel times that most teams would have to endure to get to South America in the first place.

 

[Atzyn]

The 1913 England European Championship​

The first of the continental championships to be played was the European one, due to the short distance between all of the teams. Due to there being 64 teams, far more than any other confederation, preliminary rounds were played to whittle them down to 32. These preliminary rounds would feature 48 teams, and the 16 that qualified from these rounds would travel to England to play the tournament. Newcomers and the worst performers in previous competitions would play the first preliminary round. The 32 teams were randomly drawn into play-offs.

The remaining 16 teams went up against the 16 worst performers of the 32 remaining in the second preliminary round. The 16 worst of the best were given the top seed, while the 16 best of the worst were given the bottom seed.

And then, it was time for the remaining 16 to join the other 16 in England, where they would play the first European Championship. The preliminary round winners were given the bottom seed, while the automatic qualifiers were given the top seed. England were seeded to the top of the table. 5 teams (Turkey, Serbia, Bulgaria, Galicia, Castile) had been plucked out of the preliminary rounds and placed into the tournament itself as what we in the modern era refer to as “wildcard” picks. England’s many suitable stadiums made it so that all matches in a round could be played on the same day.

The round of 32 was a hectic affair, with incredibly close games like Toledo-La Mancha 1-0 Serbia and Hungary 1-0 Galicia, and shocking blowouts like Denmark 10-0 Bohemia and Switzerland 8-3 Scotland. The most unexpected team to come out of this stage was Bukovina, triumphing over its parent team Austria 3-2. The round of 16 didn’t have any major shocks, though minnows Bukovina did give the Basque Country a tough time as they could only defeat them by 2 goals to none. Norway defeated Belgium 4-1 to advance to their first ever quarter-finals.

Norway’s run would end there, as England would dump them out 1-0. Sweden dispatched Romania 2-1, and the biggest shock of the tournament came during the Netherlands-Denmark match, where the Dutch ended the Danish’s multi-year undefeated streak by beating them 1-0. The Basque Country defeated Hungary 4-2. England would once again have a painful semi-final, being beaten out by Sweden 2-0. The Netherlands were given a taste of their own medicine by the Basque, 1-0. England put everything they had left in the 3rd-place match against the Netherlands, thrashing them 5-1. The Basque Country had reached their second consecutive final, but they felt the same pain: Sweden beat them 2-1 to take their first ever competitive international football trophy.

 

[Atzyn]

The 1913 Argentina South American Championship​

All South American teams would travel to Argentina to play an 8-team knockout tournament. Since there were 11 teams in the South America Zone, a preliminary group round was played between newcomers Colombia and the 3 worst teams in the zone, British Guiana, Paraíba and Paraguay.
Paraguay 2-0 Colombia
Paraíba 5-1 British Guiana
Colombia 3-1 Paraíba
Paraguay 7-0 British Guiana
Colombia 6-1 British Guiana
Paraguay 0-0 Paraíba

This tournament had no draw; instead, teams were seeded according to their most recent performances, with the best team (hosts Argentina) and the worst team (preliminary round winners Paraguay) seeded to the first match. Meanwhile, the last match of the quarter-finals would be played between the 4th-best team (Bahia) against the 5th-best team (Pará).

The hosts got the ball rolling by beating Paraguay 4-0, while in Rosario the bout between São Paulo and Chile ended 2-0 in favour of the Brazilians. Uruguay performed one of their classic blowouts against Rio de Janeiro 5-2, and Pará became the only 2nd seed team to advance to the semi-finals by barely beating Bahia 3-2. The close 1-0 match in favour of the hosts in Buenos Aires contrasted against the 4-1 smashing against Pará by Uruguay in La Plata. São Paulo beat Pará 3-1 for the bronze medal. In the final, in spite of their incredible streak of blowouts, Uruguay faltered against Argentina, being unable to score a goal against Argentina’s double. Argentina had once again defeated their classic rivals Uruguay in their first competitive final.

 

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The 1913 Canada North American Championship​

The 12 North American teams would make the trip to Canada to play the very first North American Championship. The 12 teams would be divided into 4 groups of 3, where the top team of each group would advance to a 4-team semi-final knockout round. The teams would be seeded according to previous performances, with Canada, the United States, New England and Mexico making up the top seeds.

Group 1​

Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 Newfoundland
Canada 3-0 Newfoundland
Canada 1-1 Trinidad and Tobago

Group 2​

Haiti 2-1 Cuba
United States 6-0 Cuba
United States 4-1 Haiti

Group 3​

Jamaica 4-0 Barbados
New England 5-1 Barbados
New England 2-0 Jamaica

Group 4​

Guatemala 1-1 Quebec
Mexico 2-2 Guatemala
Mexico 3-1 Quebec

The 4 top seeds made their way to the semi-finals. Canada would face New England, while the United States would face Mexico.

Canada and New England met once more, and the Canucks put 4 past the New Englanders again, with them only managing a single goal. The United States vs. Mexico game, on the other hand, was a very close match that almost had to be replayed, were it not for a lucky last minute shot from the Americans that put them in the final. The 3rd-place match was never played due to New England withdrawing for unknown reasons, so Mexico is considered to be the 3rd-placed nation in the championship. The hosts quickly shot down any American aspirations of winning the tournament, as they beat them 2-0 with both goals coming in the first few minutes of the match. Canada took their first ever international trophy of any kind, as they had never won any tournament, competitive or not, before this.

 

[Atzyn]

The 1913 China Asian Championship​

16 teams in the Asia Zone would make their way to China to play in the first Asian Championship. Due to there being 20 teams in the zone, a preliminary round of play-offs was played exclusively between the 8 newcomers to decide 4 of the 16 spots in the tournament.

The 4 newcomers would join the 4 worst-performers in the bottom seed, while the 8 best-performers made up the top seed. China and Japan were to be kept apart in different sides of the table. All of the tournament’s matches were to be played in Shanghai.

Of note in the round of 16 are China’s 12-0 thrashing of the Philippines, Singapore beating Madras 4-2 to become the only bottom seed team in the quarter-finals, and Bengal just barely beating Persia 1-0. China continued their big win streak by shrugging off Hong Kong 6-0, Hyderabad ended the Singaporeans 2-0, Japan had a close 1-0 call against Bengal and the United Provinces shockingly defeated Mysore 2-1. China put 4 past Hyderabad to make their total 22, while the United Provinces made the biggest surprise of the tournament beating Japan 4-2 to advance to the final. Japan beat Hyderabad 3-0 to take the bronze medal, and China, unsurprisingly, smacked down the United Provinces 4-0 to take the trophy. China scored 26 goals in 4 matches without conceding a single one, firmly establishing themselves as the best team in Asia.

 

[Atzyn]

The 1913 Cape African Championship​

The 7-team tournament in the Cape was simple: a knockout tournament where the hosts would receive a direct bye to the semi-finals while the rest played the quarter-finals, seeded according to their previous performances. All matches were played in Cape Town.

