10 June 1934 - Italy Bounces The Czechs

On 10 June 1934, hosts Italy won the first of their four World Cup trophies, beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time before a crowd of 45,000 at Rome's Stadio Nazionale PNF.

Unlike the first World Cup, the 1934 second edition did not include a group stage. Instead, the 16 qualified teams started directly with knockout rounds. Italy opened the tournament with an easy win over the United States (7-1), then overcame Spain (in a replay, 1-0), and Austria (1-0) to reach the Final. Czechoslovakia, meanwhile, advanced with victories over Romania (2-1), Switzerland (3-2), and Germany (3-1). Czech striker Oldřich Nejedlý scored in every match - and recorded a hat-trick against Germany - to enter the Final as the Cup's top scorer with goals.

In the Final, the Italians kept Nejedlý in check to keep the match scoreless at halftime, but the Czechs went ahead in the 76th minute with a goal from forward Antonín Puč. Their lead lasted only five minutes, as Italy's Raimundo Orsi equalized in the 81st minute. The two sides remained even at 1-1, taking the match into extra time. There, striker Angelo Schiavio scored his fourth goal of the tournament, a 95th-minute shot that proved to be the Cup winner.

Italy repeated as champions in 1938 and won again in 1982 and 2006.

15 April 1934 - When Your Best Isn't Enough

On 15 April 1934, France beat Luxembourg 1-6 in a World Cup qualifier before a crowd of 18,000 at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal. It was both sides' best performance during qualification for that year's tournament.

The 1934 World Cup was the first to require qualification, with a total of 32 teams divided into 12 groups. FIFA placed France and Luxembourg in three-member Group 8, along with Germany. The teams were scheduled to play each once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, with the top two teams advancing to the World Cup.

Luxembourg hosted the first Group 8 match, playing Germany at the Stade Municipal on 11 March 1934, with the Germans rolling to a comfortable 1-9 win. Luxembourg then played France in the second match on 15 April.

The French took a quick lead with a 3rd-minute goal from winger Alfred Aston, then doubled their lead when striker Jean Nicolas found the back of the net in the 26th minute. Shortly after the break, Luxembourg's Théophile Speicher closed the gap to one with a 46th-minute strike, but that was their only score on the day. Nicolas, meanwhile, netted a second-half hat-trick (67', 84', 89' (pen.)) to tally four on the day, while his strike partner Ernest Libérati added one of his own (80').

With both France and Germany sitting on 2 points and Luxembourg on none, there was no need for France and Germany to play the scheduled third match against each other. Both advanced to the World Cup, where France was ousted in the first round by Austria. Germany, playing in their first World Cup, lost to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals, but beat Austria in the third-place match.

25 March 1934 - Somehow, I Doubt Italy Minded Having To Play

On 25 March 1934, Italy played the first - and to date, only - World Cup qualifying match for a host country, beating Greece 4-0 before a crowd of 20,000 at the San Siro in Milan.

The 1934 tournament was only the second World Cup and the first to require qualification at all. FIFA had invited all member countries to compete in the previous tournament, but only 13 accepted the invitation, making qualification unnecessary. By 1934, however, the Cup had become more popular and 32 countries applied to compete. In order to winnow the number down to a manageable 16 for the tournament proper, FIFA split the 32 entrants into twelve groups. Most of the groups had two or three countries, though one had four. The groups were divided geographically, with Italy ending up in Group 3 with Greece.

When Italy and Greece met in Milan on 25 March, the Azzurri dominated the match from start to finish. The Greeks managed to hold the Italians off for the better part of the first half, but created few scoring chances of their own. In the 40th minute, Italy finally cracked the Greek defense with a goal from Brazilian-born Anfilogeno Guarisi. That goal opened the floodgates, as forward Giuseppe Meazza netted a brace (44', 71') around a strike from midfielder Giovanni Ferrari (69').

The Greeks were so disheartened by the beating that they withdrew from the competition despite the fact that they had been scheduled to play a second leg at home. Italy advanced to the First Round where they beat the United States 7-1 on their way to their first World Cup title.

For the 1936 World Cup, FIFA decided that the hosts should qualify automatically. That practice continues to this day, making Italy the only host in history to play a World Cup qualifier.

11 March 1934 - A Pair Of Nines

On 11 March 1934, both Spain and Germany opened their World Cup qualification campaigns with dominant wins over their neighbors, scoring 9 goals each.

The day represented the first involvement in the tournament for both of the future winners, neither of whom had participated in the 1930 World Cup. Unlike that first one, which had only 13 countries competing, the 1934 edition had so many interested teams that FIFA instituted a qualification process. Spain went into a two-team qualification group with Portugal, while Germany joined France and Luxembourg in a group of three.

