View source for 1938 FIFA World Cup

{{Short description|Association football tournament in France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox international football competition
| tourney_name     = FIFA World Cup
| year             = 1938
| other_titles     = {{native name|fr|Coupe du Monde<br/>France 1938}}
| image            = 1938 fifa worldcup poster.jpg
| size             = 200px 
| caption          = Official poster
| country          = France
| dates            = 4–19 June
| confederations   = 4
| num_teams        = 15
| venues           = 10
| cities           = 9
| champion         = Italy
| champion-flagvar = 1861
| count            = 2
| second           = Hungary
| second-flagvar   = 1920
| third            = Brazil
| third-flagvar    = 1889
| fourth           = Sweden
| matches          = 18
| goals            = 84
| attendance       = 374835
| top_scorer       = {{fbicon|BRA|1889}} [[Leônidas (footballer, born 1913)|Leônidas]] (7 goals)
| prevseason       = [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]
| nextseason       = [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]
}}
The '''1938 FIFA World Cup''' was the 3rd edition of the [[FIFA World Cup|World Cup]], the quadrennial international [[Association football|football]] championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. [[Italy national football team|Italy]] defended its title in the final, beating [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] 4–2. Italy's 1934 and 1938 teams hold the distinction of being the only men's national team to win the World Cup multiple times under the same coach, [[Vittorio Pozzo]]. It would be the last World Cup until [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]; the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to [[World War II]].

== Host selection ==
{{main|FIFA World Cup hosts}}
France was chosen as host nation by [[FIFA]] in [[Berlin]] on 13 August 1936. France was chosen over Argentina and Germany in the first round of voting. The decision to hold a second consecutive tournament in Europe (after [[1934 FIFA World Cup|Italy in 1934]]) caused outrage in South America, where it was believed that the venue should alternate between the two continents. This was the last World Cup to be staged before the outbreak of the [[World War II|Second World War]].

== Qualification ==
{{main|1938 FIFA World Cup qualification}}
Because of the decision to hold a second successive World Cup in Europe, many teams from the Americas did not join the competition or withdrew after an initial application. Most of the South American teams, including [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]] and [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], declined to take part in the competition after the controversy of the [[1936 Peru v Austria football match|Peru v Austria match]] at the  [[Football at the 1936 Summer Olympics|Football tournament]] of the [[1936 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4630068n/f5.item|work=[[L'Auto]]|date=9 November 1937|title=C'est un télégramme de la Confédération sud-américaine qui a motivé mon intervention|language=fr| location=Paris, France|via=gallica.bnf.fr}}</ref> The [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] and [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] joined the qualifying rounds but eventually withdrew. Argentina submitted a late application (which was accepted), before a definitive withdrawal due to disagreements between the [[Argentine Football Association|National Federation]] and the local clubs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4636145v/f1.item|work=[[L'Auto]]|date=27 March 1938|title=Pas d'argent! Pas de Coupe du Monde pour l'Argentine!...|language=fr| location=Paris, France|via=gallica.bnf.fr}}</ref> [[Spain men's national football team|Spain]] meanwhile could not participate due to the ongoing [[Spanish Civil War]]. 

It was the first time that the hosts, [[France national football team|France]], and the title holders, [[Italy national football team|Italy]], qualified automatically. Title holders were given an automatic entry into the World Cup from 1938 until [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]].

Of the 14 remaining places, eleven were allocated to Europe, two to the Americas, and one to Asia. As a result, only three non-European nations took part: Brazil, Cuba (making their debut) and Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia, also making their debut), the latter being the first Asian country to participate in a FIFA World Cup.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 March 2023 |title=Did you know Dutch East Indies, erstwhile Indonesia, were the first flagbearers of Asia in FIFA World Cup? |url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/did-you-know-dutch-east-indies-erstwhile-indonesia-were-the-first-flagbearers-of-asia-in-fifa-world-cup |access-date=2 January 2024 |website=FIFA.com}}</ref> This is the smallest ever number of teams from outside the host continent to compete at a FIFA World Cup.

