Introduction
A brief history of the world’s most famous game
The FIFA World Cup is an international soccer competition that takes place every four years. It is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated television audience of over 3.5 billion people.
Here is a brief history of the world’s most famous game.
Early years
There were just 13 teams who took part in the tournament, all of whom were from either South America or Europe. The format was simple: each team played the other once, with the top two going through to the semi-finals.
Uruguay went on to win the tournament, defeating Argentina 4-2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo.
Brazil made their debut in this tournament and went on to reach the final, where they lost 2-1 to Italy after extra time.
The first world cup
Thirteen teams from around the world participated in the event. The Uruguay team won the cup, defeating Argentina in the final game.
Once again, thirteen teams took part in the event.
The final game was between Brazil and Uruguay, with Brazil coming out on top.
Once again, thirteen teams participated. This time, however, there were no upsets: Brazil won the cup, defeating Hungary in the final game.
This time, sixteen teams participated. Once again, there were no upsets: Brazil won the cup, defeating Sweden in the final game.
Twenty-one teams participated this time around. There were some upsets early on but none in the end: Brazil won the cup, defeating Czechoslovakia in the final game
The second world cup
The second world cup was held in Italy in 1934 and saw the rise of a new star, on the pitch at least. Paolo Rossi was born in Prato in 1956, the year that Italy last won the World Cup. He started his career with Juventus, before moving to AC Milan, where he won the European Cup twice. He also played for Perugia and Vicenza. At the international level, he played for Italy at the 1978 and 1982 World Cups, as well as Euro 1980. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time.
The third world cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the third FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup to be held in South America and the first to be held outside Europe. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930. fifa.com
The fourth world cup
A brief history of the world’s most famous game
This was the first world cup held in South America, and the first time a team from outside Europe or the Americas had won the tournament.
The fifth world cup
The team, led by their captain, Juarez Soares, went on to win the world cup, beating Uruguay 2-1 in the final.
It was a momentous achievement for Brazilian football and the country as a whole. The whole of Brazil celebrated their victory, and the team returned home to a hero’s welcome. The success of the 1950 team inspired a generation of Brazilian players, who would go on to dominate world football in the years that followed.
The sixth world cup
It was the first world cup held in a South American country. The host country, Brazil, had been struggling to establish itself as a footballing nation.
They also failed to qualify for the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. Despite their lack of success on the international stage, Brazil was still the favourite to win the 1950 World Cup.
The format of the 1950 World Cup was different to previous tournaments. Instead of having teams play each other in a group stage, there was a preliminary round where teams from Asia and Africa played each other in a mini-tournament. The winners of that tournament, India and Egypt, then played each other for a place in the main tournament. India withdrew from the match, so Egypt automatically qualified for the main tournament.
In the main tournament, there were four groups of three teams. The winners of each group would go through to the semi-finals. Brazil was in Group 3 with Yugoslavia and Spain. They won their first game against Yugoslavia 2-0, and then they beat Spain 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ademir. That meant they won their group and qualified for the semi-finals where they would play France…
The seventh world cup
The seventh world cup was held in Brazil in 1950. This world cup is remembered for several things. Finally, it was the first world cup where a team from outside of Europe or South America won the tournament – Uruguay defeating Brazil in the final.
The eighth world cup
In 2014, Brazil hosted the eighth world cup. They had previously hosted the event in 1950 and 1954, but this would be the first time since then.
In the lead-up to the tournament, there were several controversies, including concerns about the high cost of hosting the event and allegations of corruption.
The Brazilian team won plaudits for their performances throughout the tournament, and there were some memorable moments, including Neymar’s last-minute goal against Cameroon and Luis Suarez’s dramatic bite on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.
Nevertheless, Brazil can be proud of its hosting performance and will no doubt be hoping to repeat its success when it hosts the Olympics in 2016.
The ninth world cup
The ninth world cup was held in Chile in 1930. This was the first world cup to be held outside Europe. Uruguay was the winner, beating Argentina in the final.
Italy beat Czechoslovakia in the final, becoming the first team to retain their title.
Italy beat Hungary in the final, becoming the first team to win three world cups.
Brazil was the host and they went on to win the tournament, beating Uruguay in the final.
West Germany won their first-ever title, beating Hungary in the final.
Brazil won their second title, beating Sweden 5-2 in the final. This is Brazilian football legend Pelé’s first World Cup appearance; he would go on to score twice during Brazil’s victory.
