Italy hosted the 1934 Fifa World Cup, and the country’s national team took to the field for the final against Czechoslovakia on June 10, 1934, in Rome. This was the first final in World Cup history to require extra time.
How They Got There
Italy won its three matches in the early stages of the Fifa World Cup while giving up only two goals in those matches. This included a 7-1 victory over the United States, where Angelo Schiavo had a hat trick.
Czechoslovakia won two of its three matches by exactly one goal each. Each game was decided in standard time.
Oldrich Nejedly had five goals during the entire tournament, thus having the highest total among goal scorers for the event, and therefore becoming the recipient of the Golden Shoe.
He scored all three goals in a 3-1 victory over Germany in the semifinal.
One noteworthy part of the tournament was that Uruguay did not compete despite winning the last World Cup.
They refused to travel in response to how Italy did not travel in 1930, thus making the Uruguay team the only reigning champions to not compete in the following World Cup.
The two met at the stadium of the National Fascist Party in Rome, a stadium built in honor of the leading party at the time.
Much of the event was geared toward showing Italy’s power as a leader in the world and showcasing the country’s political philosophy.
Gameplay
The two sides were both deadlocked in a scoreless tie for the majority of the match. Much of this came from how Czechoslovakia was fixated on a short passing game as a means of controlling the ball for much of the match.
This was similar to what the Austrian national team was doing at the time of the event. It would not be until 71′ when Antonin Puc scored for Czechoslovakia, thus giving the side the first lead of the match.
Italy did not hesitate to respond as Raimundo Orsi scored at 81′. This led to extra time after regulation ended, thus becoming the first World Cup final to go into extra time.
Italy coach Vittorio Pozzo got Enrique Guaita and Angelo Schiavo to switch positions during extra time. Guaita went into the middle of the field and Schiavo was closer to the sideline.
This proved to be a critical move for the match as they connected at 95′ to give Schiavo the goal. Italy won the match 2-1, thus becoming the second host country in a row to win the World Cup.
Italy gave up only three goals during the entire World Cup. It was the record for the fewest goals given up by a world champion until 1998.
After the Match
One unique part of the World Cup was that Italian dictator Benito Mussolini built a special trophy to go along with the traditional World Cup trophy.
This trophy was the Coppa Del Duce and it was close to six times the overall size of the regular trophy.
Related Articles
1930 WORLD CUP FINAL – URUGUAY VS. ARGENTINA
1974 Fifa World Cup Final – West Germany VS Netherlands
Hey, I followed a link to your blog and I like this post in particular. You put forward some great points. Where may I find out more?