Mundial: An alternative history of the Football World Cup

[Will Lucky]

Very much enjoying this also.

 

[Pete U]

Enjoying this a lot, lots of nice wrinkles

 

[morbidteaparty]

Football in wartime and the aftermath of conflict

The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in late 1938, several months after the Italian triumph in Berlin, put paid to international football in Central Europe, though the British Home Nations continued as did friendly matches between neutral nations. By the time that the conflict had expanded to encapsulate most of Europe, however, most domestic and international football was suspended, though in the United Kingdom a series of War Leagues and Cups were established to try and maintain morale on the Home Front. Outside of Europe, most notably in the Americas, football continued as it had before the outbreak of world war, with the South American Championship and the semi-regular matches between the US national side and their Mexican and Canadian neighbours continuing as before.

As the war ground on, football in occupied territories found itself used as a tool of political control, with Jewish sides, players and administrators banned by the German and Axis affiliated authorities in occupied territories across Europe. Pre-war footballing stars such as Matthias Sindelar who had refused to leave Austria following Germany’s occupation and annexation, helped Austrian Jews and other undesirables flee the country, while Polish international goalkeeper Edward Madejski joined the Polish Army and served with distinction in the Polish Army in France and North Africa.

Football was also the scene of great tragedy during the conflict as well – with both the Allies and Axis powers committing atrocities linked to the sport, the most infamous of which was the torture and eventual execution of several members of the Dynamo Kyiv side by the SS in early 1943. One of the lesser-known tragedies of the conflict saw a football match in the Philippines accidentally bombed by the Americans, a tragedy later turned into an award-winning film in the 1960s.

Despite the conflict itself, and even in warzones, football continued to be played between servicemen, civilians, POWs across almost all theatres of war. In the UK, the War Cup, had huge attendances, despite the risk of Luftwaffe bombing.[1] The Home Championship was revived as wartime internationals, and occupied nations whose governments-in-exile had relocated to London, also formed national sides. The success of these wartime internationals, and the closer links between the British associations and their European counterparts, saw the British Associations agree to rejoin FIFA once the war was concluded and to participate in the World Cup, with two British representatives (to be decided by a vote by the Home Nation associations) joining the FIFA committee as Vice-Chairs, thus finally ending the British isolationism from the World Cup.

Post-war

The war’s official end in Europe in early 1945 and in Asia later that same year following the invasion of Japan saw a world full of new nations and borders, with FIFA’s membership expanding rapidly in the aftermath of the war, including in Asia, Africa and the Americas, while associations in Europe in some cases represented new polities or ceased to exist at all. FIFA’s congress of 1937 had established that the next World Cup after 1938 would return to South America[2] with the following tournament to return to Europe. Conflicts between the wartime Allies over the redrawing of Europe initially hamstrung attempts to decide a host but following the first post-war FIFA Congress in 1946 it was confirmed that Brazil would host in 1950 and France would host in 1954. The Congress also suspended the FIFA memberships of Germany, Japan and Austria, though Italy which had switched sides in early 1943 and was now firmly in the Western Allies camp was allowed to retain membership.

Much like Europe, Asia had also been redrawn – Korea, which had been occupied by Japan for over thirty years had been liberated by the Soviets, who established a Popular Front government under the premiership of Lyuh Woon-hyung. Following final recognition in 1948, Korea joined both the UN and FIFA, playing their first FIFA sanctioned match against the Republic of China that same year. In contrast to the fait accompli the Soviets had presented the Americans over Korea, the case of the two Chinas proved somewhat more problematic for both the diplomatic and footballing worlds to resolve, with a communist state in Manchuria[3] and the pre-existing Republic both claiming ownership of China and its state symbols. While the diplomatic situation would remain largely unresolved for decades, the footballing situation would largely be concluded by the late 1950s, with both Chinese football associations admitted to the Asian Football Union upon its creation in 1948.[4] Indeed, it was Asia that saw the biggest splits as new national sides formed in the Middle East following the unilateral declaration of a Jewish state in Palestine and subsequent war which ended in a bloody ceasefire in 1949.[5] The early stages of decolonisation in Asia, following the defeat of Japan saw the formation of other football associations, though only India and Burma, both granted independence by the British Labour government joined FIFA upon independence.

