1950 World Cup USA 1-0 England

Lore & Background

England were heavy favorites against a hastily assembled U.S. team composed of part-time players. The U.S. team had lost their last seven international matches by a combined score of 45–2. England had a post-war record of 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws. The odds were 3–1 that England would win the Cup, and 500–1 for the U.S. The game and the U.S. team were profiled by author Geoffrey Douglas in his book The Game of Their Lives, which was made into a film of the same name (later renamed The Miracle Match).

In Their Own Story

Within ninety seconds, Stanley Mortensen sent a cross to Roy Bentley, whose shot was barely pushed aside by U.S. goalkeeper Frank Borghi. By the 12th minute, England had six clear shots on goal but could not convert, with two shots hitting the post and another brilliantly saved by Borghi. In the 37th minute, Walter Bahr took a long shot from 25 yards out. As English goalkeeper Bert Williams moved to his right, Joe Gaetjens dived headlong near the penalty spot, grazing the ball enough to put it to Williams' left, into the net. The crowd exploded. In the second half, with eight minutes left, Charlie Colombo brought down Mortensen at the edge of the penalty area. England pleaded for a penalty, but the referee ruled it outside the box. From Alf Ramsey's free kick, Jimmy Mullen headed the ball, but Borghi tipped it away at the last instant. Despite English protests, the referee ruled the ball had not crossed the line. The U.S. had one final chance in the 85th minute: Frank 'Peewee' Wallace drew Williams out of position and fired at the empty net, only to be denied by a sliding goal line clearance by Ramsey. The final whistle brought a deafening roar from the Brazilian crowd.

Reader's Guide

The match was England's World Cup debut. Both teams were in Group 2 along with Spain and Chile. England had beaten Chile 2–0, and the U.S. had lost 3–1 to Spain before this match. England had Stanley Matthews available but he did not play; the selection committee opted to stay with the team that had defeated Chile. No substitutes were allowed. The U.S. team consisted of semi-professional players, most with other jobs. The crowd initially numbered 10,000, with 3,000 tickets distributed to associates of the then-owners of the stadium. Brazilian locals mostly supported the underdog Americans.

Did You Know?

• Joe Gaetjens, who scored the only goal, was Haitian-born and not a U.S. citizen at the time.
• The U.S. team had trained together only once before leaving for Brazil.
• England's Stanley Matthews watched the game with the reserves because the selection committee chose to save him for later opponents.
• The match is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.