Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics

1920 Men's Olympic Football Tournament

Tournament details
Host country	Belgium
Dates	28 August – 5 September 1920
Teams	15 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)	4 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Belgium (1st title)
Runners-up	Spain
Third place	Netherlands
Fourth place	Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played	17
Goals scored	70 (4.12 per match)
Attendance	150,600 (8,859 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Herbert Carlsson (7 goals)
← 1912 1924 →

Football was one of the 154 events at the 1920 Summer Olympics, held in Antwerp, Belgium. It was the fifth time association football was on the Olympic schedule. The tournament expanded to 15 countries, including a non-European nation (Egypt) for the first time.^[1]

As these were the first Olympics after World War I, the football teams representing the Central Powers were not invited (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey). The English Football Association had also withdrawn from FIFA, together with the associations of the other UK Home Nations (Scotland, Ireland and Wales), after their demands that the federations of Germany, Austria and Hungary be expelled from that organisation were rejected. FIFA nevertheless accepted the entry of a team from Great Britain (representing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland), ruling that countries entering the Olympic Games in other sports should not be excluded from the football tournament.^[2]

Britain had won the 1908 and 1912 gold medals, but were beaten by Norway 3-1 in the first round: the Norway national football team thus celebrated one of their iconic victories, alongside the elimination of Nazi Germany at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 1993 win over England in World Cup qualifying, and the 2–1 defeat of reigning world champions Brazil at the 1998 World Cup.

Hosts Belgium won the gold medal, with the final being abandoned in the 39th minute with Belgium leading 2-0 after Czechoslovakia - who participated in an international competition for the first time - walked off to protest the officiating: the Czechslovaks were subsequently ejected from the competition.^[1]

As a result of Czechoslovakia's ejection and Belgium having received a first-round bye, the beaten quarter-finalists (Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden) faced each other to determine who would play the Netherlands (who were beaten in their semifinal by Belgium), who were now assured of a medal.

The tournament ended with Belgium winning the gold medal, with Spain winning the silver and the Netherlands winning the bronze.^[3][4][2]

Venues

Antwerp	Olympisch Stadion Stadion Broodstraat Jules Ottenstadion Stade Joseph Marien		Antwerp
Olympisch Stadion			Stadion Broodstraat
Capacity: 35,000			Capacity: Not known
Ghent			Brussels
Jules Ottenstadion			Stade Joseph Marien
Capacity: Not known			Capacity: Not known

Squads

Tournament

15 teams entered the competition, which was organized on a knockout basis, but Switzerland withdrew on the morning before the first round due to internal dissent: their opponent, France, was awarded a 2–0 victory.

As such, 12 teams entered the first round, with the winners joining France and host Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Norway defeated Great Britain in the first round, considered by Elo as one of the greatest football upsets of all time.^[5]

Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, made it to the final, beating Kingdom of SCS (who also played their first ever international match in the competition), Norway, and France, while Belgium, after their first-round bye, beat Spain and the Netherlands to qualify for the final.

The final was abandoned in the 39th minute and Belgium were awarded the gold medal after Czechoslovakia walked off to protest the officiating of the English referee, John Lewis, and his linesmen.^[6]

A form of the Bergvall System^[7] was used to determine the silver and bronze medals: firstly, the beaten quarter-finalists played off, and Spain emerged triumphant, overcoming Sweden 2-1 and Italy 2-0.

Under the original format, Spain would have played off against the teams beaten in the main tournament by gold medalists Belgium, with the winners of these matches playing off for silver and bronze medals. However, Czechoslovakia had been ejected from the competition, and Belgium had received a first-round bye: therefore, the semi-finals were scratched, and Spain advanced to the silver and bronze medal match against the Netherlands, who had been beaten by Belgium in their semi-final. Spain won the match 3–1.

Exhibition match

This match was not part of the tournament, but was organized after both teams were eliminated. Some sources erroneously refer to this as an eighth-place match or as part of the silver and bronze medal tournament.

