The Low Countries

Intrepid spectators at a Belgium v Netherlands match, Antwerp, 1913.

During our era (pre 1937) the neighbours from the Low Countries played each other 54 times. (Argentina and Uruguay had played each other an incredible 132 times during this period, Austria and Hungary 81 and the originators, England and Scotland  met 61 times). 
The first meeting was Belgium's 2nd international, first for the Netherlands. Both countries were founding members of FIFA.
In the very first meeting The Coupe van den Abeele was contested, having previously been played for by representative XIs of the 2 countries in matches that are nor recognized as full internationals. The 'cup tie' status of these matches explains why extra time was played on 3 occasions .  The Coupe van den Abeele was played for when the teams met in Belgium. When the Netherlands were hosts the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad Beker was the prize. 
The high scoring first meeting  (Netherlands winning 4-1 in extra time) set the tone-  the first 54 fixtures produced an average 3.9 goals a game. 

	Wins	Goals
Belgium	16	89
Netherlands	28	122
Drawn	10

14.05.05- a newspaper illustration shows  Eric Thornton saving a shot.

Netherlands 1905- white shirts with a red white and blue sash motif.

14.05.05- Thornton in the Belgian goal- Netherlands attacking. 

Pre 1937 the 2 sides also met twice in Olympic Games matches. In 1920 at Antwerp Belgium, on their way to gold, beat Netherlands 3-0 in the semi final. In 1928 at Rotterdam in the consolation tournament  (recognized by FIFA but not by the IOC) Netherlands won 3-1.

Netherlands also came out on top of the World Cup qualifying match played in Antwerp in  1934, winning 4-2. Both teams qualified for the Finals out of a 3 team group.

World Cup Qualifiers

If, like me, you come from a country that falls in to the category of  international minnows, World Cup Qualifiers is a phrase that conjures up memories and expectations of frustration or humiliation. We watch the big countries contesting the prizes whereas to us even qualifying for a major tournament would be like lifting the World Cup itself.
The Qualifying process was introduced by FIFA  for the 1934 tournament, 32 teams entering (FIFA had more sense then, and limited the finals to 16 teams for the purposes of logistics and quality).
So, let's look at the first 16 teams to experience the ignominy of  'not qualifying for the World Cup'.
Firstly, some absences can be explained by reason of not entering- England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (ie Northern Ireland- Irish football history is complex) did not deign to enter. Bolivia and Paraguay who both featured in 1930, did not enter.Uruguay, World Champions- refused to enter in response to Europe's poor show at the 1930 tournament.
Italy, on the other hand, who have been accused of having the tournament virtually sewn up before a ball was kicked, had to qualify.

Europe
21 teams in 8 groups contested 12 places

Group 1 was a northern European affair- Sweden progressed after beating both Estonia and Lithuania , who pragmatically decided not to bother playing their fixture as neither of them could qualify.
Group 2 pitted Spain against Portugal. A 9-0 defeat in the first leg ensured that Portugal missed out on the World Cup. 
Group 3 was another 2 team affair- hosts Italy beat Greece 4-0 in Milan and Greece withdrew just to be on the safe side. 
Group 4 saw Bulgaria withdrawing, making qualification for Austria and Hungary a formality. 
Group 5- Czechoslovakia progressed after Poland withdrew after the first leg of their qualification tie.  
Group 6- Yugoslavia were eliminated after defeats at the hands of Switzerland and Romania. 
Group 7- The Irish Free State (predecessors of the ROI) were grouped with the relatively hugely experienced Netherlands and Belgium and yet were eliminated only on goal average. 

 Luxembourg v France

 Luxembourg v Germany

Group 8- probably the earliest 'minnows', Luxembourg were grouped with Germany and France. In fairness to the Red Lions they scored in both their games, losing 9-1 to Germany and 6-1 to France, who then didn't bother playing each other having already qualified. 

South America
The 2  groups (9&10) were non events, Peru and Chile withdrawing, allowing Brazil and Argentina a clear route to Italy. Bolivia and Paraguay who both featured in 1930, did not enter. 

Central/ North America
Group 11 was the sort of convoluted path to qualification that we still see today.
Haiti played Cuba in a 3 match series (all held in Haiti) and were eliminated (L 2 D 1)
Cuba then traveled to Mexico and were eliminated (L 3)

Mexico traveled to Rome and played USA in a play off to settle the final qualification place. 
A 4-2 defeat saw Mexico eliminated. 

Other

Group 12 was a middle eastern arrangement. Turkey withdrew. Palestine, (British Mandate), forerunners of the modern Israel, were eliminated over 2 legs by Egypt.