Transvaal dispatched Liberia 8-0, Egypt surprisingly beat World Cup veterans Natalia 5-2, and the Orange Free State defeated an inexperienced Congo team 4-0. In the semi-finals, the Cape flew past Transvaal 2-1, and Egypt knocked out the Orange Free State 2-0. The Free State won the bronze medal against Transvaal by destroying them 3-0. The Cape put a stop to Egypt’s miracle run in the final and squashed them 3-1 to take the gold.

 

[Atzyn]

The 1913 New South Wales Australasian Championship​

Due to there being 8 teams in the Australasia Zone, there were no preliminary rounds or previous stages, and all teams were seeded according to their previous performances. All matches were played in Sydney and Canberra. New South Wales and New Zealand were kept apart in the draw.

This tournament had relatively low scoring matches compared to all of the other ones: NSW beat South Australia and Victoria beat Tasmania 3-0, New Zealand triumphed over Queensland 2-0 and Western Australia kicked Papua to the curb 8-0. New South Wales barely made it over Victoria 1-0, and New Zealand struggled as well against Western Australia 3-2. Victoria took home the bronze by blowing out Western Australia 5-1. New South Wales got their revenge on New Zealand by beating them 2-1, winning the championship.

 

[Atzyn]

1913 and 1914 – Crisis and the Great War​

The 1914 World Cup qualifiers were set to begin shortly after the end of the continental championships on July 1913. Due to FIFA’s many new members, organising qualification matches began to get more and more expensive. What didn’t help was the fact that Denmark did not have enough suitable, fully outfitted stadiums to host the 24-team World Cup on the same dates as previous World Cups had. This was eventually resolved with the Danish FA hastily getting some existing stadiums improved around the island of Zealand and in Jutland.

At a FIFA meeting in Stockholm, the issue with the expenses and massive scale of the qualifiers were discussed, and the Swedish delegation approached the others with a proposal: utilizing the continental championships as makeshift qualifiers. This proposal was controversial, as delegates from associations that had been knocked out in the early stages of the competitions complained that this made qualifying incredibly difficult, and many would only get to play one or two matches before being completely kicked out of World Cup qualification, having to wait another year to play a competitive fixture. FIFA almost went with this but, when put up to a vote, the proposal failed with 68 no votes to 34 yes votes from the 102 delegations present or informed via telegram.

Throughout all of this, FIFA was facing a bit of a decline, as the novelty of international football matches was slowly wearing off. At the time, FIFA was solely focused on organising international competitions and facilitating communication between FAs, and that was it. Attendances to standard fare friendlies were dropping, the continental championships weren’t very popular, and clubs started to get mad that their players were so frequently snatched from them for entire summers. There was also a clear air of exhaustion among the players; most of them were amateurs, who saw very little or sometimes even no cash for their participation in these qualifiers, which sometimes took them ridiculous distances to other countries (of note were teams like the Liberians travelling to South Africa and having to stay there for weeks on end playing matches while tired from the trip and getting blown out every game, and tiny teams like the Maltese travelling all the way to Hungary and the Netherlands just to play one match each time). Only World Cup participants were guaranteed money.

The meeting lasted till the late hours of the night, with piles of complaints and no solutions. FIFA would have to make the tough decision of outright cancelling the World Cup to survive, as the Danish complained that they had renovated all of their stadiums for nothing. They were promised the 1916 World Cup, which moved back the other hosts, who were also rightfully pissed off. Discussion on whether or not the 1915 continental championships would be played ended up inconclusive.

On the 28th of July 1914, it was a “normal” day at FIFA; managing friendly fixtures, managing their finances, trying to think of ways to fix their problems and failing. They had been very attentive to recent news, of Austria-Hungary’s ultimatum to Serbia, and how a war there could disrupt any footballing to be done throughout the entire region. Then, in the evening, they had received Earth-shattering news: Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia. A tense few days passed, and, in early August, Germany declared war on Russia, France and Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia.

The Great War had broken out all over Europe, and FIFA, with its headquarters in Paris, was in a crisis: a large chunk of its members were involved in the war, and the war itself cut off a lot of ways of communication they had with the nations not involved in the war. Many officials enlisted in their respective armies to fight in the war, while a small amount of them, fearing their safety, travelled to Amsterdam in the neutral Netherlands, to salvage their operations there. President of FIFA Daniel Burley Woolfall was not one of these people. As he resided in Great Britain, he simply presided over the organisation from his home in Blackburn. The organisation itself, meanwhile, was operated out of a suite in the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky on Dam Square in central Amsterdam.

International football collapsed in the span of a few days. The associations in the Americas, nearly all of them uninvolved with the war, were confused on where to go from here. Although they had re-established proper communications with FIFA in Amsterdam, it was highly unlikely that they would get any official fixtures from them. They were given the go-ahead to organise their own tournaments during this period. Most other associations were obstructed by the conflict in different ways, and many lost a majority of their players as they were encouraged to enlist in their respective armies.

The next 4 years would see the organisation struggling to keep itself afloat.

 

[Atzyn]

1914-1918 – The Great War Years in the Americas​

The Americas would continue to play football as per usual, although they wouldn’t travel outside the continent(s) to play anyone else. The continental championships were held in 1915, with the following top four results:

1915 Rio de Janeiro South American Championship:

1. Uruguay
2. São Paulo
3. Argentina
4. Rio de Janeiro

1915 United States North American Championship:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Trinidad and Tobago

While officials from the South America zone visited Rio de Janeiro to watch the tournament, they decided that, since FIFA was practically non-existent at this point, they should form their own confederation to regulate international and even club friendlies, and to regulate competitions throughout the continent. The body would facilitate organisation of tournaments in place of FIFA. The confederation was named the Confederación Sudamericana de Futbol, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol, or South American Football Confederation, also known as CONMEBOL. All members of the South America Zone agreed to join, and its foundation was ratified on 1 January 1916.

In May 1916, with no World Cup to play, the associations of the Americas resolved to making their own World Cup, the Pan-American International Cup, to be held in São Paulo. All of the federations chipped in to help with fees. This tournament was invitational, as opposed to holding qualifiers. There were 23 teams that were officially in FIFA across both zones, so to round it out the tournament organisers invited the recently formed Football Association of Amazonas, which had joined CONMEBOL the previous month. The format utilised was the same one as the World Cup. The eventual winner of the Pan-American International Cup was, surprisingly, Rio de Janeiro, defeating Argentina in the final with Uruguay coming in 3rd and Canada 4th.

After the tournament, the associations of North America decided to follow in South America’s footsteps and form a confederation of their own. The first name proposed was the North American Football Confederation, but the Central American and Caribbean associations objected to this name. After some discussion, they decided to name the organisation the Confederation of North American, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, Confederación de Norteamérica, Centroamérica y el Caribe de Futbol, or Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, also known as CONACACAF.

