BRAZIL 1950

Throughout the Second World War the Italian vice-president of Fifa, Dr. Ottorino Barassi, hid the World Cup trophy in a shoe-box under his bed and thus saved it from falling into the hands of occupying troops.

In the first post-war Fifa congress meeting, held on July 25, 1946 in Luxembourg, it was decided that the World Cup trophy was henceforth to be known as the Jules Rimet Cup. The congress also heralded the return of the British associations, absent since 1929. It was to be the Brazilian Sports Confederation, however, whose team had made such an impact on the 1938 World Cup, that was granted the responsibility of hosting the next meet.

The qualifying competition turned into something of a farce with teams qualifying then withdrawing ? and teams already eliminated being offered places. Eventually, only 13 teams participated in the finals. As a result, while two groups consisted of four teams each, Uruguay had only Bolivia to beat to advance.

Brazil presented the biggest stadium ? Maracana ? for the World Cup. Incidentally, on the first of the meet, it wasn’t ready.

Did You Know?

• After an easy victory over Mexico (4-0), the Brazilians, to everybody’s surprise, were held to a draw (2-2) by the Swiss. Yugoslavia, having won their first two matches, needed only a draw against the Brazilians to qualify for the next round. But in front of a fervent 150,000-strong crowd at the Maracana, Brazil ran out winners (2-0). Brazil thus qualified with three other teams, Spain, Uruguay and Sweden, not for the semi-finals, but for a final series of matches in round-robin format, in which England and Italy were surprising absentees.
  
  
• After a week’s rest, the Brazilians ran riot, thrashing Sweden (7-1) and then Spain (6-1). Nobody doubted for a minute that this impressive string of results would continue against Uruguay, who, having drawn against Spain, had just three points to their credit. The Brazilians therefore needed only a draw to become World champions.
  
  
• In front of a capacity crowd, Brazil opened the score just after half-time, but seemed tense and never displayed their characteristic samba-style football. The Uruguayans equalised ? far from being overawed by the partisan crowd ? and then, with just 11 minutes to go, scored the winners.

Off-side

• With already-eliminated teams being offered places in the finals following a string of pull-outs, India were given a chance to make debut. But they had to withdraw because Fifa did not let India play in bare feet.
  
  
• After the ‘final’ match, the Brazilian officials were so deeply shocked that they even forgot to present the Uruguayans with the World Cup trophy. And it was left to Jules Rimet himself to go down onto the pitch in search of the Uruguayan captain to perform the ceremony.
  
  
• A total that is not likely to be equalled ever again is the 174,000 crowd in the Maracana stadium in Rio on 16 July (unofficial sources quote the figure as over 200,000), when the final was staged.
  
  
• Apart from 1958, it was the only World Cup in which the home team reached the final and failed to win the title.
  
  
• A unique record was created by Mexico’s goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal in terms of World Cup final appearances. He represented his country at five World Cups between 1950 and 1966. Eight players have made it four times, but Germany's Lothar Matth?us went one better at France 98 and equalled Carbajal’s record. Matth?us has also played in a total of 25 World Cup final round matches ? another record.

SWITZERLAND 1954

Four years after the frenzy of the Maracana Stadium, the Jules Rimet Trophy returned to Europe to a calmer atmosphere in Switzerland. The field of play, however, produced breathtaking entertainment. This fifth World Cup was unforgettable for its sensational high-scoring games, and a surprise win for the German Federal Republic.

Hungary ? the Magical Magyars ? were the favourites with a team including Puskas, Bozsik, Kocsis and Hidegkuti, unbeaten in 28 internationals and Olympic champions. But after the infamous “Battle of Berne” with Brazil ? three players were sent off and the teams fought afterwards in the dressing rooms ? the Hungarians were rattled.

In the final, after leading 2-0 against West Germany, whom they had beaten 3-8 in the opening round, they went down 2-3.

Following their wins in 1930 and 1950, Uruguay were back for their third appearance and still unbeaten. Playing in the “old” continent for the first time, they had the chance of carrying off the trophy permanently with a third win. That would not come to pass, however.

Did You Know?

• The qualifying rounds featured a higher number of nations than ever before, with the AFC founded in 1954 also including several teams from Asia (Japan and Korea) and Africa (Egypt), giving the event a truly global dimension. Sixteen teams took part in the finals, three more than in Brazil four years earlier. South America was represented by Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico; the Asian qualifier was Korea (the first Asian team having been the Dutch East Indies in 1938), and the Europeans were Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany and Yugoslavia. This figure remained constant until the 1982 World Cup in Spain, when it rose to 24.
  
