(FILES) Italy's national soccer team poses with the World Cup trophy after beating Hungary 4-2 in the World Cup final, on June 19, 1938 in Colombes, in the suburbs of Paris.(Standing from L : Amadeo Biavati (4th L), coach Vittorio Pozzo holding the trophy, Silvio Piola, Giovanni Ferrari, Gino Colaussi; first row, from L : Ugo Locatelli, Giuseppe Meazza, Alfredo Foni, Pietro Serantoni, Aldo Olivieri, Pietro Rava and Michele Andreolo). France hosted the 1938 World Cup against a backdrop of pre-war tensions in Europe. Austria, which had a strong national team, did not attend the tournament despite having qualified, as Adolf Hitler's expansionist ambitions began with them. Spain did not attend either; it was ravaged by a civil war (19361939). (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)