1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 World Cup: the only tournament decided by a final group stage match.
The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first World Cup tournament in 12 years, as World War II had forced the cancellation of the 1942 and 1946 tournaments. It was also the first World Cup tournament held during the Cold War.
Italy, the two-time defending champions, were eliminated in the first round for the first time in history. Uruguay, who had won the inaugural competition in 1930, defeated the host nation, Brazil, in the deciding match of the four-team group of the final round, causing what is sometimes known as one of the biggest upsets in football history, occasionally called the Maracanaço. This was the only tournament not decided by a single knockout final. It was also the inaugural tournament where the trophy was referred to as the Jules Rimet Cup, to mark the 25th anniversary of Jules Rimet's presidency of FIFA.
Quick Facts
- Host nation
- Brazil
- Group stage opponents
- Brazil
- Yugoslavia
- Switzerland
- Result
- Eliminated in first round (finished last in group)
- Only victory
- Mexico 4–0 Switzerland
- Tournament format
- Two-round (group stage + final round of four)
Lore & Background
Because of World War II, the World Cup had not been staged since 1938; the planned World Cups of 1942 and 1946 were both cancelled. After the war, FIFA were keen to resurrect the competition as soon as possible, and they began making plans for a World Cup tournament to take place. In the aftermath of the war, much of Europe lay in ruins. As a result, FIFA had difficulties finding a country interested in hosting the event, since many governments believed that their scarce resources ought to be devoted to more urgent priorities than a sporting tournament.
The World Cup was at risk of not being held for sheer lack of interest from the international community, until Brazil presented a bid at the 1946 FIFA Congress, offering to host the event on condition that the tournament take place in 1950 rather than the originally proposed year of 1949. Brazil and Germany had been the leading bidders to host the cancelled 1942 World Cup; since both the 1934 and 1938 tournaments had been held in Europe, football historians generally agree that the 1942 event would have most likely been awarded to a South American host country. Brazil's new bid was very similar to the mooted 1942 bid and was quickly accepted.
Reader's Guide
The thirteen teams were divided into four first-round groups (or 'pools' as they were then called) of four teams, with the winner of each group advancing to a final group stage, playing in round-robin format to determine the cup winner. A straight knockout tournament, as had been used in 1934 and 1938, would have featured only sixteen games (including the match for third place), while the proposed two rounds of the group format guaranteed thirty games, and thus more ticket revenue. In addition, this format guaranteed each team at least three games, and thus provide more incentive for European teams to make the journey to South America and compete. FIFA originally resisted this proposal, but reconsidered when Brazil threatened to back out of hosting the tournament if this format was not used. In each group, teams were awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
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