Dutch East Indies at the 1938 FIFA World Cup
The team was one of three non-European participants in the tournament in addition to Brazil and Cuba.
The Dutch East Indies were placed in qualifying group 12 with Japan. When Japan withdrew, FIFA decided that the Dutch East Indies would have to play against one of the countries from group 11. The United States was selected by lot. This match would be played on 29 May 1938 in Rotterdam, at De Kuip. However, the United States also withdrew, meaning that the Dutch East Indies qualified for the final round without playing. [1] [2] [3]
In preparation for the tournament, the team made a long boat trip to the Netherlands to train at HBS in The Hague. A practice match against HBS was also played, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Furthermore, there was a friendly match against Haarlem, and this match ended in a 5-3 victory for the Dutch East Indies.
Because the Netherlands also took part, the Wilhelmus, the national anthem of the Netherlands, was heard twice at the event. The team consisted only of players from the Nederlandsch-Indische Voetbal Unie (NIVU) and the Dutch association chairman Johannes Mastenbroek acted as trainer. The PSSI (Indonesia's current football federation), which the NIVU collaborated with, was not represented and among the players there were several of Chinese descent.
The team head coach Johannes Mastenbroek called to the tournament consisted of the following players:
| Name | Club | Particularities |
|---|---|---|
| Mo Heng Tan | HCTNH (Malang) | |
| Achmad Nawir | HBS (Surabaya) | |
| Hong Djien Tan | Tiong Hwa (Surabaya) | |
| French Meeng | SVBB (Batavia) | |
| Tjaak Pattiwael | Young Ambon (Batavia) | |
| Hans Taihuttu | Young Ambon (Batavia) | |
| Suvarte Soedarmadji | HBS (Surabaya) | |
| Anwar Sutan | VIOS (Batavia) | |
| Henk Zomers | Hercules (Surabaya) | |
| French Hukom | Sparta (Bandoeng) | |
| Jack Samuels | Excelsior (Surabaya) | |
| Leen van Beuzekom | Hercules (Batavia) | Didn't play along |
| Jan Harting | HBS (Surabaya) | Didn't play along |
| Mo Heng Bing | Tiong Hwa (Surabaya) | Didn't play along |
| Gerrit Faulhaber | Go Ahead (Semarang) | Didn't play along |
| Rudi Telwe | HBS (Surabaya) | Didn't play along |
| See Han Tan | Tiong Hwa (Surabaya) | Didn't play along |
| G. van den Burgh | SVV (Semarang) | Didn't play along |
The Dutch East Indies only played one match at the tournament, with the 6-0 defeat against Hungary eliminating them in the first round.
Hungary v Dutch East Indies
Hungary  | 6–0 |  Dutch East Indies |
|---|---|---|
Kohut  14'Toldi 16'Sárosi 25', 88'Zsengellér 30', 67' | Report |
       Hungary |    Dutch East Indies |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees: |
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