Peter Goldstein is a professor at Juniata College in Pennsylvania in the USA. He has been
World Cup crazy since 1966. He will share his views about the past, present and future of
this event.
Mail Peter
Read earlier columns
|
|
|
A Brief History of Qualifying 1934-1970
As everyone knows, the 2002 World Cup will begin on May 31, 2002, at the
beautiful Seoul World Cup Stadium, with defending champion France taking on
the debutantes from Senegal. Except the 2002 World Cup actually began a long
time ago-on March 4, 2000, to be precise, in San Pedro de Sula, Honduras,
where the host catrachos defeated Nicaragua 3:0, and in Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, where the Soca Warriors overwhelmed the visiting Dutch
Antilles 5:0. Angus Eve and Arnold Dwarika of Trinidad and Tobago scored two
goals apiece, taking an early lead in the Golden Boot competition.
Of course, I'm talking about the qualifiers. To most of us the World Cup is
magnificent stars at the pinnacle of their game (Maradona, Pele, Platini,
etc. etc.) or unforgettable confrontations between great teams
(Hungary-Brazil 1966, Italy-West Germany 1970, France-Brazil 1986 etc. etc.)
or at the very least those 32 (or 24, or 16) teams battling before huge
crowds, in beautifully maintained stadiums, in tightly organized group
stages and elimination games. But the World Cup is also those lovely,
chaotic, from-Tonga-to-Turkmenistan preliminaries: games seen by hundreds,
not thousands; games on pitches that resemble sandboxes; games played by
dentists, bank tellers, and auto mechanics; games that sometimes don't even
take place; international football at bedrock.
In other words, who needs Brazil-Holland when you can have Namibia-Seychelles-twice? On behalf of
those devoted to the qualifiers, who will always know exactly how many goals
Uzbekistan have to score against Bahrain in order to edge out Oman to
advance to the next round, I'd like to offer a salute to World Cup
qualification. This week, it's a brief history of qualifying up to 1970;
then an analysis of current qualifying systems.
There were no qualifiers for Uruguay 1930 - with the tournament half a world
away, only four European teams could be persuaded to make the trip at all,
and they were joined by seven South American nations, plus Mexico and the
USA. But in 1934, with the tournament in Italy, the Europeans decided they
wanted in on the act. Twenty-two European nations competed for twelve
places. The first ever World Cup qualifying game was held in Stockholm on
June 11, 1933, with Sweden rolling over Estonia 6:2. Swedish striker Knut
Kroon got the first goal - unless he didn't: some sources score it an own goal
to Estonian keeper/captain Eval Tipner. Italy, the host nation, actually had
to qualify like everyone else. They won the first game of their
home-and-home series with Greece 2:0; the second game wasn't played, and as
part of the deal Italy bought a large house in Athens and donated it to the
Greek football federation. (Hmm...) Poland lost their opener to
Czechoslovakia 1:2, then quit the tournament after the Polish government,
citing a border dispute, refused to grant the team visas to go to Prague.
Back in South America, there were no qualifiers at all. Champion Uruguay
snubbed the tournament - possibly in revenge for European neglect four years
ago, possibly because they didn't know if they could defend their title - and
when Peru and Chile also withdrew, Brazil and Argentina had walkovers.
Mexico and the USA were to decide the North American berth, but they
couldn't agree on travel arrangements for the deciding series. So both teams
flew to Rome and played off only three days before the tournament began. The
USA prevailed 4:2, winning the right to be crushed by Italy in the first
round. Meanwhile, the first African entry, Egypt, routed Palestine (yes,
Palestine!) in a two-game series.
You'd figure that by France 1938 the qualifiers would be more fully
established, but the volatile political situation made things chancy.
Outside of Europe there were no games at all. Brazil, Cuba, and the Dutch
East Indies got walkovers. (When Argentina withdrew, their fans very
sensibly rioted outside the federation offices.) No Africans this time - Egypt
was assigned to play Romania, but withdrew. On the European front, Greece,
presumably buoyed by their beautiful new headquarters, defeated Palestine
twice, advancing to meet Hungary in a two-game series. They lost the first
game 11:1, and as in 1934, the second game wasn't played. In compensation,
Hungary donated the land for a country club and threw in 3000 pounds of
chicken paprikash...yes, I made that up.
Elsewhere, we saw the first four-team round robin group, comprised of Sweden, Germany, Finland, and
Estonia. Starting a notable trend, Germany won the group with ease, winning
all three games and outscoring their opponents 11-1; kudos to Georg
Siimenson of Estonia for getting the only goal. Siimenson also struck in the
second minute against the old enemy Sweden, but after that it was one-way
traffic, and the Swedes qualified by finishing second in the group. In the
Benelux group, Luxembourg almost pulled off a gigantic upset, leading 2:1 at
halftime in their game against Belgium. A victory would almost certainly
have put them through, but they went down 2:3, and both Holland and Belgium
qualified. Norway edged Ireland for their first qualification-and their
last, for 56 years.