The following year, in 1917, the continental championships were played as usual:

1917 Uruguay South American Championship:

1. Uruguay
2. Pará
3. Argentina
4. São Paulo

1917 Mexico North American Championship:

1. Mexico
2. Canada
3. Quebec
4. United States

The war kept raging on by May 1918, so the Pan-American International Cup was held again, this time in Bahia. The United States had lost a few of their players that had been a part of the previous tournament due to them signing up to fight in the war. This didn’t prevent them from finishing first and winning the tournament, with Uruguay in 2nd, São Paulo in 3rd and Rio de Janeiro in 4th.

Shortly after the 1918 Pan-American International Cup, new associations applied to join CONMEBOL and CONACACAF, and were allowed in:

• Acre
• Ceará
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Espírito Santo
• Honduras
• Maranhão
• Minas Gerais
• Paraná
• Pernambuco
• Piauí
• Sergipe
• Surinam

On 11 November 1918, the Great War ended.

 

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1914-1918 – The Great War Years in the Rest of the World​

The rest of the world was not as lucky to be able to play football during wartime. All leagues were suspended, thousands of players signed up to fight in the war, and football was essentially frozen for the entire time. That’s not to say all football stopped, however. Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden and Norway), neutral in the war, played a few matches among themselves, with Denmark obviously being the dominant force in these friendlies. The Dutch team sometimes made the trip to play a match or two, but never staying for too long. The Spanish team also frequently played each other, with their respective local leagues developing and even discussing having one or two national leagues shared between all of the associations. With nobody to play against due to their landlocked position, Switzerland decided to help neighbouring Liechtenstein arrange a national side and play a friendly in a recently built football field in Vaduz. The match ended 14-0 in favour of the Swiss, but it helped develop football in the small nation.

One thing that occurred during this time was an explosion in the creation of regional associations in Europe. As international matches and national leagues were completely suspended, regions that hadn’t lost many players to the war began to organise their local mini-tournaments, leading to the creation of small organisations to regulate them. This mostly occurred in areas away from the frontlines, like central Germany and western France.

In Africa, the sport began to spread like wildfire after it became a source of entertainment to soldiers posted in the colonies. The local Africans took up the sport and set up rudimentary fields in and around the bigger towns and cities. While very few proper competitions and associations formed, there were still some “international” matches played between soldiers and natives. The Africans quickly took up the game and sometimes surpassed the soldiers in terms of skill and prowess, which impressed the Europeans.

In Asia, despite many nations being involved in the war, the sport continued almost like normal; while matches between teams that were a long distance away were scarce, matches between nearby teams were still held. Japan and China played each other many times, and the Indians began to build up their own version of the Home Championship. Some new associations formed in the continent, like a few in India, the Dutch East Indies, the individual Federated Malay States, and even a regional team for Korea.

Finally, in Australasia, there weren’t a lot of changes. Obviously, the continental championships weren’t played, but the Australian states played their own version of the Home Championship, excluding Papua. New Zealand had to be content with attempting to organise a local league. No new associations were founded in this region.

On 11 November 1918, the Great War ended.

 

[Atzyn]

1919-1921 – Rebuilding​

The Great War was over, but trouble didn’t stop there. Although communication with FIFA was re-established all over the world, there were numerous issues. First, Daniel Burley Woolfall, the president of FIFA, had died peacefully in his home in Blackburn on 24 October 1918. Carl Anton Wilhelm Hirschman, banker, co-founder of the Dutch Olympic Committee and FIFA, previously vice-president under Woolfall, had been made interim president of the organisation. He moved FIFA from its hotel home to his offices in Amsterdam in 1915, and assumed operations there. FIFA operated out of his finances, and he almost single-handedly kept the federation alive.

Hirschman quickly convened an assembly in Brussels in 1919, where many associations were present, while others communicated via telegram. In the meeting, they discussed how to deal with their issues going forward, whether or not they should hold continental championships and the World Cup in the coming years, and how to get over their financial troubles. Tensions were rising in Europe and even a few wars had broken out, not to mention the ongoing Russian Civil War involving a few FIFA member associations. It had gotten so bad that nearly all British associations (England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Cornwall) threatened to secede and run their own international federation with the rest of the British Empire if the Central Powers associations were not kicked out of FIFA. Ireland, Leinster and Munster were not present due to the ongoing Irish War of Independence.

The geopolitical situation in Europe had radically changed, and many associations had undergone name changes or had suddenly become cross-border between hostile states. Other regional associations suddenly changed and became part of other countries. This led to a few changes: Galicia-Lodomeria changed its name to Halychyna to avoid confusion with Galicia, and now the association was split between the newly formed Poland and West Ukrainian People’s Republic. Carniola changed its name to Slovenia. Austria and Hungary now covered far less land. Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia-Slavonia and Carniola had merged to form Yugoslavia. The Austrian Silesia was split into Czech and Polish Silesia. And things were changing at an increasingly rapid rate, with many new countries forming out of old ones.

The rest of the world was much more peaceful following the war, and had remained mostly the same. FIFA did note the creation of CONMEBOL and CONACACAF, and encouraged other zones to do the same to help with organising continental tournaments and qualifiers, and to lighten FIFA’s massive workload. Near the end of the meeting, FIFA decided to become the sole regulator of Europe and Africa, while Australasia and Asia would found their own confederations: the Pacific Association Football Confederation or PAFC and the Football Confederation of Asia or FCA.

The final decision made during the meeting was whether or not to continue operations as normal: most European associations were unavailable due to ongoing conflicts and/or a severe lack of players. This also affected a few other associations all over the world, like Canada and the Indians. To the chagrin of CONMEBOL and CONACACAF, all official FIFA operations would be suspended until 1921, which was when the qualifiers for the 1922 Denmark World Cup would begin.

In the lead-up to the qualifiers, FIFA would get another massive intake to cover all associations founded between 1913 and 1921:

• Acre
• Afghanistan
• Baden
• Baluchistan
• Bavaria
• Bolivia
• Brittany
• Burma
• Ceará
• Corsica
• Costa Rica
• Danzig
• Dutch East Indies
• East Prussia
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Espírito Santo
• Estonia
• French India
• Gascony
• Hesse
• Honduras
• Irish Free State
• Korea
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Lower Silesia
• Maranhão
• Minas Gerais
• Monaco
• Mozambique
• Negeri Sembilan
• New Guinea
• Normandy
• Oldenburg
• Pahang
• Paraná
• Perak
• Pernambuco
• Peru
• Piauí
• Pomerania
• Portuguese India
• Provence
• Rhineland
• Rio Grande do Norte
• Rio Grande do Sul
• Saarland
• Saxony
• Schleswig-Holstein
• Selangor
• Sergipe
• Slovakia
• Subcarpathia
• Sudetenland
• Surinam
• Thuringia
• Uganda
• Venezuela
• Württemberg
• Zanzibar

Also included was an organisation known as Amikejo, founded in the former territory of Neutral Moresnet by Esperanto speakers of the tri-border region between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Esperanto had become widespread in the area to bridge the gap between the groups and especially in the areas annexed by Belgium and the Netherlands from Germany after the Great War.

