Brazil at the World Cups: 1934, an early exit

Brazil at the World Cups: 1934, an early exit Brazil bowed out of the 1934 World Cup in the Round of 16 after a 3-1 defeat to Spain Credits: CBF Archive 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 Italy Credits: 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.