World Cup Countdown: 10 fun facts about the first ever competition | OneFootball

This summer marks 88 years since the inaugural World Cup took place in Uruguay and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the tournament has changed quite a bit over the years.

So as we count down to Russia 2018, let’s delve into the archives and give ourselves a little history lesson …

1. FIFA chose Uruguay to host the tournament as the country celebrated the centenary of its first constitution that year. Every game was played in Montevideo, the capital, and the venue for the final – the 90,000 capacity Estadio Centenario – was built especially for the occasion.

2. The first World Cup was the only one in history without qualification. Every FIFA affiliated nation was invited to compete and given a deadline of 28 February 1930 to accept.

3. 17 nations participated at the 1930 World Cup – seven from South America, two from North America and only four from Europe. Many European nations refused to participate due to the long and costly trip by boat across the Atlantic Ocean, and the length of absence required for players, few of whom were full-time professionals in those days.

4. So desperate were they for European participation that the Uruguayan Football Association wrote a letter to their English equivalent begging them to play. Their request was rejected by the FA Committee on 18 November 1929.

5. The four European nations which did make the trip were Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and Romania. The Romanian squad was personally hand selected by the newly crowned King Carol II, who also negotiated with employers to ensure the players would still have jobs upon their return home.

6. When it came to picking their team, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia had a predicament. Croatia’s boycott of the national team meant their talent pool was severely reduced, and the Yugoslavian team which eventually played at the tournament was made up entirely of Serbian players. With an average age of 21 years and 258 days, Yugoslavia also had the youngest squad at the World Cup that year and after their first game against Brazil, the local media nicknamed them the Ichachos due to the fact most of the player’s surnames ended with the “-ić” or “-vić” suffix.

7. The first goal at the 1930 was a 19th minute volley against Mexico by Frenchman Lucien Laurent. Back in his homeland, Laurent worked for car manufacturer Peugeot and received only basic expenses from the French Football Federation to represent his country at the tournament.

8. The first official World Cup clean sheet was kept by American goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas in a 3-0 win over Belgium. Later, in the semi-final against Argentina, Douglas was forced to play on with a twisted knee as the game did not yet allow substitutes at that point.

9. The first ever World Cup final was hotly contested by South American rivals Uruguay and Argentina in front of 93,000 supporters. A dispute over who would provide the match-ball meant the first half of the game was played using Argentina’s ball, while the Uruguayans provided their own for the second. Belgian referee John Langenus only agreed to officiate a few hours before the game, and did so on the condition that a boat to be ready at the harbour within one hour of the final whistle, in case he needed to make a quick escape.

10. Host nation Uruguay were football’s first ever World champions after overcoming the Argentines 4-2 in the final. The following day was declared a national holiday in Uruguay and their aggregate goal difference of +12 over four games, at an average of +3 per match, remains the highest average goal difference per match of any World Cup champion.