The final inclusions were of the Eretz Israel and the Mandatory Palestine football associations. The Eretz Israel association was accepted into FIFA bearing the Mandatory Palestine name with the support of the Maccabi World Union. The Palestine Arabs who were part of the association were angered by a purely Jewish team representing a mostly Arab region, so they split off and formed their own Palestinian Football Association. With some help from the British government mediating the issue, the teams were properly accepted as split and the Mandatory Palestine name was given to the Arabs, while the Jewish team changed its name to Eretz Israel.

 

[Atzyn]

1922 Denmark World Cup of Football – Small Expansion and Qualifiers Draw​

In the 1922 Denmark World Cup qualifiers, FIFA, seeking to cut down costs, decided to have all teams in a group travel to one nation in that group (usually the one with the best stadium infrastructure) to lighten travel and have the qualifiers go faster than ever before, with matches being played in the same stadiums mere hours from each other. This would also help teams that were too inland like Acre actually participate in qualification. While many thought this was a good change, some associations complained this would give too much of an advantage to the host, but, in the end, all associations agreed to the policy.

The World Cup itself would be receiving a light expansion to 28 teams, with 7 groups of 4, the top two of each group plus the 2 best-ranked third-place teams making it to the knockout stages.

Two associations withdrew from the qualifiers: Turkey and Russia. Selangor forcibly withdrew due to their stadium burning down in a fire and the new one constructed over it was not suitable for international play. New Guinea was not allowed to participate because its lone suitable stadium did not have any stands or seating for spectators.

The distribution of berths was the following: Denmark, as hosts, automatically qualified. Europe had 15 groups of 6, where the winner would qualify for the World Cup. CONMEBOL had 7 groups of 4, where the best group winner qualified and the 6 other winners played against each other to determine which 3 would go to the World Cup. CONACACAF had 3 groups of 5, where the winner of each group would go to the World Cup. FCA had 4 groups of 8, where the 2 best group winners qualified for the World Cup, while the 2 worst went to a play-off to determine who would qualify. Africa had 2 groups of 5, where the winner of each group would advance to a play-off for qualification. PAFC had 2 groups of 4, where the winner of each group would advance to a play-off for qualification.

These were the pots used in the draws:

And these were the results of the draw:

• Group 1: Belgium (H), Finland, Transylvania, Fiume, Bavaria, Provence
• Group 2: Bukovina, Halychyna, Tyrol (H), Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, East Prussia
• Group 3: Switzerland (H), Jutland, Jersey, Carinthia, Saxony, Normandy
• Group 4: Wales (H), Germany, Luxembourg, Munster, Lithuania, Subcarpathia
• Group 5: England (H), Galicia, Cantabria, Siebenbürgen, Gascony, Danzig
• Group 6: Catalonia (H), Austria, Andorra, Isle of Man, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein
• Group 7: Netherlands (H), Serbia, Portugal, Salzburg, Monaco, Amikejo
• Group 8: Bulgaria, Castile (H), Aragon, Szeklerland, Slovakia, Hesse
• Group 9: Hungary (H), Styria, Valencia, Malta, Latvia, Lower Silesia
• Group 10: Romania, Italy (H), Northern Ireland, Vorarlberg, Alderney, Thuringia
• Group 11: Toledo-La Mancha (H), Moravia, Upper Silesia, Montenegro, Estonia, Oldenburg
• Group 12: Norway, France (H), Leinster, Andalusia, Brittany, Sudetenland
• Group 13: Cornwall, Croatia-Slavonia (H), León, Dalmatia, Irish Free State, Pomerania
• Group 14: Sweden, Scotland (H), Greece, Guernsey, Württemberg, Corsica
• Group 15: Basque Country (H), Bohemia, Slovenia, Iceland, Rhineland, Baden
• Group 16: Bahia (H), Bolivia, Venezuela, Rio Grande do Norte
• Group 17: Pará, Peru, Paraná (H), Piauí
• Group 18: Chile, Paraíba (H), Minas Gerais, Acre
• Group 19: Rio de Janeiro (H), Paraguay, Amazonas, Sergipe
• Group 20: São Paulo (H), Ecuador, Pernambuco, Espírito Santo
• Group 21: Uruguay (H), Colombia, Rio Grande do Sul, Ceará
• Group 22: Argentina (H), British Guiana, Suirnam, Maranhão
• Group 23: Mexico (H), Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Cuba, Honduras
• Group 24: Canada (H), New England, Jamaica, Barbados, Costa Rica
• Group 25: United States (H), Quebec, Haiti, Newfoundland, El Salvador
• Group 26: Hyderabad, Hong Kong (H), Philippines, Persia, Bihar and Orissa, Baluchistan, French India, Perak
• Group 27: China (H), Singapore, Bombay, Travancore, Penang, Afghanistan, Mandatory Palestine, Pahang
• Group 28: Japan, Bengal (H), Punjab, Malacca, Siam, Dutch East India, Korea, Negeri Sembilan
• Group 29: United Provinces, Mysore (H), Madras, Cochin, Assam, Burma, Eretz Israel, Portuguese India
• Group 30: Cape (H), Transvaal, Natalia, Mozambique, Uganda
• Group 31: Egypt, Orange Free State (H), Congo, Liberia, Zanzibar
• Group 32: New Zealand, Victoria, South Australia (H), Tasmania
• Group 33: New South Wales (H), Western Australia, Queensland, Papua

 

[Atzyn]

1922 Denmark World Cup of Football – European Qualifiers​

Group 1​

Belgium 3-0 Provence
Bavaria 2-1 Finland
Transylvania 5-1 Fiume
Belgium 2-2 Bavaria
Provence 0-0 Fiume
Finland 2-0 Transylvania
Belgium 2-1 Fiume
Transylvania 1-1 Bavaria
Finland 0-0 Provence
Belgium 0-0 Transylvania
Finland 3-1 Fiume
Provence 3-0 Bavaria
Finland 1-1 Belgium
Provence 2-0 Transylvania
Bavaria 6-0 Fiume

Group 2​

Bukovina 3-2 East Prussia
Halychyna 8-0 Liechtenstein
Tyrol 5-1 Gibraltar
Bukovina 6-0 Liechtenstein
East Prussia 2-1 Gibraltar
Halychyna 0-0 Tyrol
Bukovina 3-1 Gibraltar
Tyrol 7-1 Liechtenstein
Halychyna 2-2 East Prussia
Tyrol 2-0 Bukovina
Halychyna 4-0 Gibraltar
East Prussia 3-0 Liechtenstein
Bukovina 3-1 Halychyna
East Prussia 2-1 Tyrol
Gibraltar 4-2 Liechtenstein

Group 3​

Normandy 2-0 Switzerland
Saxony 1-1 Jutland
Carinthia 7-0 Jersey
Switzerland 3-1 Saxony
Normandy 4-2 Carinthia
Jutland 5-1 Jersey
Carinthia 2-2 Switzerland
Saxony 4-0 Jersey
Jutland 2-1 Normandy
Switzerland 13-0 Jersey
Jutland 3-0 Carinthia
Saxony 1-1 Normandy
Jutland 2-0 Switzerland
Normandy 7-0 Jersey
Saxony 1-1 Carinthia