[[Austria national football team|Austria]] qualified for the World Cup, but after qualification was complete, the [[Anschluss]] united Austria with Germany. Austria subsequently did not take part to the tournament, with some Austrian players joining the German squad, although not including Austrian star player [[Matthias Sindelar]], who refused to play for the unified team.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ashdown |first=John |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/22/world-cup-stunning-moments-austria-wunderteam |title=World Cup: 25 stunning moments … No11: Austria's Wunderteam|work=The Guardian |date=22 April 2014 |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref> Austria's place remained empty and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second-round by default.

Other teams to make their World Cup debuts included Poland and Norway.

===List of qualified teams===

The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament. However, 15 teams participated after Austria's withdrawal due to the [[Anschluss]].
{{col begin}}
{{col-4}}
'''Asia (1)'''
* {{fb|DEI}} (debut)
'''Africa (0)'''
* None qualified
{{col-4}}
'''North, Central America and Caribbean (1)'''
* {{fb|CUB|1902}} (debut)
'''South America (1)'''
* {{fb|BRA|1889}}
{{col-4}}
'''Europe (12)'''
* {{flag icon|AUT}} <s>[[Austria national football team|Austria]]</s> (withdrew)
* {{fb|BEL}}
* {{fb|TCH}}
* {{fb|FRA|1830}} (hosts)
* {{fb|GER|1935}}
* {{fb|HUN|1920}}
* {{fb|ITA|1861}} (1934 champions)
* {{fb|NED}}
* {{fb|NOR}} (debut)
* {{fb|POL|1928}} (debut)
* {{fb|ROU}}
* {{fb|SWE}}
* {{fb|SUI}}
{{col-4}}
{{col end}}

== Format ==
The knockout format from [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]] was retained. If a match was tied after 90 minutes, then 30 minutes of [[Overtime (sports)#Association football|extra time]] were played. If the score was still tied after extra time, the match would be replayed. This was the last World Cup tournament that used a straight knockout format.

== Final draw ==
The draw was staged in Paris on 5 March 1938.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4636124p/f1.item|work=[[L'Auto]]|date=6 March 1938|title=On a tiré au sort les rencontres de la Coupe du Monde|language=fr| location=Paris, France|via=gallica.bnf.fr}}</ref> As the qualifying process was still ongoing, many paper slips reported the names of two Teams, which were both in competition to qualify.<br/>
The FIFA committee identified eight seeded teams, irrespective of their current qualification. The seeded teams were: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Hungary and Italy, so six European teams and two South-American.<br/>
The whole table was drawn the same day: Round of 16, Quarter-finals, Semi-finals. The Teams were drawn in the following order:<br/>

Round of 16<br/>
A. Germany vs. Switzerland or Portugal<br/>
B. Austria vs. Sweden<br/>
C. Hungary or Greece vs. USA or Dutch East Indies<br/>
D. France vs. Belgium or Luxembourg<br/>
E. Argentina or Central America vs. Romania<br/>
F. Czechoslovakia or Bulgaria vs. Netherlands or Luxembourg<br/>
G. Brazil vs. Poland or Yugoslavia<br/>
H. Italy vs. Norway<br/>

Quarter-finals<br/>
1. Winner B vs. Winner E<br/>
2. Winner A vs. Winner C<br/>
3. Winner D vs. Winner H<br/>
4. Winner F vs. Winner G<br/>

Semi-finals<br/>
Winner 4 vs. Winner 3<br/>
Winner 2 vs. Winner 1<br/>

On 15 March 1938, Austria was [[Anschluss|invaded by Nazi Germany]] and the Austria national team disappeared. 

Argentina withdrew from the tournament after disagreements between the clubs and the National Federations so two of the original seeded teams did not take part to the final competition.

