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World Cup : 1950
posted Jun-02 | 347 hits
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Background
The fourth World Cup was hosted by Brazil in 1950 as the South American nation was the only one to make a formal bid as the world recovered from war. From June 24 to July 16, all eyes were on the South American nation.
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The Tournament
With sixteen countries qualifying, the tournament was small by today’s
standards and became smaller as three pulled out but interest was
enormous with an average attendance of around 60,000 – a figure only
bettered by the 1994 World Cup in America which attracted an amazing
average of 68,991.
There was no final in this World Cup, the only time that this has
happened. The four group winners progressed to a final group of four.
The winner of that was the champion. It just so happened that the final
match of the group proved to be the decider.
First round
In Group One were Brazil, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Mexico. The Mexicans collected no points and conceded ten goals before heading home but the remaining trio was more closely matched. Brazil was the strongest however and thrashed Mexico, defeated Yugoslavia 2-0 and drew with the Swiss. Few teams could handle the Brazil’s striker Ademir who finished the tournament as top scorer with nine goals.
The strongest team in Group Two was Spain who took maximum points. The story of the group however was the 1-0 victory by the United States over a highly-fancied England team. It remains one of the great World Cup shocks. England were soon heading home.
Group Three consisted of just three teams after India, qualifying for the first, and to date only, time, refused to travel as FIFA wouldn’t let the South Asians play barefooted.
The group was tight with Sweden squeezing into top after defeating Italy, the defending champions had been weakened after a number of regulars were killed in the 1949 Superga Air Disaster when a plane carrying the great Torino team went down, 3-2 in a thriller and then drawing against Paraguay.
Group Four was even smaller after Scotland and Turkey withdrew. The Scots had said that they would only participate as British champions and so decided to stay home after England took the prize earlier in the year.
This left just 90 minutes of group action for Uruguay and Bolivia and it wasn’t pleasant for fans back in La Paz as Uruguay won 8-0.
Final Group
Brazil, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay fought it out. Uruguay and the hosts were the favorites though Brazil were also looking unstoppable.
Sweden and Spain were the outsiders and so it proved. Brazil defeated Sweden 7-1 four from Ademir who then got two as Spain were thrashed 6-1 to send a message to their rivals. Uruguay could only draw against Spain and squeeze past Sweden.
The final
It turned out that the last match of the final group stage was, a de facto final between Brazil and Uruguay. Over 200,000 crammed into the newly-built Maracana Stadium to see Brazil get the draw that would lift the World Cup. Instead, it was Uruguay that won the game 2-1 after falling behind to the hosts and it was that man Ghiggia who got the decisive goal.
Heroes and Villians
Alcides Ghiggia was the hero for Uruguay. The slight winger scored the winning goal in the most important match of the tournament and apart from Brazil’s Jairzinho in 1970, he remains the only player to score in every match of the World Cup.
Uruguay’s triumph owed much to the sharpshooter. Spain’s Telmo Zarra shone in South America, scoring in every group match though none scored as many as Brazil’s Ademir who found the back of the net nine times.
As for villains, the teams that failed to participate let the side down a little.
The Games to remember
The World Cup in 1950 was a tournament with a lot of goals. Uruguay – Bolivia ended 8-0. This was the only game in Group D after Scotland and Turkey decided to withdraw. Juan Lopez’s men scored four in each half to send Bolivia home after just 90 minutes.
Also the last match between Brazil and Uruguay is one that will never be forgotten. Brazil was the favourite after thrashing the Swedes and the Spanish. Almost 200,000 people were in the Maracana Stadium and they saw their heroes take the lead after 47 minutes. Schiaffino scored the equalizer around the hour and ten minutes before time, Ghiggia got the winner.
Top scorers
9 – Ademir (Brazil)
5 – Oscar Miguez (Uruguay)
5 – Estenislao Basora (Spain)
4 – Chico (Brazil)
4 – Telmo Zarra (Spain)
4 – Alcides Ghiggia (Uruguay)
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