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 the 1942 and 1946 World Cups were cancelled due to World War II. 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 one-match 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.
Host selection
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.
Qualification
Having secured a host nation, FIFA dedicated some time to persuading countries to send their national teams to compete. Italy was of particular interest as the long-standing defending champions, having won the two previous tournaments in 1934 and 1938; however, Italy's national team was weakened severely as most of its starting line-up perished in the Superga air disaster one year before the start of the tournament. The Italians were eventually persuaded to attend, and travelled by boat rather than by plane.Lisi (2007), p. 47
Brazil (the host country) and Italy (the defending champion) qualified automatically, leaving 14 places remaining. Of these, seven were allocated to Europe, six to the Americas, and one to Asia.
Former Axis powers Both Germany (still occupied and partitioned) and Japan (still occupied) were unable to participate. The Japan Football Association (suspended for failure to pay dues in 1945) and the German Football Association (disbanded in 1945 and reorganised in January 1950) were not readmitted to FIFA until September 1950, while the Deutscher Fußball-Verband der DDR in East Germany was not admitted to FIFA until 1952. The French-occupied Saarland had been accepted by FIFA two weeks before the World Cup.
United Kingdom nations The Home Nations were invited to take part, having rejoined FIFA four years earlier, after 17 years of self-imposed exile. It was decided to use the 1949–50 British Home Championship as a qualifying group, with the top two teams qualifying. England finished first and Scotland second.
Scotland had qualified for the tournament as runners-up, but the Scottish Football Association declined the place because it had not finished as British Home Championship winners.
Teams refusing to participate A number of teams refused to participate in the qualifying tournament, including most nations behind the Iron Curtain, such as the Soviet Union, 1934 finalists Czechoslovakia, and 1938 finalists Hungary. Ultimately, Yugoslavia, which had distanced itself from the Soviet Union in 1948, was the only Eastern European nation to take part in the tournament.
Withdrawals during qualification Argentina, Ecuador, and Peru in South America withdrew after the qualifying draw, in Argentina's case because of a dispute with the Brazilian Football Confederation. This meant that Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay qualified from South America by default. In Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Burma all withdrew, leaving India to qualify by default. In Europe, Austria withdrew, claiming its team was too inexperienced. Belgium also withdrew from the qualification tournament. These withdrawals meant that Switzerland and Turkey qualified without having to play their final round of matches.
Qualified teams and withdrawals after qualification The following 16 teams originally qualified for the final tournament:
Asia (0) (withdrew) Africa (0) None qualified
North America (2)
South America (5)
(hosts)
Europe (6) (debut) (withdrew) (holders) (withdrew)
(withdrew)
Before the qualification competition, George Graham, chairman of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), had said that Scotland would only travel to Brazil as winners of the Home Championship. After Scotland ended up in second place behind England,Official Blundering Leads To Scottish Defeat , The Glasgow Herald, 17 April 1950Scots May Yet Take Part In World Cup Series Strong Pressure On Selectors To Change Decision, The Scotsman, 17 April 1950, via London Hearts Supports Club the Scottish captain George Young, encouraged by England captain Billy Wright, pleaded with the SFA to change its mind and accept the place in Brazil; however, Graham refused to change his position and so Scotland withdrew from the tournament.
Turkey also withdrew, citing financial conditions that included the cost of travelling to South America. FIFA invited Portugal, Republic of Ireland, and France, who had been eliminated in qualifying, to fill the gaps left by Scotland and Turkey. Portugal and Republic of Ireland refused, but France initially accepted and was entered into the draw.
Draw and withdrawals after the draw The draw, held in Rio on 22 May 1950, allocated the fifteen remaining teams into four groups:Lisi (2007), pp. 48–49 Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
After the draw, the Indian football association, All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided against going to the World Cup, citing travel costs (although FIFA had agreed to bear a major part of the travel expenses),Fit to Post: Yahoo! India News "Blog Archive Barefoot in Bengal and Other Stories" lack of practice time, team selection problems, and valuing the Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. Although FIFA had imposed a rule banning barefoot play following the 1948 Summer Olympics,Lisi (2007), p. 49 where India had played barefoot, the Indian captain at the time, Sailen Manna, claimed that this was not part of the AIFF's decision. According to Indian sports journalist Jaydeep Basu, India did not participate because the AIFF did not have confidence in its players.
France also withdrew, citing the amount of travel that would be required between the venues of the Group 4 matches. There was not enough time to invite further replacement teams or to reorganise the groups, so the tournament featured only thirteen teams, with just three nations in Group 3 and two nations in Group 4. France's withdrawal, coupled with Belgium's before qualifying and Romania's elimination, meant that Brazil had become the only team to have played in every World Cup from its inauguration in 1930 to date, a mark that has persisted to the present day.
Of the thirteen teams that competed, only one, England, was making its debut. Several of the teams from the Americas were competing for the first time since the inaugural 1930 tournament, including Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Yugoslavia was also making its first appearance since 1930. Spain and the United States qualified for the first time since 1934.
Format A new playing format was proposed by the Brazilian organisers of the tournament to maximise matches and ticket sales since the stadiums and infrastructure had been so costly. 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.Lisi (2007), p. 45 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. Had there been a tie on points for first place in a group, a playoff would have been held to determine the group winner.
The entire tournament was arranged in such a way that the four first-round groups had no geographical basis. Most teams were obliged to cover large distances to complete their programme. However, Brazil was allowed to play two of its three group matches in Rio de Janeiro while its other group game was held in the relatively nearby city of São Paulo.
Summary
A combined Great Britain team had recently beaten the rest of Europe 6–1 in an exhibition match and England went into the competition as one of the favourites; however, they went crashing out after a shock 1–0 defeat by the United States and a 1–0 defeat by Spain. Italy, the defending champions, lost their unbeaten record at the World Cup finals with a 3–2 defeat by Sweden in its opening match and failed to progress to the second round.
The final match in Group 1 between Switzerland and Mexico was the second time a national team did not play in their own kit, the first being 1934 match between Austria and Germany when both teams arrived with white kits, and the Austrians borrowed blue kits from club side Napoli. Both teams arrived with only their red kits, so the Brazilian Football Confederation tossed a coin, with Mexico thus earning the right to play in their own kit, a right they waived as a friendly gesture, allowing the Swiss to wear their own kit while Mexico changed. The local team that lent their shirts was Esporte Clube Cruzeiro from Porto Alegre. The shirts had vertical blue and white stripes.
The final group stage involved the teams that had won their groups: Brazil, Spain, Sweden, and 1930 FIFA World Cup champions Uruguay, who were making their first World Cup appearance since winning the inaugural tournament. The World Cup winner was the team that finished on top of this group. The final group's six matches were shared between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Brazil played all their final group matches at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio while the games that did not involve the host nation were played in São Paulo.