| | Event type

Football, Men

Date	26 July – 13 August 1948
Status	Olympic
Location	Empire Stadium, Wembley, London / Selhurst Park, South Norwood, London / Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London / Lynn Road Stadium, Ilford, London / Craven Cottage, Fulham, London / White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London / Champion Hill, East Dulwich, London / Griffin Park, Hounslow, London / Green Pond Road Stadium, Walthamstow, London / Goldstone Ground, Hove / Fratton Park, Portsmouth
Participants	218 from 18 countries
Format	Single-elimination tournament.

The 1948 tournament had two favorites for the title: Sweden and the home team. Great Britain had not played at the Olympics since their 1912 victory. Players from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales were selected by Matt Busby, the Manchester United manager (a position he held until 1969). Sweden too was coached by a Briton, George Raynor.

Britain could not impress during the Olympics, struggling past the Netherlands and France before being eliminated by Yugoslavia. Sweden, by contrast, breezed through the early rounds. In the quarter-finals, South Korea was butchered 12-0. The final saw the best play of the tournament, and Sweden won with a dominant second half, 3-1.

The victorious Swedish team featured three brothers: Bertil, Gunnar and Knut Nordahl. The most famous of them was Gunnar, who played for AC Milan after the Olympics, joining fellow gold medalists Gunnar Gren and Nils Liedholm to form the Italian club’s feared “Gre-No-Li” attack line.

India competed in Olympic football for the first time, and in their first match, against France, it was noted that most of their 11 players were playing barefoot.

There were originally 23 nations entered. The final draw for the 1948 football tournament looked nothing like the original draw, because of withdrawals. The original draw for the preliminary round was as follows:

• Egypt vs. Denmark (moved to a first round match)

• Ireland vs. Netherlands (match was held)

• Burma (Myanmar) vs. India (Burma withdrew; match scheduled for 26 July at Woodside Road, Worthing, England)

• Yugoslavia vs. Pakistan (Pakistan withdrew; match scheduled for 27 July at Southend Stadium, at Southend-on-Sea, England)

• Sweden vs. Austria (moved to a first round match)

• China vs. Turkey (moved to a first round match)

• Luxembourg vs. Afghanistan (match was held)

The scheduled matches for the first round were as follows:

• Poland vs. Egypt / Denmark winner (Poland withdrew, Egypt played Denmark)

• Great Britain vs. Ireland / Netherlands winner (match was held as GBR vs. IRL)

• France vs. Burma (Myanmar) / India winner (Burma withdrew; France played India)

• Palestine vs. Yugoslavia / Pakistan winner (Palestine and Pakistan withdrew; Yugoslavia played Luxembourg in round one)

• United States vs. Sweden / Austria winner (Sweden played Austria in round one; United States played Italy in round one)

• Hungary vs. Italy (Hungary withdrew; Italy played the United States in round one)

• Korea (South) vs. China / Turkey winner (China played Turkey in round one; Korea played Mexico in round one)

• Mexico vs. Luxembourg / Afghanistan winner (Luxembourg played Yugoslavia in round one; Mexico played Korea in round one)