FIFA’s final expansion of members in the immediate aftermath of the end of war would be in Africa and the Pacific with the British Dominions of Australia and New Zealand joining their counterparts in South Africa and Canada[6] in joining FIFA alongside Newfoundland who had returned to responsible government following a referendum in 1947. Initially not wanting to join the Asian Football Union, the Trans-Tasman neighbours established the Confederation of Pacific Football Associations, though this body would eventually merge in with the AFU in the 1960s to form the Asia-Pacific Football Union.[7]

The rapid expansion of memberships across the globe in the aftermath of the Second World War saw FIFA recognise the growing need for continental and regional governing bodies, something which had long been practised in the Americas following the formation of the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (or CSF) in 1916 and the establishment of the Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (CCCF) in 1935 and the Confederation of North American Football Associations (CNAFA) in 1940. This model, was adapted in Asia in 1947 with the Asian Football Union established in 1948, initially covering East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, with the Arab world establishing its own governing body in the early 1950s.

In Africa, the slow pace of decolonisation compared to Asia, somewhat hindered the formation of fully independent footballing associations, though following meetings at the FIFA congress of 1949, held in Lisbon, it was agreed between South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Liberia, Sudan and Libya to form an African football confederation, initially headquartered in Addis Ababa. Despite the formation of the confederation however, FIFA recognition (despite support from the British delegation) of Africa as an independent qualification zone would be delayed until the 1950s, largely due to opposition from Europe and South America.

Rebuilding Europe

The final governing confederation to be formed was in Europe itself – a ruined continent faced with rebuilding in the aftermath of the most destructive war in history, as well as the trauma of mass genocides, football was something of an after-thought. The murder of four million Jews and other undesirables impacted football in Central and Eastern Europe in particular massively, as clubs that been established by Jewish communities, or had longstanding Jewish links were liquidated, though in countries not as effected by the Holocaust such as the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France and Italy the pre-war Jewish footballing communities continued to thrive. The establishment of Israel and the encouragement of European emigration by nations such as Australia, Rhodesia, South Africa and the US would begin to erode these pre-existing footballing communities, which in other countries were completely wiped out.

The realignment of Europe in the aftermath of the war was reflected in football as well as the new borders, with Poland, Bulgaria and Romania firmly within the Soviet sphere, their football associations and clubs were reorganised to better reflect the new reality, while the previously independent Baltic states were integrated into the USSR. This eastern bloc, initially also included Yugoslavia and Albania, though manoeuvring by the Yugoslav leadership saw them establish effective independence from Moscow, bringing Albania into their orbit as well. However, like their Soviet-aligned counterparts, football was reorganised to better reflect the needs of the state, and newly formed football associations were accepted by FIFA in due course.

In contrast to the fluctuations of the east, following the conclusions of the various treaties and conferences between the wartime allies over the course of 1944, 1945 and 1946, Central Europe was largely restored to its prewar state, though Germany while remaining a unified entity was shed of territory in the east and west and remained under occupation until 1949, whereupon the German Republic was formally recognised. While never formally removed from the organisation, FIFA would suspend Germany’s football association until 1951.

A newly independent Austria was also suspended from FIFA, and remained under Allied occupation though this would end sooner than their German neighbours, and the country’s FA would be readmitted to FIFA by 1948. Czechoslovakia and Hungary, both of whom had been pre-eminent sides in the 1930s, both found themselves in flux in the aftermath of war. Czechoslovakia, which had fought a bloody war to preserve its independence in the face of National Socialist aggression, reformed with a new constitution and the establishment of a true federal system with separate parliaments for the Czech and Slovak territories. The pre-eminence of Germans in several football clubs in Prague returned, while the Jewish footballing community found itself rebuilding in the aftermath of the traumatic wartime experiences, and a sense of normality would begin to return to the national game, though much like their neighbours, the national side would take a while to recover.

In Hungary, the great survivors of the war[8] a new national government was established, with the Kingdom that wasn’t a Kingdom formally abolished, though many of its leading lights would remain in the country. This new government, like many of those established in the aftermath of the war, took an interest in football, and the national side soon began playing matches again, incidentally becoming the first opponent of the newly reconstituted German national side in 1949, while the pre-eminent Budapest teams which had regularly toured overseas in the interwar years began to tour again, with MTK following the Soviet Dynamo Moscow side in a tour of Britian, where their fluid playing style was widely commented on in the British press.[9]