== Summary ==
[[File:1938_FIFA_World_Cup.png|left|thumb|430px|Qualifying countries and their results]]

Sweden was given a bye due to Austria's withdrawal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226235749/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 February 2008 |title=History of the World Cup Final Draw |access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>

Five of the seven first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. In one replay, [[Cuba national football team|Cuba]] advanced to the next round at the expense of [[Romania national football team|Romania]]. In the other replay, [[Germany national football team|Germany]], which had led 1–0 in the first game against [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]], led 2–0 but eventually was beaten 2–4. This loss, which took place in front of a hostile, bottle-throwing crowd in Paris, was blamed by German coach [[Sepp Herberger]] on a defeatist attitude from the five Austrian players he had been forced to include; a German journalist later commented that "Germans and Austrians prefer to play against each other even when they're in the same team".<ref>{{cite book |title= Tor!: The Story of German Football |first=Ulrich |last=Hesse-Lichtenberger |publisher=WSC Books |year=2003 |isbn=095401345X |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQfNyLM5svIC |location=London}}</ref> Until they were knocked out in the group stage in [[2018 FIFA World Cup|2018]], this was the only time Germany had failed to advance past the first round, and until their penalty shoot-out victory over [[France national football team|France]] in the round of 16 of [[UEFA Euro 2020]], this would be the last time Switzerland advanced past the first knockout game of a tournament.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Jacob |date=27 June 2018 |title=Germany crashed out of the World Cup group stages and finished bottom of Group F after defeat to South Korea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2018/jun/27/world-cup-2018-south-korea-v-germany-live |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

[[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] advanced directly to the quarter-finals as a result of [[Austria national football team|Austria]]'s withdrawal, and they proceeded to beat Cuba 8–0. The hosts, [[France national football team|France]], were beaten by the holders, [[Italy national football team|Italy]], and Switzerland were seen off by [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]]. [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] took [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] to extra time in a notoriously feisty match in [[Bordeaux]] before succumbing in a replay; the South Americans proved too strong for the depleted Czechoslovak side (both [[Oldřich Nejedlý]] and [[František Plánička]] had suffered broken bones in the first game) and won 2–1. This was the last match to be replayed in a World Cup.

Hungary destroyed Sweden in one of the semi-finals 5–1, while Italy and Brazil had the first of their many important World Cup clashes in the other. The Brazilians were without their star player [[Leônidas (footballer, born 1913)|Leônidas]], who was injured, and the Italians won 2–1.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gehringer |first=Max |date=November 2005 |title=Faltaram os papéis |magazine=A Saga da Jules Rimet |language=Portuguese |publisher=[[Editora Abril]] |publication-place=São Paulo |issue=3 |page=37}}</ref> Brazil topped Sweden 4–2 for third place.

Rumour has it, before the finals [[Benito Mussolini]] was to have sent a telegram to the team, saying "Vincere o morire!" (literally translated as "Win or die!"). This should not have been meant as a literal threat, but instead just an encouragement to win. However, no record remains of such a telegram, and World Cup player [[Pietro Rava]] said, when interviewed in 2001, "No, no, no, that's not true. He sent a telegram wishing us well, but no never 'win or die'."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Simon |date=5 April 2018 |title=World Cup stunning moments: Mussolini's blackshirts' 1938 win |url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/01/world-cup-moments-1938-italy-benito-mussolini |access-date=8 July 2021 |website=TheGuardian.com |language=en}}</ref>

The final itself took place at the [[Stade Olympique de Colombes]] in [[Paris]]. [[Vittorio Pozzo]]'s Italian side took the lead early, but Hungary equalised within two minutes. The Italians took the lead again shortly after, and by the end of the first half were leading the Hungarians 3–1. Hungary never really got back into the game. With the final score favouring the Italians 4–2, Italy became the first team to successfully defend the title and were once more crowned World Cup winners.