Group 4​

Wales 2-0 Subcarpathia
Germany 3-0 Lithuania
Munster 8-2 Luxembourg
Wales 1-0 Lithuania
Subcarpathia 2-2 Munster
Germany 14-0 Luxembourg
Wales 6-2 Munster
Lithuania 4-1 Luxembourg
Germany 1-0 Subcarpathia
Wales 10-0 Luxembourg
Germany 5-0 Munster
Lithuania 1-1 Subcarpathia
Wales 4-3 Germany
Subcarpathia 3-0 Luxembourg
Munster 2-1 Lithuania

Group 5​

England 9-0 Danzig
Gascony 3-3 Galicia
Cantabria 2-1 Siebenbürgen
England 4-1 Gascony
Siebenbürgen 3-0 Danzig
Galicia 0-0 Cantabria
England 6-3 Siebenbürgen
Cantabria 2-0 Gascony
Galicia 2-2 Danzig
England 2-0 Cantabria
Siebenbürgen 4-4 Galicia
Gascony 3-0 Danzig
Galicia 2-2 England
Cantabria 5-1 Danzig
Gascony 0-0 Siebenbürgen

Group 6​

Catalonia 5-2 Schleswig-Holstein
Austria 2-1 Saarland
Isle of Man 2-0 Andorra
Catalonia 3-0 Saarland
Schleswig-Holstein 6-1 Isle of Man
Austria 9-2 Andorra
Catalonia 17-0 Isle of Man
Saarland 4-0 Andorra
Austria 3-1 Schleswig-Holstein
Catalonia 7-1 Andorra
Austria 3-0 Isle of Man
Schleswig 2-0 Saarland
Austria 1-1 Catalonia
Schleswig-Holstein 5-0 Andorra
Saarland 3-2 Isle of Man

Group 7​

Amikejo 1-0 Netherlands
Serbia 12-0 Monaco
Salzburg 3-1 Portugal
Netherlands 8-1 Monaco
Salzburg 2-0 Amikejo
Portugal 3-0 Serbia
Netherlands 2-0 Salzburg
Portugal 6-0 Monaco
Serbia 1-1 Amikejo
Netherlands 5-1 Portugal
Serbia 2-0 Salzburg
Amikejo 14-0 Monaco

Group 8​

Bulgaria 3-1 Hesse
Slovakia 0-0 Castile
Aragon 4-1 Szeklerland
Bulgaria 2-0 Slovakia
Hesse 1-0 Szeklerland
Castile 4-2 Aragon
Szeklerland 2-1 Bulgaria
Slovakia 3-0 Aragon
Castile 1-1 Hesse
Bulgaria 3-2 Aragon
Castile 1-0 Szeklerland
Slovakia 5-1 Hesse
Bulgaria 2-1 Castile
Aragon 4-0 Hesse
Szeklerland 1-0 Slovakia

Group 9​

Hungary 3-0 Lower Silesia
Latvia 1-1 Styria
Valencia 5-0 Malta
Hungary 8-3 Latvia
Lower Silesia 2-0 Malta
Styria 4-2 Valencia
Hungary 11-1 Malta
Valencia 2-0 Latvia
Styria 4-0 Lower Silesia
Valencia 1-0 Hungary
Styria 3-0 Malta
Latvia 2-2 Lower Silesia
Hungary 3-1 Styria
Valencia 2-1 Lower Silesia
Latvia 6-2 Malta

Group 10​

Romania 4-2 Thuringia
Italy 13-0 Alderney
Vorarlberg 0-0 Northern Ireland
Romania 10-0 Alderney
Thuringia 2-0 Vorarlberg
Italy 3-2 Northern Ireland
Romania 6-0 Vorarlberg
Northern Ireland 8-0 Alderney
Italy 3-1 Thuringia
Romania 4-0 Northern Ireland
Vorarlberg 2-0 Italy
Thuringia 7-0 Alderney
Italy 0-0 Romania
Thuringia 2-1 Northern Ireland
Vorarlberg 5-0 Alderney

Group 11​

Toledo-La Mancha 1-0 Oldenburg
Moravia 3-2 Estonia
Montenegro 4-2 Upper Silesia
Toledo-La Mancha 5-0 Estonia
Oldenburg 0-0 Montenegro
Moravia 2-1 Upper Silesia
Montenegro 1-1 Toledo-La Mancha
Upper Silesia 3-0 Estonia
Moravia 6-1 Oldenburg
Toledo-La Mancha 2-2 Upper Silesia
Montenegro 3-1 Moravia
Estonia 1-0 Oldenburg
Moravia 0-0 Toledo-La Mancha
Oldenburg 1-1 Upper Silesia
Montenegro 3-1 Estonia

Group 12​

Norway 3-0 Sudetenland
Brittany 2-1 France
Andalusia 3-3 Leinster
Norway 3-2 Brittany
Andalusia 4-0 Sudetenland
Leinster 1-0 France
Andalusia 2-0 Norway
Brittany 3-1 Leinster
France 4-2 Sudetenland
Leinster 1-0 Norway
France 2-0 Andalusia
Sudetenland 4-1 Brittany
Norway 8-0 France
Sudetenland 1-1 Leinster
Brittany 0-0 Andalusia

Group 13​

Cornwall 3-0 Pomerania
Irish Free State 1-1 Croatia-Slavonia
Dalmatia 0-0 León
Cornwall 2-2 Irish Free State
Dalmatia 1-0 Pomerania
León 6-0 Croatia-Slavonia
Cornwall 2-1 Dalmatia
León 4-1 Irish Free State
Croatia-Slavonia 1-0 Pomerania
Cornwall 0-0 León
Croatia-Slavonia 3-1 Dalmatia
Irish Free State 4-2 Pomerania
Croatia-Slavonia 1-1 Cornwall
León 5-2 Pomerania
Irish Free State 3-1 Dalmatia

Group 14​

Corsica 1-1 Sweden
Scotland 4-1 Württemberg
Greece 15-0 Guernsey
Sweden 6-1 Württemberg
Corsica 11-0 Guernsey
Scotland 2-2 Greece
Sweden 9-0 Guernsey
Württemberg 1-0 Greece
Scotland 0-0 Corsica
Sweden 4-1 Greece
Scotland 15-0 Guernsey
Württemberg 2-0 Corsica
Sweden 2-1 Scotland
Corsica 2-2 Greece
Württemberg 7-0 Guernsey

Group 15​

Basque Country 5-1 Baden
Bohemia 3-2 Rhineland
Slovenia 6-2 Iceland
Basque Country 2-0 Rhineland
Baden 4-0 Iceland
Bohemia 1-1 Slovenia
Basque Country 8-3 Iceland
Slovenia 0-0 Rhineland
Baden 3-1 Bohemia
Basque Country 6-4 Slovenia
Bohemia 2-0 Iceland
Rhineland 3-0 Baden
Basque Country 4-2 Bohemia
Baden 1-1 Slovenia
Iceland 1-0 Rhineland

Bukovina, Jutland, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Norway and León would make their World Cup debut in 1922.