Spain enjoyed the biggest win of qualification, beating Portugal 9-0 in Madrid. They scored their first goal after only three minutes and never looked back, going up 3-0 by the break. The 9-0 final score included five goals from Real Oviedo striker Isidro Lángara (pictured).

Germany also scored their first goal after only three minutes with a goal from Vfl Benrath forward Josef Rasselnberg. Playing at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal, Germany were up 0-3 when the hosts scored in the 27th minute, then extended their lead to 1-5 before halftime. Rasselnberg added three more goals to the final score of 1-9.

Both Spain and Germany qualified easily--Spain beat Portugal again, 1-2, while Germany did not need another match. In their group's next game, France beat Luxembourg 1-6, so both France and Germany advanced without having to play their group's final scheduled match. In the tournament proper, Spain fell to eventual winners Italy in the quarterfinals, while Germany lost to eventual runners-up Czechoslovakia in the semifinals.

17 April 1990 - Bologna's Attacking Angel

On 17 April 1990, Bologna's all-time leading goalscorer and 1934 World Cup hero Angelo Schiavio passed away. He was 84 years old.

Schiavio spent his entire career with Bologna, joining them in 1922 at the age of 16. Although he made only six appearances in that first season, he soon established himself as an important member of the first time. In just his third season, Bologna won their first league title, with Schiavio providing 16 goals in 27 matches. They repeated as champions in 1929, getting 30 goals from Schiavio in just 26 games.

He made his national team debut for Italy in 1925 and was the team's top scorer in their bronze-medal winning 1928 Olympic campaign with four goals.

Italy did not participate in the 1930 World Cup, but hosted the second tournament in 1934. There, Schiavio scored a hat-trick in their opening match against the United States, which Italy won 7-1. He did not score again in that tournament until the final, when his 95th-minute strike put Italy ahead of Czechoslovakia 2-1 and captured the trophy. It was the last of his 15 international goals.

He retired in 1938, having scored a club-record 242 goals for Bologna.

11 March 1934 - A Pair Of Nines

On 11 March 1934, both Spain and Germany opened their World Cup qualification campaigns with dominant wins over their neighbors, scoring 9 goals each.

The day represented the first involvement in the tournament for both of the future winners, neither of whom had participated in the 1930 World Cup. Unlike that first one, which had only 13 countries competing, the 1934 edition had so many interested teams that FIFA instituted a qualification process. Spain went into a two-team qualification group with Portugal, while Germany joined France and Luxembourg in a group of three.

Spain enjoyed the biggest win of qualification, beating Portugal 9-0 in Madrid. They scored their first goal after only three minutes and never looked back, going up 3-0 by the break. The 9-0 final score included five goals from Real Oviedo striker Isidro Lángara (pictured).

Germany also scored their first goal after only three minutes with a goal from Vfl Benrath forward Josef Rasselnberg. Playing at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal, Germany were up 0-3 when the hosts scored in the 27th minute, then extended their lead to 1-5 before halftime. Rasselnberg added three more goals to the final score of 1-9.

Both Spain and Germany qualified easily--Spain beat Portugal again, 1-2, while Germany did not need another match. In their group's next game, France beat Luxembourg 1-6, so both France and Germany advanced without having to play their group's final scheduled match. In the tournament proper, Spain fell to eventual winners Italy in the quarterfinals, while Germany lost to eventual runners-up Czechoslovakia in the semifinals.

10 June 1934 - Italy Bounces The Czechs

On 10 June 1934, hosts Italy won the first of their four World Cup trophies, beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time before a crowd of 45,000 at Rome's Stadio Nazionale PNF.

Unlike the first World Cup, the 1934 second edition did not include a group stage. Instead, the 16 qualified teams started directly with knockout rounds. Italy opened the tournament with an easy win over the United States (7-1), then overcame Spain (in a replay, 1-0), and Austria (1-0) to reach the Final. Czechoslovakia, meanwhile, advanced with victories over Romania (2-1), Switzerland (3-2), and Germany (3-1). Czech striker Oldřich Nejedlý scored in every match - and recorded a hat-trick against Germany - to enter the Final as the Cup's top scorer with goals.

In the Final, the Italians kept Nejedlý in check to keep the match scoreless at halftime, but the Czechs went ahead in the 76th minute with a goal from forward Antonín Puč. Their lead lasted only five minutes, as Italy's Raimundo Orsi equalized in the 81st minute. The two sides remained even at 1-1, taking the match into extra time. There, striker Angelo Schiavio scored his fourth goal of the tournament, a 95th-minute shot that proved to be the Cup winner.

