The 1950 World Cup

The Maracanazo

Rising from the ashes of World War II, football returned to life 12 years after its last celebration in France 1938, and this time, the host was Brazil.

Participating Teams: 13

Spain
England
Italy
Sweden
Switzerland
Yugoslavia
Brazil
Chile
United States
Mexico
Paraguay
Uruguay
India (withdrew from the tournament)

The host country, Brazil, was on a winning streak, scoring big victories in every match. They were set to debut their new stadium, the largest in the world, "Maracanã," in what was expected to be a final that was theirs to win... but it never happened.

The Brazilians managed to secure the host spot with the promise of building the biggest stadium in the world, the Maracanã, and they completed it in a record time of just 1 year and 8 months. The Maracanã was ready and could hold up to 220,000 spectators.

The entire country came to a standstill for the sporting event, already crowning Brazil as the champions. Throughout the country, signs read "World Champions," but instead, the 1950 World Cup ended as Brazil's greatest sporting tragedy.

The Final: Brazil vs. Uruguay

In the second half, Friaca opened the scoring, putting Brazil 1-0 ahead. The stadium went wild. But the Uruguayans did not lose hope and, in the 67th minute, equalized with a goal from Schiaffino, to the astonishment of 208,000 spectators. The tragedy struck in the 79th minute when Ghiggia scored the decisive goal, making it 2-1 for Uruguay, securing their second title. Commentators described the loss as "the greatest tragedy in Brazilian history," leading many to deep sorrow and even suicide.

Key Figures:

Moacyr Barbosa (Brazil): Considered the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Obdulio Varela (Uruguay): The Uruguayan captain, a key figure.
Ademir de Mendes Marques (Brazil): Scored 9 goals.
Juan Alberto Schiaffino (Uruguay): The mastermind behind Uruguay's victory, scoring the first goal and assisting on the second.

Anecdotes:

FIFA banned Germany from playing for obvious reasons (the War).
India withdrew despite qualifying, for reasons such as:
- FIFA did not allow them to play barefoot.
- The country could not afford the team's travel expenses.

Final Standings: