Scotland pushed the action in the first half while the English were on the attack for much of the second half Scotland recorded a pair of near misses But that's as close as either side came to scoring And so the first international soccer match ended in a scoreless tie It may not have seemed like much at the time but the 0 0 deadlock marked the beginning of a new era in soccer The sport had stepped onto the world stage and soccer would never be the same FIFA AND THE FIRST WORLD CUP By 1900 soccer was well on its way to world domination As the sport spread through Europe and into the Americas professional associations leagues popped up all around the globe The sport was included as part of the 1900 Olympic Games with Great Britain beating France in the final match However the Olympic teams were composed only of amateur players Professionals weren't allowed Since the Olympics didn't include some of the best players in the world these games didn't really address the question of soccer superiority Yet the event did raise public interest in a true international competition Two years later Argentina routed Uruguay 6 0 in the first international match ever held outside the British Isles Even though the game was spreading Europe remained the center of the soccer world By 1904 Europe's many associations needed a common governing body to oversee international competition That year several European nations formed the Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA FIFA's grip on the game grew quickly It oversaw the soccer competition at the 1908 Olympics It expanded to South Africa in 1909 and Argentina in 1912 FIFA was fast becoming the dominant governing force in the ever expanding international game The seeds of the World Cup were sown in 1908 when Turin Italy hosted the Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva Unlike the Olympic Games this tournament included top professionals from around the globe The event featured 8 THE WORLD CUP
Great Britain in white with black shorts beat Denmark 2 0 for the gold medal at the 1908 Olympics in London England an international group of association teams rather than national teams composed of a country's top players which fans would later see in World Cup tournaments But the matches in Turin gathered the world's best players together in a series of nation vs nation clashes Soccer took a back seat in Europe as World War I 1914 1918 raged through the continent and the game was slow to recover there As Europe endured war and its aftermath the balance of soccer power began to shift to South America Uruguay won gold at both the 1924 and 1928 Olympics Its hopes at a third straight title were dashed however when soccer wasn't even included at the 1932 games in Los Angeles California The sport was dropped in part because FIFA wanted to use pro players while the Olympic committee did not and also because the sport's popularity in the United States the host country for the 1932 games lagged far behind much of the rest of the world FROM POLITICS TO PELÉ THE ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP 2
FIFA president Jules Rimet believed the sport was in need of something big to reach its full potential So he introduced an idea for a new international tournament It would feature national teams made up of a country's top players but unlike the Olympics this tournament would feature professional players The World Cup he proposed would be held every four years to decide which nation truly ruled the international game FIFA announced that Uruguay would host the first World Cup in 1930 It was an ambitious plan The 1930 tournament however fell flat An economic crisis called the Great Depression 1929 1942 had gripped the world For European nations a trip to South America would be costly Many simply declined the invitation That included England which would have been the overwhelming favorite to win the title The 1930 World Cup had 13 teams Seven came from South American nations Two were from North America Just four were from Europe The first matches were played on July 13 Lucien Laurent of France scored the first World Cup goal He later said that no one at the time could have guessed how big the World Cup would one day become We were playing Mexico and it was snowing since it was winter in the southern hemisphere Laurent said One of my teammates centered the ball and I followed its path carefully taking it on the volley with my right foot and scoring a goal Everyone was pleased but Lucien Laurent front row center we didn't all roll around on the ground Nobody is shown with some of his French realized that history was being made A quick teammates He died in 2005 about four months after his 97th birthday handshake and we got on with the game 10 THE WORLD CUP
Despite the lack of participation from England and other important soccer nations the first World Cup succeeded in igniting the passion of certain soccer fans especially in South America The final came down to two South American countries Uruguay and Argentina Fans from Argentina flocked to Uruguay for the July 30 final However they left disappointed Uruguay thrilled the home crowd with a 4 2 victory to become the first world champion and claim the Coupe du Monde which later became known as the Jules Rimet Cup or the Jules Rimet Trophy The nation declared a national holiday to celebrate Meanwhile heartbroken Argentina fans back home in Buenos Aires responded by throwing stones at Uruguay's consulate Uruguay scores a goal during the 1930 World Cup They won the tournament that year and again in 1950 FROM POLITICS TO PELÉ THE ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP 11