With the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, European entries were way down, and even
the winners had second thoughts. The four British federations competed for
the first time, the round-robin Home Championship doubling as the
qualifiers. England finished first and Scotland second, and both qualified,
but Scotland refused to participate, claiming their pride wouldn't let them
compete except as British champions. More likely they got a premonition of
seven straight first-round exits, and decided not to bother. Turkey also
qualified by smashing Syria 7:0 and getting a walkover against Austria, but
they too chose to stay home. Luxembourg hung in there again, leading
Switzerland 2:1 at halftime and nearly sending their series to a deciding
third game, but alas, again went down 2:3. Switzerland thus advanced to meet
Belgium who withdrew.
South American countries were equally obliging: Argentina, Peru, and Ecuador jumped ship, leaving Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile,
and Bolivia free passes. One slot was earmarked for an Asian team, but
Burma, Indonesia, and the Phillipines (you guessed it) withdrew, leaving
India master of the field, at least until they decided to skip the
tournament as well. Africa didn't even get a chance to refuse. The North
Americans covered themselves with glory: Mexico and the USA edged out Cuba,
and both actually made the trip.
By Switzerland 1954, the qualifiers had achieved some semblance of
order which wasn't much consolation for Spain. Clear favorites over Turkey,
they could only split the two games, and the tiebreaker was drawn 2:2 after
extra time. The only thing left was lots, and with El Cid spinning in his
grave, Spain lost the draw. The Yugoslavia-Greece-Israel group was a
thriller: all six games were scoreless at halftime, and five turned out 1:0.
(Greece defeated Israel in a 2:0 goalfest.) Scotland again finished second
in the Home Championship, and this time actually decided to compete - you know
the rest. By now Luxembourg's glory days were over; they got blasted twice
each by France and Ireland, GF/GA 1-19. The Hungarians got a walkover
against Poland, the last full walkover in European qualifying history.
But the South Americans finally decided to play for the privilege of qualifying,
although Peru and Bolivia withdrew just to keep in practice. Brazil and
Paraguay both qualified out of a three-team group with Chile. In a prophetic
matchup, South Korea defeated Japan for the Asian spot, while Mexico began
their longtime domination of CONCACAF. Still no group for Africa-Egypt, the
only entry, went down to Italy.
Sweden 1958 was a tournament of firsts. Europe introduced a radical
innovation: qualifiers had previously been held on a regional basis, but now
some teams were seeded at the top of their groups. So Italy had only
Northern Ireland and Portugal to beat which proved too hard. The Irish
prevailed 2:1 in the final game, so for the first and only time, Italy
missed out in the qualifiers. This was also the first year all Euro groups
were double round robins, and the first time in the competition for the USSR
and East Germany. (Proving that football imitates life, the USSR hammered
Finland 10:0 in Helsinki and went through over Poland on goal difference.)
Hungary lost their first qualifying game ever - a shocker to Norway - but
qualified anyway.
South America offered some firsts as well: three qualifying groups, each with a winner determined by real live competition.
Venezuela entered and withdrew for the first time, maybe
because they were drawn in a group with Brazil. The CONCACAF region welcomed
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Canada, and the Dutch Antilles, but as always Mexico
qualified. FIFA had hoped for a first with a newly minted Asia/Africa group;
what they got was the first mass political boycott. After a couple of
interesting preliminary series (China-Indonesia and Sudan-Syria), everyone
refused to play Israel. To avoid a complete walkover (so much for
time-honored tradition!), FIFA chose an opponent for Israel by lot from the
second-place European teams. It turned out to be Wales, who said thank you
very much, and had little difficulty taking both games.
For Chile 1962, Africa finally got its own group-excuse me, sub-group.
Morocco needed lots to get by Tunisia, then beat Ghana for real, but all it
got them was a playoff with Spain, who drove them out of Madrid for the
second time in 900 years (more El Cid lines welcome). Ethiopia also took
part, but they were shunted off to play Israel, who dismissed them with ease
before being stomped by Italy. South Korea beat Japan again to qualify-oops,
sorry! Eight years ago that was worth a spot in the finals, but now it was
worth the shaft, in the form of a two-match, one-sided playoff with eventual
semifinalist Yugoslavia. This was, in fact, the year of the playoff: for the
first of several cycles, goal difference didn't count in the European
groups, so teams equal on points had to play an extra game.
Bulgaria and Switzerland, who would have lost out on goal difference under current rules,
knocked out France and Sweden respectively; Czechoslovakia spared Scotland
some agony by scoring a tying goal in the 84th minute and winning in extra
time. West Germany, of course, didn't need a playoff. But Mexico did,
because the CONCACAF winner had to play Paraguay. A win in Mexico City and
draw in Asuncion saw the Aztecs through again. South America saw a big
surprise - no, Venezuela didn't participate, but Colombia did, and qualified
over Peru on their very first try, joining usual suspects Argentina,
Uruguay, and champs Brazil.
