Dutch East Indies at the FIFA World Cup

Netherlands Indies was one of the participants in the 1938 FIFA World Cup. Brazil and Cuba were the only non-European participants in the World Cup. The Dutch Colony was qualified for the final round without having to play qualifying matches, because opponent Japan withdrew.^{[1] [2]}

Because the mother country of the Netherlands also took part, the Wilhelmus was heard twice at the event. The team consisted only of players from the Nederlandsch-Indische Voetbal Unie (NIVU) and the Dutch association chairman Johannes Mastenbroek acted as trainer. The indigenous association PSSI, with which the NIVU collaborated, was not represented and among the players there were several of Chinese descent. The 1938 participation was the only one in the history of the Dutch East Indies. In 1950, at the next World Cup, the colony was now independent and the country was called Indonesia. After independence, Indonesia has never managed to qualify for a final round.