Pos	Number	Team	NOC	GP	Goals
1	–	Sweden	SWE	4	22	Gold
	–	Torsten Lindberg		4	0
	–	Knut Nordahl		2	0
	–	Erik Nilsson		4	0
	–	Birger Rosengren		4	0
	–	Bertil Nordahl		4	4
	–	Sune Andersson		4	0
	–	Kjell Rosén		4	5
	–	Gunnar Gren		4	3
	–	Gunnar Nordahl		4	3
	–	Henry Carlsson		4	5
	–	Nils Liedholm		4	2
	–	Börje Leander		2	0
	–	Karl Svensson DNS		–	–
	–	Pär Bengtsson DNS		–	–
	–	Rune Emanuelsson DNS		–	–
	–	Egon Jönsson DNS		–	–
	–	Stellan Nilsson DNS		–	–
	–	Stig Nyström DNS		–	–
Coach		George Raynor
2	–	Yugoslavia	YUG	4	13	Silver
	–	Ljubomir Lovrić		1	0
	–	Miroslav Brozović		4	0
	–	Branko Stanković		4	1
	–	Zlatko Čajkovski		4	0
	–	Miodrag Jovanović		4	0
	–	Aleksandar Atanacković		4	0
	–	Zvonko Cimermančić		1	0
	–	Rajko Mitić		4	2
	–	Stjepan Bobek		4	4
	–	Željko Čajkovski		4	3
	–	Bernard Vukas		1	0
	–	Franjo Šoštarić		3	0
	–	Prvoslav Mihajlović		2	1
	–	Franjo Velfl		3	2
	–	Kosta Tomašević		1	0
	–	Božo Broketa DNS		–	–
	–	Ivan Jazbinšek DNS		–	–
	–	Ratko Kacian DNS		–	–
	–	Frane Matošić DNS		–	–
	–	Bela Palfi DNS		–	–
	–	Aleksandar Petrović DNS		–	–
	–	Josip Takač DNS		–	–
Coach		Mikica Arsenijević
3	–	Denmark	DEN	4	15	Bronze
	–	Eigil Nielsen		4	0
	–	Viggo Jensen		4	0
	–	Knud Børge Overgaard		4	0
	–	Axel Pilmark		4	0
	–	Dion Ørnvold		4	0
	–	Ivan Jensen		4	0
	–	Johannes Pløger		4	2
	–	Knud Lundberg		2	0
	–	Carl Aage Præst		4	2
	–	John Hansen		4	7
	–	Jørgen Leschly Sørensen		1	1
	–	Holger Seebach		2	1
	–	Karl Aage Hansen		3	2
	–	Jørgen Hansen DNS		–	–
	–	Poul Eyvind Petersen DNS		–	–
	–	Knud Bastrup-Birk DNS		–	–
	–	Hans Colberg DNS		–	–
	–	Ove Jensen DNS		–	–
	–	Erik Kuld Jensen DNS		–	–
	–	Erling Sørensen DNS		–	–
	–	Per Knudsen DNS		–	–
	–	Edvin Hansen DNS		–	–
Coach		Reg Mountford
4	–	Great Britain	GBR	4	9
	–	Andy Aitken		1	1
	–	Bill Amor		1	1
	–	Allan Boyd		1	0
	–	Angus Carmichael		1	0
	–	Frank Donovan		2	1
	–	Eric Fright		4	0
	–	Bob Hardisty		4	3
	–	Tommy Hopper		1	0
	–	Denis Kelleher		3	1
	–	Peter Kippax		3	0
	–	Eric Lee		4	0
	–	Kevin McAlinden		2	0
	–	Douglas McBain		3	1
	–	Jimmy McColl		2	0
	–	Harry McIlvenny		4	1
	–	Gwyn Manning		1	0
	–	Jack Neale		4	0
	–	Jack Rawlings		1	0
	–	Ronnie Simpson		2	0
	–	David Letham DNS		–	–
	–	Ron Phipps DNS		–	–
	–	Julian Smith DNS		–	–
Coach		Matt Busby
=5	–	France	FRA	2	2
	–	André Strappe		2	0
	–	Bernard Bienvenu		2	0
	–	Christian Rouellé		1	0
	–	Guy Rouxel		2	0
	–	Gabriel Robert		2	0
	–	Jean Palluch		2	0
	–	Joseph Heckel		2	0
	–	Marius Colau		2	0
	–	Raoul Courbin		2	1
	–	René Hebinger		1	0
	–	René Persillon		2	1
	–	Raymond Krug		2	0
	–	Robert Bottini DNS		–	–
	–	Gustave Ducousso DNS		–	–
	–	Lazare Gianessi DNS		–	–
	–	Hacène Hamoutène DNS		–	–
	–	Jean Lanfranchi DNS		–	–
	–	Marcel Lanfranchi DNS		–	–
	–	François Mercurio DNS		–	–
	–	Guy Rabstejnek DNS		–	–
	–	Lucien Schaeffer DNS		–	–
Coach		Gabriel Hanot
=5	–	Italy	ITA	2	12
	–	Adone Stellin		2	1
	–	Angelo Turconi		2	1
	–	Cesare Presca		1	0
	–	Emilio Caprile		2	2
	–	Emidio Cavigioli		2	3
	–	Francesco Pernigo		2	5
	–	Giacomo Mari		2	0
	–	Guglielmo Giovannini		2	0
	–	Giuseppe Casari		2	0
	–	Maino Neri		2	0
	–	Tommaso Maestrelli		1	0
