11 March 1934 - A Pair Of Nines

On 11 March 1934, both Spain and Germany opened their World Cup qualification campaigns with dominant wins over their neighbors, scoring 9 goals each.

The day represented the first involvement in the tournament for both of the future winners, neither of whom had participated in the 1930 World Cup. Unlike that first one, which had only 13 countries competing, the 1934 edition had so many interested teams that FIFA instituted a qualification process. Spain went into a two-team qualification group with Portugal, while Germany joined France and Luxembourg in a group of three.

Spain enjoyed the biggest win of qualification, beating Portugal 9-0 in Madrid. They scored their first goal after only three minutes and never looked back, going up 3-0 by the break. The 9-0 final score included five goals from Real Oviedo striker Isidro Lángara (pictured).

Germany also scored their first goal after only three minutes with a goal from Vfl Benrath forward Josef Rasselnberg. Playing at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal, Germany were up 0-3 when the hosts scored in the 27th minute, then extended their lead to 1-5 before halftime. Rasselnberg added three more goals to the final score of 1-9.

Both Spain and Germany qualified easily--Spain beat Portugal again, 1-2, while Germany did not need another match. In their group's next game, France beat Luxembourg 1-6, so both France and Germany advanced without having to play their group's final scheduled match. In the tournament proper, Spain fell to eventual winners Italy in the quarterfinals, while Germany lost to eventual runners-up Czechoslovakia in the semifinals.

15 April 1934 - When Your Best Isn't Enough

On 15 April 1934, France beat Luxembourg 1-6 in a World Cup qualifier before a crowd of 18,000 at Luxembourg's Stade Municipal. It was both sides' best performance during qualification for that year's tournament.

The 1934 World Cup was the first to require qualification, with a total of 32 teams divided into 12 groups. FIFA placed France and Luxembourg in three-member Group 8, along with Germany. The teams were scheduled to play each once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, with the top two teams advancing to the World Cup.

Luxembourg hosted the first Group 8 match, playing Germany at the Stade Municipal on 11 March 1934, with the Germans rolling to a comfortable 1-9 win. Luxembourg then played France in the second match on 15 April.

The French took a quick lead with a 3rd-minute goal from winger Alfred Aston, then doubled their lead when striker Jean Nicolas found the back of the net in the 26th minute. Shortly after the break, Luxembourg's Théophile Speicher closed the gap to one with a 46th-minute strike, but that was their only score on the day. Nicolas, meanwhile, netted a second-half hat-trick (67', 84', 89' (pen.)) to tally four on the day, while his strike partner Ernest Libérati added one of his own (80').

With both France and Germany sitting on 2 points and Luxembourg on none, there was no need for France and Germany to play the scheduled third match against each other. Both advanced to the World Cup, where France was ousted in the first round by Austria. Germany, playing in their first World Cup, lost to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals, but beat Austria in the third-place match.

Both France and (West) Germany both would go to win multiple World Cup titles, while Luxembourg has yet to qualify for the World Cup.