(FILES) Duce Benito Mussolini (C, in white) poses with the Italian national soccer team on July 1, 1938 during a reception at the Palazzo Venezia in Rome. In 1934, the first World Cup in Europe was held in Italy. "May God help him if he fails," the dictator Benito Mussolini is said to have warned the Italian manager, Vittorio Pozzo. Il Duce wanted propaganda for his regime and knew exactly how to get it: by organising a World Cup... and winning it. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)