Brazil at the World Cups: 1934, an early exit
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Brazil bowed out of the 1934 World Cup in the Round of 16 after a 3-1 defeat to SpainCredits: CBF Archive
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Brazil’s second appearance at a World Cup came in 1934, in Italy. For the first and only time in history, the reigning world champion did not take part in the following edition. Champions on home soil four years earlier, Uruguay chose not to participate in the tournament in retaliation for the absence of European teams at the 1930 World Cup in Montevideo. At the time, many countries claimed the long journey to South America was too difficult.
Sixteen teams qualified for the World Cup through the first-ever qualifiers, including the host nation: Sweden, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United States, Egypt, Brazil, and Argentina. Among these teams, only Brazil and Argentina did not need to take the field, due to the withdrawals of Chile and Peru.
Managed by coach Luiz Augusto Vinhaes, Brazil went to the World Cup without having played a single friendly in 1933. To reach Italy, the delegation left Brazil by ship on May 12. During the more than ten days aboard the ship “Conte de Biancamano,” the players trained on deck. The only exceptions came when the ship docked in Barcelona for the Spanish players to board—our opponents and future executioners.
Brazil national team training aboard the ship “Conte de Biancamano” for the 1934 World Cup in ItalyCredits: CBF Archive
Unlike the 1930 World Cup, the 1934 edition was played in a knockout format starting from the Round of 16. By draw, Brazil was set to face Spain. On May 27, at Luigi Ferraris Stadium in the city of Genoa, Brazil was defeated 3-1. By the end of the first half, the score was already 3-0. Leônidas da Silva, the Black Diamond and one of the first great stars of Brazilian football, pulled one back in the second half.
Spain was eliminated in the next round, the quarterfinals, by Italy, who went on to beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 after extra time on June 10 at the Stadio Nazionale del Partito Nazionale Fascista in Rome.
After the early exit in 1934, Brazil’s World Cup story would begin to change at the 1938 World Cup.
Check out Brazil’s squad for the 1934 World Cup:
Goalkeepers: Germano (Botafogo) and Pedrosa (Botafogo);
Defenders: Luis Luz (Americano-RS), Octacílio (Botafogo), and Sylvio Hoffmann (São Paulo da Floresta);
Midfielders: Ariel (Botafogo), Canalli (Botafogo), Martim Silveira (Botafogo), Tinoco (Vasco), and Waldir (Botafogo);
Forwards: Armandinho (São Paulo da Floresta), Áttila (Botafogo), Carvalho Leite (Botafogo), Leônidas (Vasco), Luisinho (São Paulo da Floresta), Patesko (Nacional-URU), Waldemar de Brito (São Paulo da Floresta).
Coach: Luiz Augusto Vinhaes
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