Because of [[World War II]], the World Cup would not be held for next 12 years, until [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]. As a result, Italy were the reigning World Cup holders for a record 16 years, from 1934 to 1950. The Italian Vice-president of FIFA, [[Ottorino Barassi|Dr. Ottorino Barassi]], hid the [[Jules Rimet Trophy|trophy]] in a shoe-box under his bed throughout the Second World War and thus saved it from falling into the hands of occupying troops.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/h/rimet.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320063520/http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/p/h/rimet.html |archive-date=20 March 2007 |access-date=14 June 2014 |website=FIFAWorldCup.com}}</ref>

== Venues ==
Eleven venues in ten cities were planned to host the tournament; of these, all hosted matches except the [[Stade de Gerland]] in [[Lyon]], which did not due to Austria's withdrawal.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! [[Colombes]]<br>{{small|([[Paris]] area)}}
! [[Marseille]] 
![[Paris]]
![[Bordeaux]]
|-
| [[Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir|Stade Olympique de Colombes]]
| [[Stade Vélodrome]]
|[[Parc des Princes]]
|[[Stade Chaban-Delmas|Parc Lescure]]
|-
| Capacity: '''60,000'''
| Capacity: '''48,000'''
| Capacity: '''40,000'''
| Capacity: '''34,694'''
|-
| [[File:StadeolympiqueColombesJO1924.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:Le Stade vélodrome de Marseille, le 13 juin 1937.jpg|200px]]
|[[File:1932 Le parc des princes v1.jpg|200px]]
|[[File:Le Stade municipal de Bordeaux en 1938.jpg|200px]]
|-
![[Strasbourg]]
! colspan="2" rowspan="4" |{{Location map+|France|width=400|float=center|places=
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=43.580834|long=7.123889|position=right|label=[[Antibes]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=44.8386|long=-0.5783|position=right|label=[[Bordeaux]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=49.49|long=0.1|position=left|label=[[Le Havre]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=50.637222|long=3.063333|position=top|label=[[Lille]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=43.296386|long=5.369954|position=left|label=[[Marseille]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=48.929444|long=2.248056|position=top|label=[[Colombes]]}} 
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=48.856667|long=2.350833|position=bottom|label=[[Paris]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=49.26278|long=4.03472|position=top|label=[[Reims]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=48.584445|long=7.748612|position=top|label=[[Strasbourg]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=43.604503|long=1.444026|position=top|label=[[Toulouse]]}}}}
![[Le Havre]]
|-
|[[Stade de la Meinau]]
|[[Stade Jules Deschaseaux|Stade Municipal]]
|-
| Capacity: '''30,000'''
| Capacity: '''22,000'''
|-
|[[File:RC Strasbourg-FC Mulhouse, 4.11.1934, Stade de la Meinau.png|200px]]
|[[File:Stade municipal du Havre - Wedstrijd Nederland-Tsjechoslowakije, WK 1938.jpg|200px]]
|-
![[Reims]]
![[Toulouse]]
![[Lille]]
![[Antibes]]
|-
|[[Stade Auguste Delaune|Vélodrome Municipal]]
|[[Stade Chapou|Stade du T.O.E.C.]]
|[[Stade Henri-Jooris|Stade Victor Boucquey]]
|[[Stade du Fort Carré]]
|-
| Capacity: '''21,684'''
| Capacity: '''15,000'''
| Capacity: '''15,000'''
|Capacity: '''7,000'''
|-
|[[File:Stade Auguste-Delaune 2 Tribünen.JPG|200px]]
|[[File:Le Parc des Sports du T.O.E.C., en 1934.jpg|200px]]
|[[File:LilleOM-1937.jpg|200px]]
|[[File:Suède-Cuba de la Coupe du monde 1938 à Antibes (France).jpg|200px]]
|}

== Squads ==
For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see ''[[1938 FIFA World Cup squads]]''.
{{Clear}}