	–	Valerio Cassani		2	0
	–	Glauco Vanz DNS		–	–
	–	Francesco Antonazzi DNS		–	–
	–	Romolo Bizzotto DNS		–	–
	–	Enzo Menegotti DNS		–	–
	–	Renzo Burini DNS		–	–
	–	Egisto Pandolfini DNS		–	–
Coach		Vittorio Pozzo
=5	–	Republic of Korea	KOR	2	5
	–	Choi Seong-Gon		2	1
	–	Jeong Guk-Jin		2	2
	–	Jeong Nam-Sik		2	1
	–	Hong Deok-Yeong		2	0
	–	Kim Gyu-Hwan		2	0
	–	Kim Yong-Sik		2	0
	–	Min Byeong-Dae		2	0
	–	Park Dae-Jong		2	0
	–	Park Gyu-Jeong		2	0
	–	U Jeong-Hwan		2	0
	–	Bae Jeong-Ho		2	1
	–	An Jong-Su DNS		–	–
	–	Cha Sun-Jong DNS		–	–
	–	Lee Si-Dong DNS		–	–
	–	Lee Yu-Hyeong DNS		–	–
	–	Oh Gyeong-Hwan DNS		–	–
Coach		Lee Young-Min
=5	–	Turkey	TUR	2	5
	–	Bülent Eken		2	0
	–	Cihat Arman		2	0
	–	Erol Keskin		2	0
	–	Fikret Kırcan		2	0
	–	Gündüz Kılıç		2	2
	–	Hüseyin Saygun		2	1
	–	Lefter Küçükandonyadis		2	1
	–	Murat Alyüz		2	0
	–	Naci Özkaya		1	0
	–	Selahattin Torkal		1	0
	–	Şükrü Gülesin		2	1
	–	Vedii Tosuncuk		2	0
	–	Muzaffer Tokaç DNS		–	–
	–	Hikmet Alpaslan DNS		–	–
	–	Halit Deringör DNS		–	–
	–	Ahmet Erol DNS		–	–
	–	Galip Haktanır DNS		–	–
	–	Erdoğan Atlıoğlu DNS		–	–
	–	Reha Eken DNS		–	–
	–	Samim Var DNS		–	–
	–	Yavuz Üreten DNS		–	–
Coach		Ulvi Yenal
=9	–	Austria	AUT	1	0		1
	–	Alfred Körner		1	0
	–	Erich Habitzl		1	0
	–	Ernst Melchior		1	0
	–	Ernst Ocwirk		1	0
	–	Karl Kowanz		1	0
	–	Franz Pelikan		1	0
	–	Josef Epp		1	0
	–	Ernst Happel		1	0
	–	Leopold Mikolasch		1	0
	–	Siegfried Joksch		1	0
	–	Willy Hahnemann		1	0
	–	Theodor Brinek, Jr. DNS		–	–
	–	Karl Decker DNS		–	–
	–	Ludwig Durek DNS		–	–
	–	Bruno Engelmeier DNS		–	–
	–	Gustav Gerhart DNS		–	–
	–	Leopold Gernhardt DNS		–	–
	–	Josef Musil DNS		–	–
	–	Ernst Stojaspal DNS		–	–
	–	Josef Stroh DNS		–	–
	–	Turl Wagner DNS		–	–
Coach		Edi Frühwirth
=9	–	China	CHN	1	0
	–	Zhang Jinhai		1	0
	–	Zhang Banglun		1	0
	–	Zou Wenzhi		1	0
	–	Xie Wenliang		1	0
	–	Zhu Yongqiang		1	0
	–	Hou Rongsheng		1	0
	–	He Yingfen		1	0
	–	Liu Songsheng		1	0
	–	Li Dahui		1	0
	–	Yan Shixin		1	0
	–	Song Lingsheng		1	0
	–	Feng Jingxiang DNS		–	–
	–	Zhu Zhicheng DNS		–	–
	–	Gao Baozheng DNS		–	–
	–	Guo Yingqi DNS		–	–
	–	Li Zhaorong DNS		–	–
	–	Xie Jinhong DNS		–	–
	–	Ye Qingrong DNS		–	–
Coach		Li Huitang
=9	–	Egypt	EGY	1	1
	4	Abdel Aziz El-Hammami		1	0
	5	Ahmed Mekkawi		1	0
	–	Sayed El-Dhizui		1	0
	10	Abdel-Karim Sakr		1	0
	–	Fouad Sedki		1	0
	2	Hanafy Bastan		1	0
	8	Helmi Abou El-Maati		1	0
	9	Hussein Madkour		1	0
	6	Mohammed Abou Habaga		1	0
	3	Mohamed El-Guindi		1	1
	7	Yehia Imam		1	0
	–	Ali Osman DNS		–	–
	–	Mohamed Mekhimar DNS		–	–
	–	Yusri Soliman DNS		–	–
	–	Ad-Diba DNS		–	–
	–	Kamal El-Sabbagh DNS		–	–
	–	Hamdein El-Zamek DNS		–	–
	–	Mahmoud Hafez DNS		–	–
	–	Hamdi Karwan DNS		–	–
	–	Kamal Hamed DNS		–	–
	–	Galal Koraitim DNS		–	–
	–	Mohamed Sheta DNS		–	–
Coach		Eric Keen
=9	–	India	IND	1	1		2
	–	S. A. Basheer		1	0
	–	Ahmed Khan		1	0
	–	KV Varadaraj		1	0
	–	Mahabir Prasad		1	0
	–	Ramchandra Parab		1	0
	–	Rabi Das		1	0
	–	Sahu Mewalal		1	0
	–	Sarangapani Raman		1	1
	–	Sailen Manna		1	0
	–	Taj Mohammed		1	0
	–	Talimeren Ao		1	0
	–	K. P. Dhanraj DNS		–	–
	–	S. M. Kaiser DNS		–	–
	–	Anil Nandy DNS		–	–
