Who won the first FIFA World Cup? Revisiting the 1930 soccer tournament, from host nation to inaugural champion

Who won the first FIFA World Cup? Revisiting the 1930 soccer tournament, from host nation to inaugural champion originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

JUMP TO:

• When was the first World Cup?
• First World Cup location
• Who won the first World Cup?
• Who scored the first goal in World Cup history?
• First World Cup final, revisited
• How many teams played in the first World Cup?
• Which countries played in the first World Cup?
• How many times have Uruguay won the World Cup?
• Uruguay World Cup history
• Every World Cup champion

The FIFA World Cup returns for its 23rd edition in North America in 2026.

An expanded 48-team field means there will be more nations than ever before battling for glory across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The World Cup has certainly come a long way from its inaugural edition, almost a century ago.

The Sporting News takes you through all you need to know about how the most enduring story in global international team sport began.

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When was the first World Cup?

The first World Cup took place in 1930.

International football was an event at the Olympics — a demonstration sport — in 1900 and 1904 before becoming an official part of the Games.

FIFA, formed in 1904, agreed to take responsibility for managing the football event at the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics. At its May 1928 Congress in Amsterdam, FIFA decided to stage its own world championship.

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First World Cup location

The first World Cup took place in Uruguay.

The South American nation were the two-time reigning Olympic champions, after winning gold at the 1924 and 1928 Games.

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FIFA's decision to award the tournament was also to mark the centenary of Uruguay's independence.

All matches took place in the capital Montevideo, across three venues: Estadio Centenario, Estadio Gran Parque Central, and Estadio Pocitos.

(Conmebol)

Who won the first World Cup?

Hosts Uruguay got the job done to continue a dominant era. They beat neighbors Argentina 4-2 in the final.

The game was a rematch of the 1928 Olympic gold medal match. Uruguay won that 2-1 in a replay after the initial clash in Amsterdam three days earlier finished 1-1.

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Who scored the first goal in World Cup history?

France forward Lucien Laurent scored the first goal in World Cup history when he netted 19 minutes into the opening match against Mexico.

Les Bleus went on to win the match 4-1, with Andre Maschinot scoring twice and therefore becoming the first player to net a brace in a World Cup fixture.

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First World Cup final, revisited

How Uruguay beat Argentina

Uruguay came back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to win the inaugural World Cup final at Estadio Centenario.

Pablo Dorada gave the hosts a 12th-minute lead before Argentina winger Carlos Peucelle levelled matters eight minutes later. Guillermo Stabile, who took the Golden Boot with eight goals in the tournament, put La Albiceleste ahead.

Pedro Cea's fifth goal of the competition brought Uruguay level before the hour and they led midway through the second half thanks to Santos Iriarte. A minute from time, centre-forward Hector Castro sealed World Cup glory.

Why different ball was used in each half

Tensions ran high before the game between neighbouring rivals Uruguay and Argentina.

One notable disagreement hinged on who should provide the match ball. FIFA was forced to intervene and ruled that Argentina would provide the ball for the first half before Uruguay did likewise for the second.

Therefore, both teams "won" the half that was played with their chosen ball.

1930 World Cup Final,
Uruguay - Argentina 4:2 pic.twitter.com/bmKAq0enO3

— FootballTime&Nations (@FCTimeNations) June 7, 2018

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How many teams played in the first World Cup?

Thirteen teams took part in the first World Cup, which remains the only edition of the tournament not to have featured a qualification element.

FIFA invited all of its affiliated nations to complete and initially planned a 16-team competition. However, uptake from Europe was slow and FIFA's two Asian countries at the time — Japan, and Siam (now Thailand) — decided not to enter.

Egypt were scuppered by travel problems as a storm in the Mediterranean meant they missed their ship to Uruguay.

The teams were split into four groups — one group of four, and three groups of three. Each team played the other in their section once before the group winners progressed to the semifinals.

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Which countries played in the first World Cup?

Let's take a look at which nations participated in the first World Cup tournament. 

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Chile
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Uruguay
• Belgium
• France
• Romania
• Yugoslavia
• Mexico
• United States

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How many times have Uruguay won the World Cup?

Uruguay have won the World Cup twice. La Celeste followed up their win in the inaugural edition with a stunning victory over hosts Brazil at the Maracana to win the 1950 tournament.

Uruguay's national team jersey has four stars above the badge. This is to denote their two World Cup wins and the 1924 and 1928 Olympic gold medals — triumphs in the pre-eminent international tournament prior to the foundation of the World Cup.

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Uruguay World Cup history

Despite qualifying automatically as champions from 1930, Uruguay did not defend their world title in 1934. They boycotted the tournament in Italy to protest how most European teams shunned their tournament four years earlier.

Uruguay similarly did not compete in 1938 in France, meaning they went two for two when they returned to World Cup play and regained the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1950. Their run came to an end when they lost to the great Hungary team known as the Magical Magyars in the 1954 semifinals.

Since then, Uruguay have also been defeated semifinalists in 1970 and 2010 but have not returned to the final. The 2026 World Cup marks a fifth consecutive successful qualification for La Celeste.

(Getty Images)

Every World Cup champion

Here's a look back at every World Cup champion in history. 

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