==Final tournament==
{{main|1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament}}

===Bracket===
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|Bracket}}

===Round of 16===
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-1}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-2}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-3}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-4}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-5}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-6}}
----
{{main|Brazil v Poland (1938 FIFA World Cup)}}
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-7}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-8}}

====Replays====
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-1r}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|R16-4r}}

===Quarter-finals===
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|QF1}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|QF2}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|QF3}}
----
{{main|Battle of Bordeaux (1938 FIFA World Cup)}}
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|QF4}}

====Replay====
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|QF4r}}

===Semi-finals===
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|SF1}}
----
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|SF2}}

===Third place play-off===
{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup final tournament|TPP}}

===Final===
{{main|1938 FIFA World Cup final}}

{{#lst:1938 FIFA World Cup Final|Final}}

== Goalscorers ==
With seven goals, Leônidas was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 84 goals were scored by 42 players, with two of them credited as own goals.

;7 goals
{{div col|colwidth=35em|small=yes}}
* {{flagicon|BRA|1889}} [[Leônidas (footballer, born 1913)|Leônidas]]
{{div col end}}

;5 goals
* {{flagicon|HUN|1920}} [[György Sárosi]]
* {{flagicon|HUN|1920}} [[Gyula Zsengellér]]
* {{flagicon|ITA|1861}} [[Silvio Piola]]

;4 goals
* {{flagicon|ITA|1861}} [[Gino Colaussi]]
* {{flagicon|POL|1928}} [[Ernst Wilimowski|Ernest Wilimowski]]

;3 goals
{{div col|colwidth=35em|small=yes}}
* {{flagicon|BRA|1889}} [[José Perácio|Perácio]]
* {{flagicon|BRA|1889}} [[Romeu Pellicciari|Romeu]]
* {{flagicon|CUB|1902}} [[Héctor Socorro]]
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Harry Andersson]]
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Arne Nyberg]]
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Gustav Wetterström]]
* {{flagicon|SUI}} [[André Abegglen]]
{{div col end}}

;2 goals
* {{flagicon|TCH}} [[Oldřich Nejedlý]]
* {{flagicon|FRA|1830}} [[Jean Nicolas]]
* {{flagicon|HUN|1920}} [[Pál Titkos]]
* {{flagicon|ROU}} [[Ștefan Dobay]]

;1 goal
{{div col|colwidth=35em|small=yes}}
* {{flagicon|BEL}} [[Henri Isemborghs]]
* {{flagicon|BRA|1889}} [[Roberto Emílio da Cunha|Roberto]]
* {{flagicon|CUB|1902}} [[Tomás Fernández (footballer, born 1915)|Tomás Fernández]]
* {{flagicon|CUB|1902}} [[José Magriñá]]
* {{flagicon|TCH}} [[Vlastimil Kopecký]]
* {{flagicon|TCH}} [[Josef Košťálek]]
* {{flagicon|TCH}} [[Josef Zeman (footballer)|Josef Zeman]]
* {{flagicon|FRA|1830}} [[Oscar Heisserer]]
* {{flagicon|FRA|1830}} [[Émile Veinante]]
* {{flagicon|GER|1935}} [[Josef Gauchel]]
* {{flagicon|GER|1935}} [[Wilhelm Hahnemann]]
* {{flagicon|HUN|1920}} [[Vilmos Kohut]]
* {{flagicon|HUN|1920}} [[Géza Toldi]]
* {{flagicon|ITA|1861}} [[Pietro Ferraris]]
* {{flagicon|ITA|1861}} [[Giuseppe Meazza]]
* {{flagicon|NOR}} [[Arne Brustad]]
* {{flagicon|POL|1928}} [[Friedrich Scherfke|Fryderyk Scherfke]]
* {{flagicon|ROU}} [[Iuliu Barátky]]
* {{flagicon|ROU}} [[Silviu Bindea]]
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Tore Keller]]
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Sven Jonasson]]
* {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Alfred Bickel]]
* {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Eugen Walaschek]]
{{div col end}}