Ah, England 1966 - Pele hurting, Eusebio dazzling, Hurst scoring (maybe), and
North Korea coming out of nowhere to upset Italy. So how did North Korea get
there? Well, FIFA had decided on a joint Asia/Africa group. This was slightly
better than the get-rid-of-them-in-a-playoff system of four years ago, but
the Africans and Asians didn't see it that way. Seventeen nations withdrew
in protest, leaving only the (insert "steadfast" or "unprincipled") North
Koreans. FIFA played them off against newcomers Australia in Phnom Penh, of
all places, and the Koreans breezed.
Back in Europe, the playoff rule was still in effect, and Bulgaria took advantage again, finishing behind Belgium
on goal difference but winning the game that mattered. With the finals next
door, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all had plenty of incentive, but
all three finished second in their groups, falling to Italy, the USSR, and
Switzerland respectively. Norway had their strongest run in years before
losing out to France. Minnows Cyprus, who had gone out in the preliminaries
to Israel four years ago, somehow found themselves in a three-team group
with West Germany and Sweden. Don't ask. In South America, for the very
first time, all 10 nations entered. Brazil again was defending champ, and
the rest went according to form, although Ecuador surprised by taking Chile
to a playoff. You Know Who outpointed Costa Rica and Jamaica in CONCACAF.
And so we come to Mexico 1970, and the revolution. FIFA saw the light, or
perhaps the potential hole in their pocketbook, and set up separate groups
for Africa and Asia/Oceania. There were still a few bugs in the system, of
course. "Political considerations" put Rhodesia in the Asia/Oceania group,
which was won by Israel, undoubtedly thrilled that someone else was being
boycotted for once. Lots were needed for Tunisia and Morocco again (who
writes these scripts?), and again the Tunisians came up empty. Morocco then
beat Nigeria and Sudan to reach the promised land.
In South America, Brazil and Uruguay qualified with ease, but nobody in England mourned when
Argentina finished last in their group (!) behind Peru and Bolivia. With
Mexico hosting, someone else from the region had to qualify, if only by
accident, and an accident was very nearly required. El Salvador and Haiti
both managed to lose at home in the final showdown, and the playoff went
scoreless into extra time before Juan Ramon Martinez of El Salvador got the
only goal. (By the way, that's one more goal than the Salvadorans got in
their three first-round games in Mexico.)
In Europe, the big surprise was Romania, qualifying for the first time since 1938. Portugal still had
Eusebio, but finished last in Romania's group, behind Greece and Switzerland
as well. Bulgaria didn't need a playoff this time, but Czechoslovakia did,
defeating Hungary. To save everyone the worry, Scotland got drawn with West
Germany. So did Cyprus again, and lost only 0:1 at home, making it unfair to
add that they lost 10:0 in Essen and finished with 2 goals for and 35
against. And to close out our survey of the first four decades of World Cup
qualifying, we note that the Ireland-Denmark game in Dublin had to be
abandoned in the 50th minute because of fog. The replay took place ten
months later, with both teams already eliminated, and duly ended in a draw.
Why stop at 1970? No reason, really, except to take a break from history.
We'll look at the last 30 years in a later column. Next time we'll look at
qualifying systems: which are the fairest, the most exciting, the most
absurd (hint: think Australia-American Samoa)? And to close with a few
trivia questions-answers next week:
1) Name the European team that went through a double
round-robin qualifying group without allowing a single goal-and still failed
to qualify.
2) Luxembourg has given up more goals in qualifiers than any
other team. Who is second?
3) Name the team that got its first World Cup qualifying point
this year, after 18 straight losses.
|
[HOME]
BACKGROUND
Info on how
the World Cup was founded and about the trophy as well. |
THE
WORLD CUPS
Detailed info
on every match in every tournament. |
COLUMNISTS
Interesting columns about the past, present and future of the World Cup. |
THE
NATIONS
Every nation
with appearances in the World Cup. Detailed info on every country. |
LEGENDS
Player profiles
of many of the most influential players in history. |
A-Z STORIES
An A-Z collection
of strange and different stories in World Cup history. |
STATISTICS
A big collection
of various statistics and records. |
MASCOTS
Every mascot
since it was introduced in 1966. |
QUIZ
Test your
knowledge about the WC. Three different levels. No prizes, just for fun. |
TOP
10 RANKINGS
Rankings of
lots of stuff. For instance Best Goals, Best Players and Best Matches. |
LINKS
Our collection
of links to other soccer sites with World Cup connection. |
LINK
TO
Some banners
and buttons for you to link to us if you want. |
ABOUT
US
A little information
on who keeps this site available. |
|
