THE FIRST WORLD CUP-96 YEARS AGO

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the first world championship for men's natioanl football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13th to 30th July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as the host nation, as the country would be celebrating the centenary of its first constitution and the Uruguay national football team had retained their football title at the 1928 Summer Olympics. All matches were played in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the majority at the purpose-built Estadio Centenario.

Thirteen teams (seven from South America, four from Europe, NOT England!! and two from North America) entered the tournament. Only a handful of European teams chose to participate because of the difficulty of traveling to South America during the Great Depression. The teams were divided into four groups, with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously and were won by France and the United States, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0, respectively. Lucien Laurent of France scored the first goal in World Cup history, while United States goalkeeper Jimmy Douglas posted the first clean sheet in the tournament the same day.

Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, and Yugoslavia won their respective groups to qualify for the semi-finals. In the Final, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of 68,346 people to become the first nation to win the World Cup. Fransico Varallo from Argentina was the last surviving player from this World Cup. He died in 2010 at the age of 100. The planned 2030 Tournament opening match to be played at Estadio Centenario will honor the centennial anniversary of the World Cup.

The 1930 FIFA World Cup Final was the first to be contested by two nations sharing the same primary language, as both sides were Spanish-speaking, and remained the only such final for 96 years, until the 2026 Tournament between Argentina and Spain. As of 2026, it is also the only final contested between two South American nations (the 1950 match between Brazil and Uruguay was the deciding match of the final group stage, not an actual cup final).

Left: Lucien Laurent (10 December 1907 – 11 April 2005), a French footballer who played as a forward. At the 1930 World Cup, he scored the first ever FIFA World Cup goal, against Mexico.

**Because of a dispute, a different ball was used in each half, one chosen by each team. Argentina's ball (top) was used for the first half and Uruguay's ball (bottom) was used for the second half.

We were playing Mexico and it was snowing, since it was winter in the southern hemisphere. One of my team mates centred the ball and I followed its path carefully, taking it on the volley with my right foot. Everyone was pleased but we didn't all roll around on the ground – nobody realised that history was being made. A quick handshake and we got on with the game. And no bonus either; we were all amateurs in those days, right to the end.

— Lucien Laurent