The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the first international men’s football FIFA World Cup. The tournament was held in Uruguay from July 13 to July 30. Because of Uruguay’s 100th anniversary of independence, and the country’s national football team winning the 1928 Summer Olympics gold medal, FIFA decided to award the hosting rights to Uruguay. All matches are held in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, with the main event taking place at the Stadio Centenario, which was built for the tournament.
There were 13 teams, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America. Only a handful of European teams are willing to participate in the tournament because many European teams consider it too costly and time-consuming to travel to South America. The teams are divided into four groups, with the top finisher from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The first two matches were played simultaneously and were won by France and the United States respectively. France defeated Mexico 4-1 and the United States defeated Belgium 3-0. Laurent also scored France’s first World Cup goal.
Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Yugoslavia won their groups and qualified for the semifinals. Hosts and favourites Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 to become the inaugural World Cup champions.