 

[Atzyn]

1922 Denmark World Cup of Football – Rest of the World Qualifiers​

CONMEBOL​

Group 16​

Bahia 4-1 Rio Grande do Norte
Bolivia 8-1 Venezuela
Bahia 2-1 Venezuela
Bolivia 3-2 Rio Grande do Norte
Bolivia 0-0 Bahia
Rio Grande do Norte 2-2 Venezuela

Group 17​

Pará 3-1 Piauí
Peru 4-0 Paraná
Pará 5-1 Paraná
Piauí 1-1 Peru
Peru 1-1 Pará
Paraná 2-0 Piauí

Group 18​

Chile 15-1 Acre
Paraíba 2-0 Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais 3-0 Chile
Paraíba 6-0 Acre
Chile 5-1 Paraíba
Minas Gerais 4-0 Acre

Group 19​

Rio de Janeiro 4-2 Sergipe
Paraguay 7-0 Amazonas
Rio de Janeiro 5-0 Amazonas
Sergipe 2-1 Paraguay
Rio de Janeiro 3-0 Paraguay
Amazonas 1-0 Sergipe

Group 20​

São Paulo 4-1 Espírito Santo
Pernambuco 2-0 Ecuador
São Paulo 1-0 Pernambuco
Espírito Santo 0-0 Ecuador
São Paulo 6-0 Ecuador
Espírito Santo 1-1 Pernambuco

Group 21​

Uruguay 7-2 Ceará
Rio Grande do Sul 3-3 Colombia
Uruguay 2-0 Rio Grande do Sul
Ceará 0-0 Colombia
Ceará 1-1 Rio Grande do Sul

Group 22​

Argentina 3-2 Maranhão
Surinam 4-1 British Guiana
Argentina 3-0 Surinam
Maranhão 5-2 British Guiana
Argentina 8-0 British Guiana
Maranhão 2-1 Surinam

Rio de Janeiro would make its World Cup debut.

CONACACAF​

Group 23​

Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 Honduras
Cuba 4-1 Guatemala
Mexico 7-1 Honduras
Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 Guatemala
Cuba 2-2 Mexico
Guatemala 9-0 Honduras
Mexico 5-3 Guatemala
Cuba 1-1 Trinidad and Tobago
Mexico 4-0 Trinidad and Tobago
Cuba 3-1 Honduras

Group 24​

Costa Rica 5-1 New England
Jamaica 3-0 Barbados
Canada 2-0 Costa Rica
New England 3-2 Jamaica
Canada 8-0 Barbados
Jamaica 0-0 Costa Rica
Jamaica 2-0 Canada
New England 4-0 Barbados
New England 1-1 Canada
Costa Rica 3-0 Barbados

Group 25​

Quebec 11-2 El Salvador
Newfoundland 1-1 Haiti
United States 8-2 El Salvador
Haiti 3-1 Quebec
United States 4-2 Newfoundland
Haiti 0-0 El Salvador
United States 1-0 Haiti
Quebec 5-0 Newfoundland
Quebec 2-2 United States
Newfoundland 3-0 El Salvador

All 3 top seeds won in CONACACAF, but Costa Rica and Cuba were close to debuting.

CFA​

Group 26​

Hyderabad 4-0 Perak
Hong Kong 3-0 French India
Baluchistan 2-2 Philippines
Persia 5-1 Bihar and Orissa
Hyderabad 0-0 French India
Baluchistan 2-1 Perak
Hong Kong 4-3 Bihar and Orissa
Persia 5-2 Philippines
Baluchistan 0-0 Hyderabad
Bihar and Orissa 3-1 French India
Persia 2-0 Perak
Hong Kong 6-2 Philippines
Bihar and Orissa 2-1 Hyderabad
Baluchistan 0-0 Persia
Philippines 1-0 French India
Hong Kong 5-1 Perak
Hyderabad 4-2 Persia
Philippines 3-2 Bihar and Orissa
Hong Kong 1-1 Baluchistan
Perak 3-2 French India
Hyderabad 3-0 Philippines
Persia 2-0 Hong Kong
Bihar and Orissa 1-1 Perak
French India 2-1 Baluchistan
Hong Kong 3-1 Hyderabad
Perak 0-0 Philippines
French India 1-1 Persia
Bihar and Orissa 2-1 Baluchistan

Group 27​

China 15-0 Pahang
Mandatory Palestine 1-1 Singapore
Bombay 3-0 Afghanistan
Penang 4-2 Travancore
China 11-0 Mandatory Palestine
Pahang 2-1 Afghanistan
Singapore 0-0 Penang
Bombay 4-1 Travancore
China 23-0 Afghanistan
Mandatory Palestine 3-1 Penang
Travancore 2-2 Pahang
Singapore 3-2 Bombay
China 21-0 Penang
Travancore 5-1 Afghanistan
Bombay 2-0 Mandatory Palestine
Pahang 1-1 Singapore
China 16-0 Travancore
Bombay 3-3 Penang
Singapore 2-0 Afghanistan
Pahang 1-0 Mandatory Palestine
China 8-0 Bombay
Singapore 2-1 Travancore
Penang 3-1 Pahang
Mandatory Palestine 5-1 Afghanistan
China 7-0 Singapore
Pahang 0-0 Bombay
Mandatory Palestine 1-1 Travancore
Penang 12-1 Afghanistan

Group 28​

Japan 7-0 Negeri Sembilan
Bengal 3-1 Korea
Punjab 2-0 Dutch East Indies
Malacca 4-1 Siam
Japan 9-1 Korea
Negeri Sembilan 2-1 Dutch East Indies
Bengal 3-0 Siam
Punjab 2-2 Malacca
Japan 11-1 Dutch East Indies
Siam 0-0 Korea
Malacca 3-3 Negeri Sembilan
Bengal 2-0 Punjab
Japan 4-1 Siam
Dutch East Indies 1-0 Malacca
Korea 1-1 Punjab
Bengal 3-0 Negeri Sembilan
Japan 5-0 Malacca
Punjab 2-2 Siam
Bengal 3-0 Dutch East Indies
Negeri Sembilan 2-0 Korea
Japan 2-1 Punjab
Malacca 3-0 Bengal
Siam 4-1 Negeri Sembilan
Korea 5-2 Dutch East Indies
Bengal 1-1 Japan
Punjab 2-0 Negeri Sembilan
Malacca 3-0 Korea
Dutch East Indies 1-0 Siam

Group 29​

United Provinces 5-0 Portuguese India
Eretz Israel 2-2 Mysore
Madras 1-0 Burma
Assam 2-1 Cochin
United Provinces 3-1 Eretz Israel
Portuguese India 4-0 Burma
Mysore 1-1 Assam
Madras 2-0 Cochin
United Provinces 1-0 Burma
Eretz Israel 4-2 Assam
Cochin 5-1 Portuguese India
Madras 3-2 Mysore
United Provinces 3-1 Assam
Burma 1-1 Cochin
Madras 3-0 Eretz Israel
Mysore 4-1 Portuguese India
United Provinces 7-2 Cochin
Madras 1-1 Assam
Mysore 2-0 Burma
Portuguese India 1-0 Eretz Israel
Madras 2-0 United Provinces
Cochin 2-2 Mysore
Assam 3-2 Portuguese India
Eretz Israel 4-3 Burma
United Provinces 3-0 Mysore
Portuguese India 1-1 Madras
Eretz Israel 0-0 Cochin
Assam 4-0 Burma

Japan and the United Provinces would make their World Cup debut.

