- 맨발로 3골을 넣은 black diamond라 불리우는 Leonidas가 분발한 브라질이 16강전에서 연장전 대접전 끝에 폴란드에 6:5로 승리를 거두었으며, 8강전 에서는 체코와 재게임까지 하는 대혈투를 치루었다. 이 게임에서 양팀은 3명이 퇴장을 5명이 부상을 당했고 2명은 발이 부러져 병원신세를 졌다. 

- 월드컵 후 전쟁이 일어났고 12년간 경기가 없었다. 이 기간 이탈리아는 축구의 재능을 잃어버렸다.

Among the goalkeepers, the Frenchman Di Lorto was the most popular.

Same again for Italy!  

The World Cup competition on French soil, in modernised stadiums, enjoyed immense popular success and was the last opportunity for a display of international fellowship through football before war broke out the following year. 

Civil war raged in Spain, Germany had annexed Austria and a crisis-ridden Europe was preparing for hostilities when FIFA decided that the third World Cup would take place in France. To rise to the occasion, the Stade de Colombes was enlarged while the stadiums at Bordeaux and Marseille were renovated. 
 
And for the first time the host nation and the holders qualified automatically, a privilege which lives on to this day. Once again, however, the competition was boycotted by the South Americans, who felt that the tournament should have been held in Argentina this time around and not in Europe again. 

Brazil did make the trip and proved to be the competition's biggest draw, playing their inimitably skilful game, getting off to a flying start and justifying their reputation by overcoming Poland after extra-time by an incredible 6 goals to 5 - Leonidas, "the black diamond", and Willimowski scoring four goals apiece! Sadly, the quarter-final game at Bordeaux between Brazil and Czechoslovakia ended in an all-out brawl: three players were sent off and five injured, two of whom were rushed to hospital with broken limbs. 

Pride comes before a fall 

It's 16 June 1938 and the game between Italy and Brazil in the Stade de Velodrome in Marseilles has been under way for an hour. Italy are leading 1:0 and now they are awarded a penalty. The man for such situations is normally Guiseppe Meazza, but he has a problem. The elastic holding up his shorts has broken and they are very loose about his hips. Yet he is not deterred; with his left hand he holds the shorts up, with the right he places the ball on the spot and gives the Brazilian goalkeeper no chance with his shot. Italy win the game and go on to the final and a successful defence of their title.

The host nation France defeated Belgium (3-1), thanks largely to its right winger Fred Aston, known as the "will-o'-the-wisp", whose bursting forays to the bye line were decisive. Unhappily for the 58,455 supporters crammed into the Yves-du-Manoir stadium at Colombes for the quarter-final match, France went down 3-1 to Italy. Unlike Uruguay and Italy in the two previous competitions, France, the host nation, would not lift the World Cup played on its own soil. 

The Italy-Brazil semi-final promised to be the final before the event itself, until the Brazilian coach Adheniar Pimenta made a gross error of judgement and decided to leave out two key players, most notably his marksman Leonidas. "I am resting him for the final," declared Pimenta. Far from being overawed, the Squadra Azzurra ran out victors (2-1) and earned the right to defend their title against Hungary, easy winners over Sweden. 
 
In the final, Meazza and Ferrari, the two Italian playmakers, called the tune and the already legendary Italian pragmatism did the rest. Italy triumphed (4-2), and with back-to-back World Cup victories entered football history as one of the all-time great national teams. Alas, war came, putting an end to the World Cup competition for 12 years to come: and perhaps depriving this talented generation of Italian footballers of even greater glory. 

Sources: FIFA Archives; CFO France 98; Ian Morrison: The World Cup - A Complete Record 1930-1990. Breedon Books, Derby (UK) 1990.; John Robinson: Soccer - The World Cup 1930-1998. Soccer Books Limited, Lincolnshire (UK) 1998