 The Mexican national team before the match | |||||||
| Event | 1930 FIFA World Cup Group 1 | ||||||
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| Date | 13 July 1930 | ||||||
| Venue | Estadio Pocitos, Montevideo | ||||||
| Referee | Domingo Lombardi (Uruguay) | ||||||
| Attendance | 4,444 | ||||||
France v Mexico, along with United States v Belgium, was one of the first matches ever to be played at the FIFA World Cup, opening the inaugural tournament in 1930. The match is well known for French player Lucien Laurent's goal at the 19th minute, which was the first goal in World Cup history. [1] [2]
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France defeated Mexico 4–1. Until 2006, this held the record for the highest scoring FIFA World Cup opening match. Despite France's early victory, they lost their following matches in Group 1 to Argentina and Chile, finishing 3rd and therefore being eliminated in the group stage. [note 1] Laurent was ruled out of the third game due to an ankle injury sustained from a tackle during the match against Argentina. [3] [4]
We were playing Mexico and it was snowing, since it was winter in the southern hemisphere. One of my teammates centred the ball and I followed its path carefully, taking it on the volley with my right foot. Everyone was pleased but we didn't all roll around on the ground – nobody realised that history was being made. A quick handshake and we got on with the game. And no bonus either; we were all amateurs in those days, right to the end.