Africa Zone​

Group 30​

Transvaal 2-1 Uganda
Mozambique 0-0 Natalia
Cape 3-0 Uganda
Transvaal 4-4 Natalia
Cape 2-0 Mozambique
Natalia 7-1 Uganda
Cape 1-1 Natalia
Mozambique 2-1 Transvaal
Transvaal 1-0 Cape
Mozambique 3-2 Uganda

Group 31​

Orange Free State 4-2 Zanzibar
Liberia 1-0 Congo
Egypt 3-1 Zanzibar
Orange Free State 2-0 Congo
Liberia 1-1 Egypt
Zanzibar 3-0 Congo
Egypt 4-1 Congo
Liberia 1-1 Orange Free State
Orange Free State 2-2 Egypt
Liberia 2-1 Zanzibar

Egypt would make its World Cup debut.

PAFC​

Group 32​

New Zealand 6-1 Tasmania
South Australia 2-2 Victoria
New Zealand 0-0 South Australia
Victoria 4-1 Tasmania
New Zealand 3-1 Victoria
Tasmania 1-1 South Australia

Group 33​

New South Wales 12-0 Papua
Queensland 3-2 Western Australia
New South Wales 2-0 Queensland
Western Australia 6-1 Papua
New South Wales 4-2 Western Australia
Queensland 7-0 Papua

New Zealand would re-appear at the World Cup.

 

[Atzyn]

1922 Denmark World Cup of Football – Group Stage​

The 28 qualifying teams made the trip to Denmark to play in the first World Cup in a decade. Much like in 1912, groups were to play in certain zones in and around major cities in the host nation. Groups 1 and 2 played their games in Copenhagen, Groups 3 and 4 played their games in Aarhus, Group 5 played their games in Odense, Group 6 played their games in Aalborg, and Group 7 played their games in Esbjerg.

These were the pots used in the draw:

And these were the results of the draw:

• Group 1: Denmark, New Zealand, Mexico, Egypt
• Group 2: São Paulo, Sweden, Hungary, Bukovina
• Group 3: China, Netherlands, Japan, Montenegro
• Group 4: Romania, Wales, Belgium, Jutland
• Group 5: Argentina, England, Catalonia, Bulgaria
• Group 6: Basque Country, Canada, Rio de Janeiro, León
• Group 7: Uruguay, United States, United Provinces, Norway

There was some controversy around the results of this draw. There were claims that Denmark had been given an easy route out of the group stage, due to getting drawn with quite weak teams. Other complaints about the draw included China and Japan being drawn into the same group instead of spacing the Asian teams out, and the all-European Group 4 complaining about the lack of varied opposition. These protests were heard, though no solutions were given.

Group 1​

Denmark 3-0 Egypt
Mexico 1-1 New Zealand
Denmark 5-1 Mexico
Egypt 2-2 New Zealand
New Zealand 0-0 Denmark
Mexico 2-1 Egypt

As expected, this group was dominated by Denmark. Remarkably, New Zealand drew all of their games, including the one with the hosts. Mexico and Egypt were both demolished by Denmark and drew with New Zealand, but Mexico managed to edge out Egypt with an insignificant win over them.

Group 2​

São Paulo 6-0 Bukovina
Sweden 3-2 Hungary
Hungary 1-0 São Paulo
Sweden 2-0 Bukovina
São Paulo 2-1 Sweden
Hungary 4-0 Bukovina

São Paulo, Hungary and Sweden all took advantage of being drawn with minnows Bukovina to end up with the same point total. All 3 advanced to the knockout round.

Group 3​

China 4-1 Montenegro
Japan 0-0 Netherlands
China 2-0 Japan
Netherlands 1-0 Montenegro
Netherlands 2-2 China
Japan 4-2 Montenegro

China impressed once more by topping out the group, although not as flawlessly as they had done before, drawing against 2nd place Netherlands. Their rivals Japan barely missed out on qualification, while Montenegro ended up at the very bottom losing all of their games.

Group 4​

Jutland 3-3 Romania
Belgium 1-1 Wales
Romania 4-1 Belgium
Jutland 2-1 Wales
Wales 3-1 Romania
Belgium 2-0 Jutland

All 4 teams were tied on points, so the group was decided on goal average. Wales and Romania advanced, while pseudo-hosts Jutland and returning veterans Belgium were unlucky and crashed out of the tournament.

Group 5​

Argentina 3-0 Bulgaria
England 4-3 Catalonia
Argentina 1-1 Catalonia
Bulgaria 1-1 England
Argentina 2-1 England
Catalonia 2-0 Bulgaria

This was a group of death. Argentina won out, despite a poor draw against Catalonia. Newcomers Bulgaria were dealt a tough hand against three favourites. England advanced as the 2nd-best 3rd-place team by the skin of their teeth.

Group 6​

León 0-0 Basque Country
Canada 3-1 Rio de Janeiro
Basque Country 3-1 Rio de Janeiro
León 2-2 Canada
Canada 1-1 Basque Country
Rio de Janeiro 2-1 León

The Basque Country and Canada were both undefeated, benefitting from a mediocre Fluminense performance and a Leonese team that drew against the group toppers but lost against Rio de Janeiro.

Group 7​

Uruguay 7-0 Norway
United States 5-2 United Provinces
Uruguay 1-0 United Provinces
United States 3-1 Norway
Uruguay 2-1 United States
Norway 1-1 United Provinces

This was the group most dominated by its winners, with the United Provinces and Norway barely managing a draw against each other for 1 point each, while Uruguay 7-0 Norway was the biggest blowout of the tournament and the United States had its own heavy victories against the losers.

For the first time ever, there was a draw for the Round of 16. The 7 group winners plus the best 2nd-placed team (Hungary) were seeded, while the other 6 2nd-place teams plus the 2 best 3rd-placed teams would be drawn with their top seed opponents. The only condition for the draw was that 2 teams that had faced each other in the group stage would not be matched with each other in the Round of 16.