  
• The quality of football in the games at Basle, Berne, Lausanne, Zurich and Geneva, the five host cities, reached dizzying heights in 1954. In 26 matches, an incredible total of 140 goals was scored, making an average of 5.38 goals per game. Needless to say, this is still the record for the number of goals scored in a World Cup final competition.

Off-side

• On 26 June 1954, the quarter-final match in Lausanne produced more goals than any match before or since, Austria beating Switzerland 7-5, despite the Swiss
  
  being 3-0 ahead at one stage. But the extreme heat took its toll of the home team.
• Gaston Barreau became the oldest coach in World Cup history when he took his team to the tournament at 70. Another school of statisticians suggested that Barreau was one of France selectors, not the coach proper.
  
  
• Kocsis scored two hattricks in the tournament, a feat which was later equalled by Fontaine of France (1958), Muller of Germany (1970) and Gabriel Batistuta of Argentina (1994 and 1998).

SWEDEN 1958

After Switzerland, Sweden was named host country for the 1958 World Cup ? a Cup which, on 16 October 1956, lost its founding father, when Jules Rimet died in Paris at the age of 83. Brazil, inspired by a 17-year-old youngster called Pel?, won the trophy for the first time. Pel? scored against Wales, hit a hattrick in a 5-2 win over France in the semi-finals and struck two more in the final, a 5-2 triumph over the hosts.

Frenchman Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in the tournament, a record which still stands. It was also the first World Cup in which a match ended in a 0-0 draw: the first round game between England and Brazil.

For the first time the Fifa World Cup received international television coverage and the world could watch the mastery of the stars of modern football: Kopa, Fontaine, Charlton, Yashin, Garrincha, Vava and Pel?, who at 17 scored six goals, including two in the final when the Brazilians, at last, were crowned world champions.

Did You Know?

• Though Brazil lifted the coveted trophy for the first time, it was the team from France which caught the public’s eye with their incisive attacking trio of Kopa, Piantoni and Fontaine. They were to garner a string of honours: Best goal-scorer (Just Fontaine 13 goals); best attack (23 goals) and best player, elected by an international panel, Raymond Kopa.
  
  
• France finished top of their group in the first round, scoring 11 goals in three games. The fairy-tale ended in the semi-finals, however, against the favourites Brazil.
  
  
• After consecutive disappointments in 1950 and 1954, the Brazilians set out to make amends. They finished on top of a difficult group, which included Austria (3-0), England (0-0) and the USSR (2-0). Incidentally, Pele made his World Cup debut in that 2-0 win against the Soviet Union in Gothenburg on June 15. Garrincha, “the Little Bird” with the deformed legs and incredible dribbling ability, also made his first appearance in the same match and bamboozled the Soviets as Vava scored twice.
  
  
• In the quarter-finals against Wales, Brazil pegged away for an hour before a stroke of brilliance by a young 17-year old made the difference. This was the first Fifa World Cup goal scored by Pel? ? a star was born.
  
  
• The Swedes’ presence in the final was astonishing in that it was a side built from scratch for the tournament, a great deal of debate having gone on before deciding whether to make professional players in the Italian league eligible for the World Cup.
  
  
• Fifa president Arthur Drewry presented the gold statuette to the Brazilian captain Bellini.

Off-side

• It was the first time a team had won the World Cup outside its own hemisphere, a record that remained intact until Brazil equalled it themselves by winning in Asia in 2002.
  
  
• The sixth World Cup was also to be marked by a record number of countries taking part (55). The qualifying rounds threw up some startling surprises: Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Uruguay and, most unexpectedly, Italy, all failed to qualify. The first round of the finals offered the public the chance to discover new footballing nations such as Wales, Northern Ireland, the USSR and Sweden.
  
  
• England and Scotland were heavily affected by the Munich air crash which killed more than half of the Manchester United squad. Scotland’s part-time manager Matt Busby ? the Manchester coach ? was badly injured in the accident and couldn’t serve his motherland in Sweden.
  
  
• When Pele scored the hattrick against France, he became the youngest to achieve the feat in World Cup history, at 17 years and 244 days.