THE CLASS SPOKE
— Louis Delblat | 31/05/1928 —

The first round of the Olympic Football Tournament's own competition is over. Yesterday the last two matches of this first phase were played. Spain overcame Mexico quite easily. The latter team was really not an opponent of Spain's size, and the score of 7 goals to 1 could have been amplified if the need had arisen.

The big attraction of the day was the long-awaited match between Holland and Uruguay, who came to defend their Olympic Champion title and try to win it back again. As was to be expected, the game was fierce. The Dutch really played the "match of their lives". But they had to bow to the superior class of the South Americans. They scored a goal in each half, despite the robustness, perhaps excessive, of the sons of the Netherlands. In this match, the referee did not know how to sufficiently calm the ardor of the Dutch players. This is not the first time that we have noticed poor refereeing since the start of the Olympic Tournament. It is an infinite pity. Football is, above all, a scientific game that easily does without brutality or excessive vigor. But the games still need to be managed strictly if we want their result to be in line with sound sporting logic.

Today, the Amsterdam Stadium will not see the footballers. But from tomorrow, Friday, the quarter-finals will begin. The countries admitted to the honor of playing them are: Portugal, Egypt, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium, that is to say two American nations, one African and five European. This is truly a world tournament.