Some countries threatened to pull out, but eventually, all of them took part. Brazil won their third title, beating Czechoslovakia 3-1 in extra time after being 1-0 down at the half time
The tenth world cup
A brief history of the world’s most famous game
With new participants from Asia and Africa, the number of teams had increased to sixteen. Once again, Brazil triumphed, this time beating Italy 4-1 in the final. Pele scored a brace in what was to be his last World Cup appearance.
The eleventh world cup
The host country won the cup by defeating the Netherlands 2-1 in the final.
A total of 16 nations took part in the 1974 world cup, including first-time qualifiers Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo) and Australia.
This means that each team played a minimum of three games to progress to the knockout stages.
One of the most iconic moments came in the final itself when Dutch midfielder Johan Cruyff performed his famous “Cruyff turn” to deceive a defender and set up a Netherlands goal.
The twelfth world cup
The twelfth world cup was held in Brazil in 2014. It was the second time that Brazil had hosted the event, the first being in 1950.
The 2014 world cup was won by Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the final. This was Germany’s fourth world cup win and their first since 1990.
This resulted in a lot of disappointment and anger from Brazilian fans, many of whom turned to violence after the game.
The thirteenth world cup
This year’s world cup in Brazil is the thirteenth tournament in the history of the event.
The only continent to have hosted the tournament more than once is Europe, which has hosted it ten times. Brazil has hosted the tournament five times, more than any other country. This year’s tournament is the second time that Brazil has hosted the event in consecutive years; the first time was in 1950 and 1954.
The format of the tournament has changed several times over its history. The number of teams competing increased from 13 in 1930 to 32 in 1998. The number of teams qualifying from each continent has also increased over time. In 1930, only four teams qualified from Europe; by 2014, that number had increased to 14.
The format of the tournament has also changed several times.
The fourteenth world cup
The fourteenth world cup was held in Brazil from June to July 1950. Brazil had been one of the strongest teams in the pre-war years, and they were the favourites to win the trophy.
The winners of each group would progress to the semi-finals, with the two winners meeting in the final.
Brazil went into the tournament as favourites, and they lived up to their billing by winning all three of their group games. They then beat Uruguay 2-1 in the semi-final, thanks to a last-minute goal from centre-forward Ademir. In the other semi-final, Italy beat Sweden 3-2 after extra time.
An estimated 200,000 people crammed into the stadium to watch the game, which became known as the “Maracanazo”. Brazil took an early lead through Friaça, but Italy equalised through Schiaffino just before half-time.
Five minutes into the second half, Puskás put Hungary ahead with a magnificent volley.
With five minutes left to play, Puskás scored his second goal of the game to give Hungary a 3-2 lead. However, there was still time for one more twist in this extraordinary game: in injury time, Alcides Ghiggia crossed for Uruguay centre-forward Juan Schiaffino to score with a diving header and make it 4-2 for Uruguay.
It was one of the greatest upsets in football history, and Brazil would not win another World Cup until 1958.
The fifteenth world cup
The 2014 edition of the tournament was no different, with the Selecao coming out on top once again.
The game has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 1930 when just thirteen teams took part.
With such a rich history, it’s no wonder that the world cup is such an important event for both Brazil and the wider world. Here’s a brief rundown of some of the key moments in Brazil’s world cup history.
The Selecao reach the semi-finals, where they lose to eventual champions Uruguay.
Unfortunately, they are once again knocked out in the semi-finals, this time by eventual winners Uruguay.
1958: Brazil finally gets their hands on the trophy for the first time, beating hosts Sweden 5-2 in the final. Pele, who would go on to become one of the greatest players of all time, scores twice in what is an incredibly popular victory back home.
1970: As defending champions, Brazil headed into the 1970 tournament as favourites. They won’t disappoint, winning all seven of their games to retain their title in style. Pele scores four goals as Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in the final to cement their place as one of the greatest teams of all time.
1982: Despite being one of the favourites heading into the 1982 tournament, Brazil crashed out shockingly, failing to make it past the second round. It remains one of their poorest showings at a World Cup to date.
1994: After a twelve-year wait, Brazil finally lifts the trophy once again at USA ’94. They beat Italy on penalties in a dramatic final after Roberto Baggio missed his spot-kick for
The current world cup
A brief history of the world’s most famous game
The current world cup is the 21st edition of the tournament and is being held in Brazil. This is the second time that the country has hosted the event, with the first occasion being in 1950.
Also Check: Pele: the undisputed king of football