In Western Europe football soon returned to a degree of normality, with the British wartime championships abandoned in favour of bring back the respective football leagues in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while the Home Nations Championship returned to normality as well. The same could not be said for the rest of Western Europe – Spain, who’s civil war ground to a halt in the early 1940s, was only finally emerging from bloody conflict, with the country’s republican government faced with more pressing concerns than football, though the national side would commence a goodwill tour in the aftermath and would become of a mainstay at international tournaments. In France, the Low Countries and Scandinavia, football began to be rebuilt, and the respective national sides and club competitions began to re-emerge as their respective nations rebuilt with American aid. FIFA, returned to its Parisian headquarters, while several international treaty organisations headquartered themselves in Brussels, marking Francophone Europe as a renewed international hub.[10]

Italy, the pre-eminent footballing nation in continental Europe, had like the Hungarians, entered initially on the German side, experienced some early victories, and in the face of overwhelming evidence of a German defeat, switched sides and government, with Mussolini’s regime being deposed and a new government under Marshal Enrico Caviglia signing a treaty with the Allies and switching sides.[11] The switch, saw a new front open in Italy, and while the fighting was some of the bloodiest of the war, the Allies success in breaking through German positions in the north of the country hastened the conflicts end. Italy emerged from the conflict with its constitutional monarchy restored, a new political system and its love for football undimmed, with Serie A and calcio returning to the glorious stadiums the fascist regime had built. The establishment of new multilateral organisations, both military and a loose economic body, in Western and non-aligned Europe was mirrored in football – the UAEF[12] was founded in 1949, with the majority of European nations (including the British FAs) joining, making it the first truly pan-European postwar organisation.

FIFA membership by 1950

The revisioning of the world’s borders was reflected by FIFAs membership which had expanded massively in the aftermath of the Second World War and subsequent conflicts – it would continue to expand as decolonisation became a greater reality across the globe. By the time of the first world cup to be held in the aftermath of the war, FIFA could reasonably argue to being second only to the UN as the largest membership body in the world.[13] At the time of the 1950 FIFA Congress, held to coincide with the completion of the world cup in Brazil its members included[14]:

• Afghanistan
• Albania
• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Burma
• Canada
• Chile
• Republic of China
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Czechoslovakia
• Denmark
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador
• England
• Ethiopia
• Finland
• France
• Germany (suspended until 1951)
• Greece
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Iran
• Iraq
• Irish Free State
• Italy
• Japan (suspended until 1952)
• Jordan
• Korea
• Lebanon
• Luxembourg
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Newfoundland
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Northern Ireland
• Norway
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Scotland
• Siam
• South Africa[15]
• Soviet Union
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria
• Turkey
• United States
• Uruguay
• Yugoslavia
• Wales

While still predominated by the nations of Europe and South America, the postwar expansion of membership would see both FIFA and the World Cup become a truly global centrepiece.

---

[1] Several football stadiums suffered wartime bomb damage
[2] Originally planned for 1942.
[3] Recognised by the Soviets but not recognised by the Western Allies.
[4] Recognising the reality of the situation, FIFA officially accepted the Peoples Republic of China’s application for membership in 1957, despite protests from the Republic of China FA.
[5] While the war itself and the subsequent peace process are beyond the scope of this work, the peace treaty which established a tripartite solution with a Jewish state established on the coast and most of the south, with the originally envisioned Arab state divided between Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, while the UN (in practice the Security Council) would administer Jerusalem as a neutral unaligned territory. In the aftermath, the State of Israel would join both the UN and FIFA, the latter membership generally being seen as a continuation of that of the Mandatory Palestine national team.
[6] Both of whom had joined in 1912 and 1913 respectively, making them the oldest and second oldest member associations in their respective continents.
[7] Due to sheer size of the new governing body, which would expand further once decolonisation fully spread to the South Pacific, for practical reasons the Australasian sides, along with Israel, would be grouped with those from East and Southeast Asia, while those in Southern Asia were generally grouped with those from the Middle East whose Union of Arab Football Associations signed a memorandum of understanding with their AFU counterparts to participate in world cup qualification via Asia, and also taking part in continental tournaments though they never formally merged.
[8] Having originally stayed neutral despite close ties to the German government and economy, Hungary entered on the side of the Axis in late 1940, where the bulk of their forces fought in the east. Following the debacle of Germany’s war in the east in 1943 and early 1944, Hungary switched sides, successfully suing for a separate peace with the Allies. While having suffered much under the Horthy regime, the switch saved the country’s Jewish population from the horrors suffered by the respective communities in the rest of Eastern Europe.
[9] Though despite the widespread praise, the inherent conservatism in English football in particular, with a few notable exceptions saw most of the lessons learnt pass both the national and the majority of clubs sides by.
[10] Franco-British relations remained somewhat cool despite the two countries having fought side-by-side in France, Belgium and North Africa, but in football the two countries were close with the French wholeheartedly supporting the Home Nations return to FIFA.
[11] The deposition of Mussolini extended to the king – Victor Emmanuel, had originally resisted appointing Caviglia, but faced with the prospect of an Italian republic emerging from the fascist ruins was persuaded to abdicate in favour of his son Umberto II. The former king would later go into exile in Egypt and then Britain.
[12] Like FIFA, the French acronym for Union des associations européennes de football was used – the French being the leading figures behind its establishment. The organisation, however would not be headquartered in France but in Geneva, Switzerland.
[13] The IOC may have begged to differ, but FIFAs membership criteria included FAs who didn’t represent fully sovereign states, unlike the IOC itself.
[14] While this is the full list of member associations at the time of the world cup, not all entered the tournament and not all attended the congress.
[15] Also included the FAs of Bechuanaland and South-West Africa.