Italy repeated as champions in 1938 and won again in 1982 and 2006.

15 April 1934 - When Your Best Isn't Enough

On 15 April 1934, France beat Luxembourg 1-6 in a World Cup qualifier before a crowd of 18,000 at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal. It was both sides' best performance during qualification for that year's tournament.

The 1934 World Cup was the first to require qualification, with a total of 32 teams divided into 12 groups. FIFA placed France and Luxembourg in three-member Group 8, along with Germany. The teams were scheduled to play each once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, with the top two teams advancing to the World Cup.

Luxembourg hosted the first Group 8 match, playing Germany at the Stade Municipal on 11 March 1934, with the Germans rolling to a comfortable 1-9 win. Luxembourg then played France in the second match on 15 April.

The French took a quick lead with a 3rd-minute goal from winger Alfred Aston, then doubled their lead when striker Jean Nicolas found the back of the net in the 26th minute. Shortly after the break, Luxembourg's Théophile Speicher closed the gap to one with a 46th-minute strike, but that was their only score on the day. Nicolas, meanwhile, netted a second-half hat-trick (67', 84', 89' (pen.)) to tally four on the day, while his strike partner Ernest Libérati added one of his own (80').

With both France and Germany sitting on 2 points and Luxembourg on none, there was no need for France and Germany to play the scheduled third match against each other. Both advanced to the World Cup, where France was ousted in the first round by Austria. Germany, playing in their first World Cup, lost to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals, but beat Austria in the third-place match.

Both France and (West) Germany both would go to win multiple World Cup titles, while Luxembourg has yet to qualify for the World Cup.

25 March 1934 - Somehow, I Doubt Italy Minded Having To Play

On 25 March 1934, Italy played the first - and to date, only - World Cup qualifying match for a host country, beating Greece 4-0 before a crowd of 20,000 at the San Siro in Milan.

The 1934 tournament was only the second World Cup and the first to require qualification at all. FIFA had invited all member countries to compete in the previous tournament, but only 13 accepted the invitation, making qualification unnecessary. By 1934, however, the Cup had become more popular and 32 countries applied to compete. In order to winnow the number down to a manageable 16 for the tournament proper, FIFA split the 32 entrants into twelve groups. Most of the groups had two or three countries, though one had four. The groups were divided geographically, with Italy ending up in Group 3 with Greece.

When Italy and Greece met in Milan on 25 March, the Azzurri dominated the match from start to finish. The Greeks managed to hold the Italians off for the better part of the first half, but created few scoring chances of their own. In the 40th minute, Italy finally cracked the Greek defense with a goal from Brazilian-born Anfilogeno Guarisi. That goal opened the floodgates, as forward Giuseppe Meazza netted a brace (44', 71') around a strike from midfielder Giovanni Ferrari (69').

The Greeks were so disheartened by the beating that they withdrew from the competition despite the fact that they had been scheduled to play a second leg at home. Italy advanced to the First Round where they beat the United States 7-1 on their way to their first World Cup title.

For the 1936 World Cup, FIFA decided that the hosts should qualify automatically. That practice continues to this day, making Italy the only host in history to play a World Cup qualifier.

6 April 1924 - The Azzurri Sing The Blues

On 6 April 1924, the Italian national team suffered its worst defeat to date, losing 7-1 to Hungary in Budapest. The match, a friendly, was played in preparation for the upcoming 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris (where Italy failed to earn a medal, losing 2-1 in the semifinals to silver medalist Switzerland).

Italy's unlucky goalkeeper against Hungary was 22-year-old Gianpiero Combi from Juventus, making his first appearance for the Azzurri. He did not play again for the national team until almost a year later on 22 March 1925, when Italy beat France 7-0 in Turin. He was Italy's primary goalkeeper for the next ten years and helped them win the bronze medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics - Italy's first trophy - and captained them to the World Cup trophy in 1934.

19 March 1909 - An Argentalian Is Born

On 19 March 1909, Atilio Jose Demaria was born in Buenos Aires. A striker, Demaria played for a number of clubs in Argentina and Italy, including Gimnasia de la Plata (1930-31), Inter (1932-37), Club Atletico Independiente (1938-43), Novara (1944), Legnano (1945-46), and Cosenza (1946-48).

Demaria was a dual internationalist, playing for Argentina from 1930-31 (13 appearances, 3 goals), including the first World Cup in 1930, where Argentina finished as runner-up to Uruguay.

He played for Italy from 1932-40 (3 appearances, no goals), including the 1934 World Cup, which Italy won to claim their first World Cup title.

He died on 11 November 1990 at the age of 71 in Haedo, Argentina.