Cuba’s Path To 1938 World Cup: The Wildest Qualifying Process in History

By Steven Torres - ANCCIF President   (Posted on  18 May 2026)

Cuba made history at the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France by becoming the first Caribbean nation to compete on football’s (soccer) grandest stage. Once there, the Leones del Caribe (Caribbean Lions) shocked the world by defeating Romania in a replay match to reach the quarterfinals.

While Cuba enjoyed regional prestige—having captured gold at the 1930 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games—their journey to France remains one of the most bizarre anomalies in sports history: they qualified for the World Cup without ever kicking a ball.

The Continental Boycott

The chaos began with FIFA’s decision to host consecutive World Cups in Europe (Italy ‘34 & France ‘38), breaking the unwritten agreement to alternate between continents. In protest, many nations across the Americas boycotted the tournament entirely.

To organize the remaining participants, FIFA placed South American teams into Group 10 and left North America, Central America, and the Caribbean to battle in Group 11.

Originally, Group 11 featured two clear regional sub-groups:

• North America: Mexico & USA.

• Central America & Caribbean: Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador & Dutch Guiana (now Suriname).

FIFA planned for the winners of these two sub-groups to square off in a high-stakes, intercontinental playoff in Europe just a week before the tournament kicked off.

FIFA’s Scheduling Nightmare

The fragile structure quickly shattered when Mexico protested their placement, demanding a transfer to the Central American and Caribbean sub-group. FIFA capitulated.

With Mexico's inclusion, the Central American/Caribbean sub-group swelled to six teams. FIFA scrambled to draw up a new multi-stage format featuring two triangular groups:

1. Group A (in Barranquilla): Colombia, Cuba & Dutch Guiana

2. Group B (in San José): Costa Rica, El Salvador & Mexico.

The winners of each group were meant to advance to a final regional round.

Then came another administrative curveball. Argentina submitted its tournament application late for the South American zone, where Brazil had already qualified automatically. Instead of rejecting the late bid, FIFA altered the format yet again. They decreed that Argentina would face the eventual winner of the Central American/Caribbean group in a separate playoff.

Around the exact same time, similar administrative chaos unfolded in Asia's qualifying Group 12, where the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) advanced automatically over Japan after the team withdrew due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.  This sudden shift meant the Dutch East Indies were now scheduled to face the North American group winner – USA – in a separate intercontinental playoff in May.

The Domino Effect of Forfeits

Confronted by constant format shifts, logistical nightmares, and competing tournament priorities, the field collapsed in rapid succession in early 1938:

• Mexico officially pulled out in January to focus on the 1938 CAC Games in Panama.

• Dutch Guiana withdrew shortly afterwards.

The sudden departures left a modified schedule of Colombia vs. El Salvador and Cuba vs. Costa Rica. However, before a single whistle blew in March, Colombia, Costa Rica, and El Salvador all withdrew in a matter of weeks.

Cuba was left as the sole survivor, winning their regional zone entirely by default.

Last-Minute Chaos in Europe

The drama followed the remaining teams across the Atlantic. By May 1938, the final two intercontinental spots were to be decided on European soil:

• 26 May (Rotterdam, Netherlands): USA vs. Dutch East Indies

• 29 May (Bordeaux, France): Argentina vs. Cuba

The administrative collapse was finalized at the eleventh hour. At the end of March, Argentina announced it would not travel to France due to severe financial constraints. One month later, the USA followed suit, withdrawing from their scheduled match due to their own severe financial reasons.

Because of these final, sweeping administrative forfeits (1:0), both Cuba and the Dutch East Indies advanced automatically to the 1938 World Cup. Cuba’s bizarre, matchless qualification run remains an unparalleled testament to the administrative “wild west” of early international football.

1938 WC Qualifying Intercontinental Zone Playoffs

26.05: Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS

USA – DUTCH EAST INDIES 0:1 FORFEIT

29.05: Brodeaux, FRANCE

ARGENTINA – CUBA 0:1 FORFEIT