;1 own goal
* {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Sven Jacobsson]] (playing against [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]])
* {{flagicon|SUI}} [[Ernst Lörtscher]] (playing against [[Germany national football team|Germany]])

== FIFA retrospective ranking ==
[[File:Pallone del mondiale di francia 1938.JPG|thumb|A ball from the tournament]]
In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mexico 1986 |url=https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/2bb4308f4d418319/original/pfnhnhmqhdwqvp62pm27-pdf.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614213621/https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/09/00/fwc_mexico_1986_en_part4_279.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2010 |access-date=8 July 2021 |publisher=FIFA }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2013 |title=FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7 |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/55/171012-statisticalkit-fifaworldcup-milestonesfactsfigures-statusafterfwc2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521092116/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/55/171012-statisticalkit-fifaworldcup-milestonesfactsfigures-statusafterfwc2010.pdf |archive-date=21 May 2013 |publisher=[[FIFA]]}}</ref> The rankings for the 1938 tournament were as follows:

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;"
|-
!width=25| {{abbr|R|Final Ranking}}
!width=165| Team
!width=25| {{abbr|P|Played}}
!width=25| {{abbr|W|Win}}
!width=25| {{abbr|D|Draw}}
!width=25| {{abbr|L|Lose}}
!width=25| {{abbr|GF|Goals for}}
!width=25| {{abbr|GA|Goals against}}
!width=25| {{abbr|GD|Goal difference}}
!width=25| {{abbr|Pts.|Points}}
|-
|- style="background:gold"
| 1 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|ITA|1861}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 11 || 5 || +6 || 8
|- style="background:silver"
| 2 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|HUN|1920}} || 4 || 3 || 0 || 1 || 15 || 5 || +10 || 6
|- style="background:#c96"
| 3 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|BRA|1889}} || 5 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 14 || 11 || +3 || 7
|- style="background:gray"
| 4 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|SWE}} || 3 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 11 || 9 || +2 || 2
|-
| colspan="11"| '''Eliminated in the quarter-finals'''
|-
| 5 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|TCH}} || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 3 || +2 || 3
|-
| 6 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|SUI}} || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3
|-
| 7 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|CUB|1902}} || 3 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 5 || 12 || −7 || 3
|-
| 8 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|FRA|1830}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4 || 0 || 2
|-
| colspan="11"| '''Eliminated in the round of 16'''
|-
| 9 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|ROU}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 5 || -1 || 1
|-
| 10 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|GER|1935}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 5 || –2 || 1
|-
| 11 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|POL|1928}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 5 || 6 || −1 || 0
|-
| 12 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|NOR}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 || −1 || 0
|-
| 13 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|BEL}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 3 || −2 || 0
|-
| 14 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|NED}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || −3 || 0
|-
| 15 || style="text-align:left"|{{fb|DEI}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 6 || −6 || 0
|-
| 16 || style="text-align:left"|{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]|| Withdrew 
|-
|}

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikivoyage|World Cup 1938|1938 FIFA World Cup}}
*[https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/1938france 1938 FIFA World Cup] at FIFA.com
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160629194457/http://www.rsssf.com/tables/38full.html 1938 FIFA World Cup] at RSSSF.com

{{Portal bar|1930s|Association football|France}}
{{1938 FIFA World Cup}}
{{1938 FIFA World Cup stadiums}}
{{FIFA World Cup}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:FIFA World Cup}}
[[Category:1938 FIFA World Cup| ]]
[[Category:FIFA World Cup tournaments|1938]]
[[Category:1938 in men's international association football|World Cup]]
[[Category:1937–38 in French men's football]]
[[Category:Men's international association football competitions hosted by France|1938]]
[[Category:June 1938 sports events in Europe]]
[[Category:International sports boycotts]]