THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE ABSENT
France, 1938: the third World Cup. Holders Italy and hosts France were there; Uruguay stayed home, Argentina walked away and Spain was in civil war. Austria, annexed by Nazi Germany that March, no longer existed. Matthias Sindelar refused to wear a German shirt.
THE KNOCKOUTS
Fifteen teams, straight knockout. In Strasbourg, in a downpour, Brazil beat Poland 6–5. Italy, playing in black shirts, knocked out the hosts.
THE FINAL
19 June, Colombes, Paris. Gino Colaussi and Silvio Piola scored twice each: Italy 4–2 Hungary, the first team to win the World Cup twice and the first to win it back to back. Leônidas da Silva, the Black Diamond, was top scorer.
THE DARK
Vittorio Pozzo remains the only manager to win two World Cups. Then came the war: no World Cup in 1942 or 1946, and the trophy was hidden in a shoebox under a bed.
MORE FROM THE WORLD CUP UNIVERSE
THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.