 

[Walpurgisnacht]

What seems like a smaller and much more limited WW2--especially in Western Europe, if the comments about France and the Netherlands being less affected by the Shoah are anything to go by--should helpfully give us a good deal more footballers! (And make it much more difficult for Austrians to play the 'first victim' card, as well, which is irrelevant but nice.)

Putting a fiver down on Hungary for the next cup. Absent the same degree of mass devastation, but with proto-Total-Football, they should walk it home.

 

[morbidteaparty]

1950 Brazil

Background and format

Despite being held at the onset of the hardening of the Cold War, the first post-war tournament (and first to be held outside of Europe since the inaugural tournament) was a relatively depoliticised affair, helped in part due to the refusal of the Eastern bloc to participate, as well as the host selection for the tournament being uncontested, with Brazil being unanimously selected as hosts at the first post-war FIFA congress in 1946.

In contrast to the straight knockout of the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, the competition reverted to a round-robin group stage followed by the knockout tournament from the quarter-finals onwards, the same format as the first tournament in 1930. The change was largely due to lobbying from the Brazilian FA, as faced with indifference from European football associations[1] and the cost of staging matches across the country, the guarantee of at least three matches for each participating nation mitigated some of the concern.[2]

The 1950 tournament marked several changes from the tournaments of the 1930s – shirt numbers were now compulsory on the pitch, though official squad numbers would not be implemented until the following tournament in 1954, while the ball (provided by a Brazilian company, as would be the case until the era of the multinationals in the 1960s and 70s) was pre-selected to avoid repeats of different balls being used for each half.

The awarding of the finals to Brazil, saw the construction of several new stadia for the final, with the centrepiece being a new stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which would upon completion, become the biggest stadium in the world, though by the time of the tournament itself, it would still not be fully finished, though by the time of the semi-finals, the bulk of the work would be completed.[3] As a result, in Rio, it was agreed that the four prominent clubs of Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama would be able to host matches in the city. Outside of Rio, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Recife, and Curitiba were selected, with only Recife being outside of the country’s southeast, done partly to minimise travel, but also largely due to the country's political elites being concentrated in the region.

Qualification

Brazil and Italy both qualified automatically, leaving 14 places to be decided via qualification with six for the Americas, seven for Europe and one for Asia/Africa.[4] With both Germany and Japan banned due to the war, and the refusal of the Soviet-aligned bloc to participate due to the hardening of Cold War tensions, the tournament’s entrants largely consisted of Western and non-aligned powers.

With the British nations entering for the first time, it was decided that the 1948-49 & 1949-50 Home Championships would be the basis of qualifying for the tournament, with England and Scotland both comfortably qualifying (Scotland winning the 1948-49 championship, and England the 49-50.) These championships were significant for marking the last time that an Ireland side (run by the Irish Football Association based in Belfast) would compete with players born in the Irish Free State, following complaints from the Dublin-based Football Association of Ireland.[5]

In the other groups, Hungary comfortably qualified from a group containing Austria and Turkey[6], though the match between Hungary and Austria in Vienna had to be replayed at a neutral venue following inclement weather. [7] Yugoslavia comfortably qualified from a group containing France and Czechoslovakia, marking the first time the French had failed to qualify for the tournament, while Switzerland topped a group containing Belgium and Luxembourg. In the final European groups, Sweden comfortably topped a group containing Eire and Finland[8], while Spain, entering for the first time since 1934 and the end of the Civil War, easily qualified ahead of Iberian neighbours Portugal and Israel, to mark the Furia Roja’s first tournament since Italy 1934.

