Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England, an official football tournament between national representative selections was contested for the first time; football had been played between club teams at the Games of 1900 and 1904.
Like the hockey tournament, the rules allowed countries to enter up to four separate teams. Unlike hockey, Scotland, Wales and Ireland did not enter teams.
There were eight entries, including two from France. Hungary and Bohemia both withdrew after the draw and appointment of referees, leaving six teams to contest the tournament.
Great Britain won the gold medal representing the United Kingdom, although all the players were from England.
Sophus "Krølben" Nielsen of Denmark set a record by scoring 10 goals in a 17–1 win over France A. The famous mathematician Harald Bohr, brother of the even more famous Niels Bohr, also played for Denmark, who won the silver medal.
Competition schedule
The match schedule of the tournament.| R1 | First round | SF | Semi-finals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Gold medal match |
Bracket
Tournament
The matches:With eight entries, the tournament draw had a full quarterfinal round of four matches.
However, after the draw and appointment of referees, and were both forced to withdraw due to financial reasons: their opponents, the Netherlands and France respectively, were awarded a 2–0 victory.
First round
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Semi-finals
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Bronze medal match
Originally, all six teams eliminated before the final were to participate in a consolation tournament for the bronze medal, with two first-round matches to be played on 21 October between the four quarter-final losers.After Hungary and Bohemia both withdrew, the first round was scratched on 15 October, with France B and Sweden qualifying for the semi-finals of the consolation tournament.
France B, Sweden, and the two semi-final losers, France and the Netherlands, were scheduled to play the semi-finals on 23 October: the French teams were drawn against each other, and the Netherlands were drawn against Sweden, with the winners playing off in the bronze medal match prior to the gold medal match on 24 October.
However, both French teams had returned home immediately after their crushing defeats to Denmark on 19 October and 22 October: therefore, their semi-final and the 24 October bronze medal match were both scratched, with the Netherlands v Sweden semi-final becoming the bronze medal match.
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Gold medal match
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Medal summaryMedalistsComplete list of medal winners:
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Great Britain|1908 Summer