World Cup's 101 Most Memorable Moments: Uruguay win the first World Cup

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Editor's note: Each day between now and the kickoff of the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we'll unveil a different memory from World Cup history. The countdown from 101 continues with the first-ever World Cup champion.

Uruguay was the toast of global football even before the first World Cup was played there in 1930. Part of the reason FIFA elected to play the inaugural tournament in the South American nation instead of Europe — Italy, the Netherlands Spain and Sweden also submitted bids to host the novel event — was that La Celeste were the reigning world champs, having won back-to-back Olympic gold medals at the 1924 and ‘28 Summer Games.

Thirteen teams competed. The hosts won their group to advance to the last four, then beat Yugoslavia — a team they had trounced 7-1 at Paris ‘24 — 6-1 to reach the final.

In front of 93,000 fans at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay stormed back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to win 4-2. FIFA president Jules Rimet presented La Celeste with the trophy that would later be named for him, but Uruguay would not defend their title. The country boycotted the 1934 event in Italy in protest of just four European teams making the cross-Atlantic trek four years before.

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One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.