After a long hiatus during the Second World War and its immediate aftermath, the FIFA World Cup international soccer tournament returned in 1950, hosted by the country destined to become arguably the sport’s premier superpower – Brazil.
Brazil 1950 – Maracana Shocker
The first post-war World Cup took place in Brazil in 1950. The South American nation had been selected to host the 1942 edition of the competition following their progress to the quarterfinals at France 1938; and following the wartime interruption, Brazil was confirmed as host.
Determined to impress on the world stage, Brazil undertook the building of what was to become one of the true cathedrals of world football – the fêted Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. To expand the competition in line with the majestic scale of the Maracana, the tournament for the first time included a round-robin group stage, allowing for more matches overall and ensuring each team played at least three fixtures.
As host nation, the talented Brazil team proceeded confidently to the final in their sparkling new palace of football, but the expected fairy tale ending had a shocking twist. In one of the most spectacular upsets in World Cup history, 1930’s inaugural champions Uruguay emerged triumphant from years of obscurity to rob the Brazilians of the trophy many thought was theirs for the taking. Premature celebration turned to stunned, deathly silence as over 200,000 spectators in the Maracana witnessed the unthinkable: Uruguay, captained by national hero Obdulio Varela, came back from a goal down to win the final 2-1, and with it, their second World Cup.
Switzerland 1954 – Miracle of Bern
The following World Cup, Switzerland 1954, was to produce another surprise final, with a result that in some ways shaped the fate of international football for years to come.
Germany had been relative minnows in the early days of international football, approaching the “English game” with a modicum of distrust even while neighbours like Austria and Hungary embraced it with an enthusiasm that produced two of the most fabled national teams of the early twentieth century: the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s, spearheaded by Mathias Sindelar, and Hungary’s Magical Magyars of the 1950s, boasting one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Ferenc Puskas.
It was this apparently indomitable Hungary – the same team who had administered a shocking 6-3 defeat to England at Wembley the previous year – who entered the competition favourites. They duly took their place in the final at Bern, opposite surprise finalists West Germany. But the team fêted as one of history’s best was not fated to win soccer’s biggest prize: in a match later dubbed the Miracle of Bern, the West Germans scrappily overcame the favourites 3-2 on a muddy pitch, lifting the profile of the sport in Germany in such a lasting way as to install the Germans as perennial World Cup contenders.
Brazil 1950 – Maracana Shocker
The first post-war World Cup took place in Brazil in 1950. The South American nation had been selected to host the 1942 edition of the competition following their progress to the quarterfinals at France 1938; and following the wartime interruption, Brazil was confirmed as host.
Determined to impress on the world stage, Brazil undertook the building of what was to become one of the true cathedrals of world football – the fêted Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. To expand the competition in line with the majestic scale of the Maracana, the tournament for the first time included a round-robin group stage, allowing for more matches overall and ensuring each team played at least three fixtures.
As host nation, the talented Brazil team proceeded confidently to the final in their sparkling new palace of football, but the expected fairy tale ending had a shocking twist. In one of the most spectacular upsets in World Cup history, 1930’s inaugural champions Uruguay emerged triumphant from years of obscurity to rob the Brazilians of the trophy many thought was theirs for the taking. Premature celebration turned to stunned, deathly silence as over 200,000 spectators in the Maracana witnessed the unthinkable: Uruguay, captained by national hero Obdulio Varela, came back from a goal down to win the final 2-1, and with it, their second World Cup.
Switzerland 1954 – Miracle of Bern
The following World Cup, Switzerland 1954, was to produce another surprise final, with a result that in some ways shaped the fate of international football for years to come.
Germany had been relative minnows in the early days of international football, approaching the “English game” with a modicum of distrust even while neighbours like Austria and Hungary embraced it with an enthusiasm that produced two of the most fabled national teams of the early twentieth century: the Austrian Wunderteam of the 1930s, spearheaded by Mathias Sindelar, and Hungary’s Magical Magyars of the 1950s, boasting one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Ferenc Puskas.
It was this apparently indomitable Hungary – the same team who had administered a shocking 6-3 defeat to England at Wembley the previous year – who entered the competition favourites. They duly took their place in the final at Bern, opposite surprise finalists West Germany. But the team fêted as one of history’s best was not fated to win soccer’s biggest prize: in a match later dubbed the Miracle of Bern, the West Germans scrappily overcame the favourites 3-2 on a muddy pitch, lifting the profile of the sport in Germany in such a lasting way as to install the Germans as perennial World Cup contenders.
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