	–	Santosh Nandy DNS		–	–
	–	T. M. Varghese DNS		–	–
	–	Sanjeeva Uchil DNS		–	–
	–	Balasundra Vajravelu DNS		–	–
Coach		Balaidis Chatterjee
=9	–	Luxembourg	LUX	2	7		3
	–	Benny Michaux		2	0
	–	Fernand Schammel		2	2
	–	Jean Feller		2	0
	–	Jim Kremer		1	0
	–	Jules Gales		2	2
	–	Lucien Konter		1	0
	–	Max Paulus		2	2
	–	Nic Kettel		2	1
	–	Nic Pauly		2	0
	–	Nic May		2	0
	–	Remy Wagner		2	0
	–	Vic Feller		2	0
	–	Camille Wagner DNS		–	–
	–	Jean Becker DNS		–	–
	–	Nicolas Birtz DNS		–	–
	–	Fernand Guth DNS		–	–
	–	Emile Nurenberg DNS		–	–
	–	Marcel Rewenig DNS		–	–
	–	Léon Schumacher DNS		–	–
	–	Paul Steffen DNS		–	–
	–	Marcel Welter DNS		–	–
	–	François Magnani DNS		–	–
Coach		Jean-Pierre Hoscheid
=9	–	Mexico	MEX	1	3
	–	Alfredo Córdoba		1	0
	–	Carlos Thompson		1	0
	–	Eduardo Garduño		1	0
	–	Fernando Figueroa		1	1
	–	Francisco Quintero		1	0
	–	Jorge Rodríguez		1	0
	–	Jorge Ruiz		1	1
	–	José Mercado		1	0
	–	José Rodríguez		1	0
	–	Mario Sánchez		1	0
	–	Raúl Cárdenas		1	1
	–	Antonio Carbajal DNS		–	–
	–	José María Cobián DNS		–	–
	–	Julio Parrales DNS		–	–
	–	Rubén Ruiz DNS		–	–
	–	Julio Trujillo DNS		–	–
	–	Fidel Villalobos DNS		–	–
Coach		Abel Ramírez
=9	–	Netherlands	NED	2	6		4
	–	Abe Lenstra		2	0
	–	Bram Appel		1	2
	–	André Roosenburg		1	1
	–	Arie de Vroet		2	0
	–	Kees Krijgh		2	0
	–	Kees van der Tuijn		2	0
	–	Kees Rijvers		2	0
	–	Henk Schijvenaar		2	0
	–	Jeu van Bun		2	0
	–	Rinus Terlouw		2	0
	–	Piet Kraak		2	0
	–	Faas Wilkes		2	3
	–	Loek Biesbrouck DNS		–	–
	–	Mick Clavan DNS		–	–
	–	Guus Dräger DNS		–	–
	–	Jan Everse DNS		–	–
	–	Rinus Schaap DNS		–	–
	–	Joop Stoffelen DNS		–	–
	–	Wim Landman DNS		–	–
	–	Sjaak Alberts DNS		–	–
	–	Jos Beenhakkers DNS		–	–
	–	Henk Temming DNS		–	–
Coach		Jesse Carver
=9	–	United States	USA	1	0
	–	Walter Bahr		1	0
	–	Ray Beckman		1	0
	–	Bill Bertani		1	0
	–	Charlie Colombo		1	0
	–	Joseph Costa		1	0
	–	Joe Ferreira		1	0
	–	Manuel Martin		1	0
	–	Benny McLaughlin		1	0
	–	Ed Souza		1	0
	–	John Souza		1	0
	–	Archie Strimel		1	0
	–	Bob Annis DNS		–	–
	–	Steve Grivnow DNS		–	–
	–	Gino Pariani DNS		–	–
	–	Rolf Valtin DNS		–	–
Coach		Walter Giesler
=17	–	Afghanistan	AFG	1	0
	–	Abdul Ahad Kharot		1	0
	–	Abdul Ghafoor Yusufzai		1	0
	–	Abdul Hamid Tajik		1	0
	–	Abdul Shacour Azimi		1	0
	–	Abdul Ghafoor Assar		1	0
	–	Abdul Ghani Assar		1	0
	–	Mohammad Anwar Afzal		1	0
	–	Mohammad Anwar Kharot		1	0
	–	Mohammad Sarwar Yusufzai		1	0
	–	Mohammad Ibrahim Gharzai		1	0
	–	Yar Mohammad Barakzai		1	0
	–	Abdul Wahid Aitimadi DNS		–	–
	–	M. M. Azami DNS		–	–
	–	A. S. Mohamedzai DNS		–	–
	–	M. U. Sadat DNS		–	–
	–	M. I. Tokhi DNS		–	–
Coach		?
=17	–	Ireland	IRL	1	1		5
	–	Brendan O'Kelly		1	0
	–	Des Cleary		1	0
	–	Donald Lawler		1	0
	–	Emmett McLaughlin		1	0
	–	Frank Glennon		1	0
	–	Paddy Kavanagh		1	0
	–	Peter McDonald		1	0
	–	Bobby Smith		1	1
	–	Billy Richardson		1	0
	–	Billy Barry		1	0
	–	Willie O'Grady		1	0
	–	Harry Boland DNS		–	–
	–	Bill Brennan DNS		–	–
	–	Bobby Browne DNS		–	–
	–	Michael Collins DNS		–	–
	–	M. Farrell DNS		–	–
	–	Patsy McGonagle DNS		–	–
	–	John Morris DNS		–	–
Coach		Johnny Carey

Qualifying Round

Date	26 July 1948
Format	Single-elimination.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match #1	26 Jul	Luxembourg	LUX	6 – 0	Afghanistan	AFG
Match #2	26 Jul	Netherlands	NED	3 – 1	Ireland	IRL

Round One

Date	31 July – 2 August 1948
Format	Single-elimination.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match #1	31 Jul 18:30	Denmark	DEN	3 – 1	Egypt	EGY	AET
Match #2	31 Jul 18:30	Great Britain	GBR	4 – 3	Netherlands	NED	AET
Match #3	31 Jul 18:30	France	FRA	2 – 1	India 6	IND
Match #4	31 Jul 18:30	Yugoslavia 7	YUG	6 – 1	Luxembourg	LUX
Match #5	02 Aug 18:30	Sweden	SWE	3 – 0	Austria	AUT
Match #6	02 Aug 18:30	Republic of Korea	KOR	5 – 3	Mexico	MEX
Match #7	02 Aug 18:30	Italy	ITA	9 – 0	United States	USA
Match #8	02 Aug 18:30	Turkey	TUR	4 – 0	China	CHN

Quarter-Finals

Date	5 August 1948
Format	Single-elimination.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match #1	05 Aug 18:30	Sweden	SWE	12 – 0	Republic of Korea	KOR
Match #2	05 Aug 18:30	Denmark	DEN	5 – 3	Italy	ITA
Match #3	05 Aug 18:30	Yugoslavia	YUG	3 – 1	Turkey	TUR
Match #4	05 Aug 18:30	Great Britain	GBR	1 – 0	France	FRA

Semi-Finals

Date	10 – 11 August 1948
Format	Single-elimination.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match #1	10 Aug 18:30	Sweden	SWE	4 – 2	Denmark	DEN
Match #2	11 Aug 18:30	Yugoslavia	YUG	3 – 1	Great Britain	GBR

Final Round

Date	13 August 1948
Format	Medal round.

Match	Date/Time	Competitors	NOC	Result	Competitors	NOC
Match 1/2	13 Aug 18:30	Sweden	SWE	3 – 1	Yugoslavia	YUG
Match 3/4	13 Aug 14:00	Denmark	DEN	5 – 3	Great Britain	GBR