Results

Original bracket

	First round				Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
					Belgium	3
					Spain	1
	Spain	1
	Denmark	0
									Belgium	3
									Netherlands	0
	Sweden	9
	Greece	0
					Sweden	4
					Netherlands (a.e.t.)	5
	Luxembourg	0
	Netherlands	3
													Belgium	2
													Czechoslovakia	0
	France	2
	Switzerland	0
					France	3
					Italy	1
	Italy	2
	Egypt	1
									France	1
									Czechoslovakia	4
	Czechoslovakia	7
	Kingdom of SCS	0
					Czechoslovakia	4
					Norway	0
	Great Britain	1
	Norway	3

First round

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Bye: Belgium 

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Gold medal match

The final was highly controversial, and is the only time as of 2023 that an international final has been abandoned: Belgium were awarded the gold medal after Czechoslovakia walked off the pitch in the 39th minute with Belgium leading 2-0 to protest the officiating after Czechoslovak left-back Karel Steiner was ejected for assaulting Belgian striker Robert Coppée.

The Czechoslovaks were also deeply dissatisfied with the performance of the 65-year-old English referee, John Lewis, as well as that of the English linesmen, Charles Wreford-Brown and Arthur Knight, who had allowed a contentious second Belgian goal by Henri Larnoe in the 30th minute.

Lewis, Wreford-Brown and Knight had officiated the Belgian semi-final victory over the Netherlands two days earlier, a match observed by the Czechoslovaks (it had taken place on the same day and in the same stadium as their own semi-final victory against France).

The Czechoslovaks immediately protested the result of the final,^{[note 1]} but their protest was dismissed, and the Czechoslovak team was immediately ejected from the competition.

Silver and bronze medal tournament

Repechage bracket

The original format was based on a form of the Bergvall System: after a knockout tournament between the four teams beaten in the quarter-finals, the winner of that tournament would play off in the semi-finals with the teams beaten in the main tournament by the gold medalists (Belgium), with the winners of these matches playing off for silver and bronze medals.

However, Czechoslovakia had been ejected from the competition, and Belgium had received a first-round bye: therefore, the semi-finals were scratched, and Spain (the winner of the beaten quarter-finalists tournament) advanced to the silver and bronze medal match against the Netherlands (who had been beaten in the semifinals by gold medalists Belgium).

First round

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Second round

Silver and bronze medal match

Final ranking

Final positions:^[2][8]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Result
	Belgium	3	3	0	0	8	1	+7	6
	Spain	5	4	0	1	9	5	+4	8
	Netherlands	4	2	0	2	9	10	−1	4
4	Italy	4	2	0	2	5	7	−2	4	Eliminated in playoffs
5	Sweden	3	1	0	2	14	7	+7	2
6	France	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	2
7	Norway	3	1	0	2	4	7	−3	2
8	Egypt	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	0	Eliminated in first round
9	Denmark	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0
10	Great Britain	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0
11	Luxembourg	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0
12	Kingdom of SCS	1	0	0	1	0	7	−7	0
13	Greece	1	0	0	1	0	9	−9	0
DSQ	Czechoslovakia	4	3	0	1	15	3	+12	6	Ejected from competition

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Belgium Félix Balyu Désiré Bastin Mathieu Bragard Robert Coppée Jean De Bie André Fierens Emile Hanse Georges Hebdin Louis van Hege Henri Larnoe Joseph Musch Fernand Nisot Armand Swartenbroeks Oscar Verbeeck Coach: Raoul Daufresne	Spain Patricio Arabolaza Mariano Arrate Juan Artola José María Belauste Sabino Bilbao Ramón Eguiazábal Agustín Eizaguirre Ramón Gil Domingo Acedo Silverio Izaguirre Pichichi Luis Otero Francisco Pagazaurtundúa José Samitier Agustín Sancho Félix Sesúmaga Pedro Vallana Joaquín Vázquez Ricardo Zamora Coach: Francisco Bru	Netherlands Arie Bieshaar Leo Bosschart Evert Jan Bulder Jaap Bulder Harry Dénis Jan van Dort Ber Groosjohan Felix von Heijden Frits Kuipers Dick MacNeill Jan de Natris Oscar van Rappard Henk Steeman Ben Verweij Coach: Fred Warburton

Goalscorers

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

Notes

References