These were the results of the draw:

 

[Atzyn]

1922 Denmark World Cup of Football – Knockout Stage​

The 10-year gap between the 1912 and 1922 World Cups was significant in many ways, not only for the world but also for football. Many players from European squads had gone to fight in the war and either died or sustained career-ending injuries. Others didn’t play due to psychological reasons. Still, for the European teams in the Round of 16, this wasn’t much of an issue, as England, Wales and Hungary managed to retain their best players while the rest were neutral during the Great War. If they weren’t caught up by the big war, then they could’ve been caught up in the myriad of conflicts during the Interwar period.

However, most European star players at the tournament were very close to retiring, playing just for their last shot at winning the World Cup in their careers after having 3 straight tournaments pushed back far beyond their footballing years. The squads from the rest of the world, and especially the Americas, were going through a sort of “golden age” where their older players which had accrued far more experience in the past 10 years playing in the continental and Pan-American tournaments and their younger players who had the chance to play some national team football in the war years were better than ever.

This is to be kept in mind for the rest of the tournament, and this particular period in international football history.

In Copenhagen, Hosts Denmark were showing signs of slowing down against England, who gave them a tough time but couldn’t quite make it as Denmark finished them off 2-1. The United States and São Paulo had a heated game, where the Brazilians ran circles around the Americans, getting ahead 2-0 in the first half. The Americans had an impressive second half turnaround and ended the game 3-2 in their favour, sending the Paulistas packing.

Continuing the streak of close games, in Aarhus, Canada faced a significant challenge against China, being 1-1 for most of the match, but they managed to come out on top to crush the Chinese’s dreams of reaching the semi-finals as they had done before. Meanwhile, New Zealand and Wales did not have a close game. Although they did try scoring 2 goals, the Welsh were no match for the much younger Kiwis, who put 4 past the Welshmen’s net and sent them home.

Over in Odense, Romania was having an incredibly bad time against Argentina. The former Cinderellas could not catch up to an over-prepared Argentina side, who tore them to shreds 5-1. In a stadium close by, the Basque Country and Catalonia would have their first World Cup meeting. The two had accrued a football rivalry akin to Argentina-Uruguay, playing a couple dozen friendly tournaments between each other. On this occasion, it was the Basques that came out on top, beating the Catalans back 3-1 and securing their place in the quarter-finals once more.

Finally, those in Aalborg bore witness to two dull games between World Cup regulars. Uruguay had their fun toying with the Swedes, defeating them 2-0. On the other side of the city, the Netherlands was scoring a last-minute winner against Hungary in a quite drab 0-0 game up until that point. At least they’d get a taste of the quarter-finals.

Non-Europeans had once again out-numbered Europeans in the quarter-finals, with 3 Europeans against 5 not.

3 days later, back in Copenhagen, there was suspense. The close call against England had made local fans weary of any subsequent matches, and that Denmark might not be able to protect their double-crown. However, their next opponent was the Americans. And oppose them they did: with heavy kicks and hard attacks, the Americans pulled in everything they had against the reigning champions. A ball smashed into the back of the Danish net sealed their fate. They were unable to get back into the game, and Denmark was eliminated, at home, in front of record attendances.

While this was going on, the completely unaware fans in Aarhus were treated to what they christened the “Aarhus final” between Canada and New Zealand. And what a match it was, for the Canadians. New Zealand tried to get the head start, with a phantom goal that was never counted despite barely making it over the goal line. Even if this goal was scored, it wouldn’t have deterred the flurry of Canadian goals to follow. 3-0. Kiwis out, Canucks in.

In Odense, the Argentine fans were treated to a small contingent of fans that had come to see them play and try to win the World Cup. This definitely boosted their morale over the scarcely supported Basque team, in a particularly empty stadium as most fans lacked interest and had made travel arrangements to go to Copenhagen to watch the semi-finals and final. Both teams adopted their usual attacking strategy, which led to a high-scoring 3-3 draw near the end of the match. One scruffy shot from a desperate Argentine defender made it in, ending the game 4-3 to the delight of the Argentine contingent.

In spite of Aalborg’s greater distance to Copenhagen, even more fans had arranged to travel to Copenhagen, probably due to the low quality of the previous matches. Although they didn’t miss an amazing match, the bout between Uruguay and the Netherlands was still somewhat entertaining. A few good shots here and there led to a 2-1 win for Uruguay, leading them to face their biggest rivals Argentina in the semi-finals.

For the first time ever, the semi-finals were entirely non-European. Both matches were significant derbies, to boot.

The United States and Canada, not-quite-bitter rivals, met in a World Cup match for the first time. Despite both ending 2nd in their group, they had made the most of it and were ready to throw down in Copenhagen. A Canadian head-start of 2 goals in quick succession did not deter the Americans, who struck back to make it 2-1 by the end of the first half. What followed was constant American attacks, while the “Canadian Shield” of defenders, named after the geological region, stopped any good advances their southern neighbours made. The Canucks snuck in an extra goal to finish their opponents off 3-1 and secure their spot in the final of the World Cup.

2 hours later, in the same Copenhagen stadium, Argentina and Uruguay would shake off any remaining seasickness to see which South American team would step up to attempt to take the crown that was now up for grabs. Both teams refused the local Danish balls for the derby, instead getting balls in the two different Argentine and Uruguayan styles made to play their match. FIFA officials were slightly peeved, but let it happen anyways, as it was the World Cup semi-finals after all. A coin toss decided which ball would be played first; Uruguay won the coin toss. This led them to a significant 2-0 advantage in the first half. The Argentine fans complained that the ball was giving them an advantage, but both teams had agreed to the ball exchange, and it was too late to go back now. Argentina would make the comeback of the decade by sticking 4 past the Uruguayan defenders, keeper and net, striking the Orientals out and keeping the Argentines in for the grand final.

The 3rd place match was nothing to write home about. As always, neither team really wanted to be there. However, Uruguay took the opportunity to vent out their frustrations from the Argentina game, thrashing the American defence very physically, but also mentally as they put 6 past them while they could only manage 1. Uruguay took their bronze and went back home as soon as they could.

The final was upon Copenhagen. Although the locals were saddened by the loss of their national team, they still celebrated the occasion, with the colours of Argentina and Canada adorning the area around the stadium. Some Danes had even tried their hand at making traditional foods from the two countries, with mixed results. On 4 June, at 15 PM, the World Cup final, Canada v Argentina, began.

The Canadians tried out their usual strategy of immediate lethal attack, then folding back and defending. However, they were incapable of breaking through Argentina. On the other side of things, the South Americans were having a hard time trying to do anything but defend against the constant forward push of the Canucks. Classic case of unstoppable force vs. unmovable object. Things remained as they did for the entirety of the first half.

Canada caught Argentina lacking. Straight off the bat, a 47th minute header from a corner would put the Canadians ahead 1-0. Not yet satiated, Canada would ride this high until their 2nd goal at 58’ to secure the scoreline and fall back as they always did. Despite having more fans than Canada, the Argentines weren’t quite doing it. It was clear exhaustion had set in for them, at the worst possible moment. The Canadian Shield secured the Canadian goal as Argentina were unable to make any significant advances. Full time.

2-0.

Canada are World Champions!