Next in line is another iconic game that illustrates the importance of soccer for whole countries. In 1950, Brazil hosted the World Cup after 12 years in which the tournament was canceled because of World War II.
Politics often get in the way of soccer and sports, in general, so the return of the competition was a big relief for the fans from all over the globe.
Brazil was given the honor to host the World Cup, as most of Europe was still in ruins. The home country took the task with a lot of ambition, building the largest soccer venue the world has ever seen – the Maracana stadium.
While it wasn’t completely finished for the World Cup, it was still mighty impressive and nothing like the world had ever seen before. Brazil was hoping to lift the trophy, and the fact that a bunch of teams refused to travel for the competition for various reasons made the home side an overwhelming favorite.
It breezed through the group stages and reached the next phase. For the first and last time in the World Cup’s history, there were no knockouts. Instead, the best four teams after the group stage played against each other, and the one to win the most points would lift the cup.
Brazil beat Spain 6-1 and Sweden 7-1 in the first two games, confirming its dominance. The final opponent, Uruguay, barely beat Spain and drew against Sweden. As a result, Brazil needed a draw in the final game against fellow South Americans to win the cup.
Considering the performance of both teams so far in the tournament and the home advantage, this seemed inevitable. The final match of the 1950 World Cup was played in front of more than 200,000 Brazilian fans who came to see their country dominate and seal the deal.
The press and the whole world expected Brazil to be crowned, and this served as an enormous motivational boost for their opponents. No one believed that Uruguay could upset the odds, which made the players angry and desperate to go out there and win.
The start was great for Brazil, as the hosts went ahead, which pleased the crowd. However, Uruguay got back in the game in the 66th minute when Alcides Ghiggia crossed from the flank and Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalized.
The pressure started building, and the unthinkable happened about 15 minutes later. Ghiggia was pushing from a similar position, and the Brazilian goalkeeper Barbosa, who was voted the best player in this position, decided that the Uruguayan winger would once again cross, and Barbosa made a positional mistake.
Ghiggia took full advantage and scored the winning goal for the visitors. Uruguay won 2-1, and this was probably the biggest heartbreak in soccer history. Brazil couldn’t believe it, and goalkeeper Barbosa would spend the rest of his days as one of the biggest villains in the country.
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