Football at the 1920 Summer Olympics
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 was expanded to 14 countries, including a non-European nation by the first time.
At the first Olympics after World War I, countries involved in the conflict were not invited. The English FA had withdrawn from FIFA after their demand that the federations of Germany, Austria and Hungary be excluded had been rejected. FIFA nevertheless accepted the entry of a Great Britain football team, judging that countries entering the Olympic Games in other sports should not be hindered entering the football tournament.
However, the gold medalists of the previous two Olympic football tournaments would not enjoy their participation long, as they were defeated 1–3 in the first round by Norway, who thus celebrated one of their iconic victories.
The final was won by host Belgium against Czechoslovakia after the Czechs walked off to protest the officiating, and were subsequently disqualified from the tournament.
Since Belgium had also received a first round forfeit after Poland failed to arrive, the tournament to determine the silver and bronze medalists had the beaten quarter-finalists facing each other to determine who would play the Netherlands, now assured of a medal.
The tournament ended with Spain winning the silver medal match, while the Netherlands won the bronze.
Venues
Squads
Tournament
16 teams entered the competition, which was organized on a knockout basis, but Switzerland withdrew before the first round draw had been made, meaning France were given a first-round bye.14 teams entered the first round, with the winners joining France in the quarter-finals, and hosts Belgium received a first round forfeit after Poland failed to appear.
Norway defeated Great Britain in the first round, considered by Elo as one of the greatest football upsets of all time.
Czechoslovakia, participating in their first international tournament, made it to the final, beating Yugoslavia, Norway, and France, while Belgium, coming off their first round forfeit, beat Spain and the Netherlands to qualify for the final.
The final was abandoned in the 40th minute and Belgium were awarded the gold medal after Czechoslovakia walked off to protest the performance of the English referee, John Lewis and his linesmen.
A form of the Bergvall System was used to determine second and third places. 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 three teams beaten in the main tournament by gold medalists Belgium, with the winners playing off for second and third, but Czechoslovakia had been disqualified, and Belgium had received a first round forfeit after Poland failed to arrive.
Therefore, Spain advanced straight to a silver medal match against the Netherlands, who had been beaten by Belgium in their semi-final. Spain won 3-1.
Results
First round
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Belgium were scheduled to play Poland, but Poland failed to arrive ; Belgium were awarded a 2-0 victory.
Bye: France
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
----Gold medal match
The final was highly controversial, and is the only time as of 2020 that an international final has been abandoned. Belgium were awarded the gold medal by default after Czechoslovakia walked off the field in the 40th minute to protest the officiating with Belgium leading 2-0 after Czech left-back Karel Steiner was ejected for assaulting Robert Coppée.The Czechs were unhappy with the performance of the 65-year-old English referee, John Lewis, who had already refereed the Belgian semi-final victory over the Netherlands, a match observed by the Czechs, as well as the English linesmen, Charles Wreford-Brown and A. Knight, who had allowed a contentious second Belgian goal in the 30th minute that Henri Larnoe had converted.
The Czechs immediately protested the result of the final, but their protest was dismissed, and the Czech team were disqualified from the tournament.
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Silver and bronze medal tournamentAfter the disqualification of Czechoslovakia, a match between Netherlands and France was planned to award silver and bronze medals, but France forfeited because most of its players were already returning home. It was then set up a knock-out tournament between the four teams eliminated during quarter-finals, the winner of which would have contested the Netherlands for second place.First round----Second roundSilver and bronze medal matchFriendly matchThis match was not part of the tournament, but was organised after both teams were eliminated. Some sources refer to this as an eighth place match or part of the silver and bronze medal tournament.Final rankingFinal positions: on Football Mundial.comMedalists
Goalscorers;7 goals;6 goals ;5 goals
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