In the Americas, Argentina and Chile qualified with ease ahead of Bolivia[9] with Argentina participating for the first time since their consecutive silver medals in 1930 and 1934, while Chile participated for the first time since 1930. The champions of that tournament, Uruguay, qualified alongside Paraguay ahead of Andean neighbours Peru and Ecuador – marking the return of both national sides to the World Cup since the 1930s. In the North, the United States and Mexico qualified ahead of Canada and Cuba through the 1949 North American Football Championship, which was comfortably won by the Mexicans, though in contrast to the South Americans neither side was expected to make much of a mark on the tournament.

In the final qualifying section, India[10] qualified ahead of Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines[11] (the majority of whom were making their debut as independent nations) to become the first Asian representative from outside the East and Indochina to qualify for the finals. Faced with the cost of travel, India initially considered withdrawing but following support from both FIFA and the British FAs[12] agreed to travel.

The teams

• Argentina
• Brazil (hosts)
• Chile
• England (debut)
• Hungary
• India (debut)
• Italy (1934 & 1938 champions)
• Mexico
• Paraguay
• Scotland (debut)
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United States
• Uruguay
• Yugoslavia

Of the participating nations, the hosts Brazil, alongside previous champions Uruguay and a strong Argentina were seen as the main challengers from the Americas, while England, Italy and Hungary were seen as the European sides most likely to win. Indeed, in England, the tournament was seen as a foregone conclusion, while in Italy a team built around the Torino side which had won four consecutive league titles was seen as a strong heir to the side which had claimed consecutive titles in the 1930s.

The draw, made in Rio on May 22 1950, grouped the sides as followed:

Group 1

Brazil, Paraguay, Sweden, Mexico

Group 2

England, Yugoslavia, Chile, Switzerland

Group 3

Italy, Spain, United States, India

Group 4

Uruguay, Argentina, Hungary, Scotland

Unlike in later tournaments, the draw was not seeded, leaving one group (on paper at least) looking a formality for the Italians, while the final group to be drawn contained a former champion and twice former runner up (as well as strong rivals), alongside two European sides with good international records. The tournament was also hosted on a geographical basis, limiting travel, with Group 3 hosted in Recife, Groups 1 and 2 hosted in the southeast and Group 4 split between Recife and Rio.

Tournament summary

Group stages

Group 1

Brazil began the tournament with a 5-1 victory over Mexico, with the watching English team marvelling at the Brazilian’s fluidity in possession and skill on the ball, though their concession of a late consolation goal to Mexico would lead England’s main star Stanley Matthews to conclude “that if Brazil are our main threat we should comfortably win this tournament.’[13] In the other opening game, Sweden, despite being shorn of three of their best players due to the ban on professionalism, eventually came back from two goals down to beat Paraguay 3-2.

Brazil, perhaps overconfident after their victory over the Mexicans, struggled to a 1-1 draw with the Swedes, who under the tutelage of Englishman George Raynor had developed into a rising force, winning Olympic Gold in 1948. Despite the setback, Brazilian confidence remained high, and they eased to a 3-1 victory over neighbours Paraguay to top the group. Sweden qualified as runners-up following their 3-0 victory over Mexico, who finished bottom of the group.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Brazil	3	2	1	0	9	2	+7	5
2​	Sweden	3	2	1	0	7	3	+4	5
3​	Paraguay	3	1	0	2	5	7	-2	2
4​	Mexico	3	0	0	3	2	10	-8	0

Results

June 24: Brazil 5-1 Mexico

June 25: Sweden 3-2 Paraguay

June 28: Brazil 1-1 Sweden

June 28: Mexico 1-2 Paraguay

July 1: Paraguay 1-3 Brazil

July 2: Sweden 3-0 Mexico

Group 2

Group 2 paired three European sides with Chile, who were making their first appearance at the finals since 1930. England, heavy favourites at home, and viewed as a likely challenger to the hosts in the local Brazilian press were making their debut at the tournament, and while Yugoslavia were perceived as a threat, the Swiss and Chileans were barely given a thought.[14]

England however were hampered through the absence, due to injury, of Neil Franklin (though given his move to South America for a contract worth four times more than the maximum wage in England, it’s unlikely he would’ve been picked anyway) while the squad, had warmed up for the tournament with a tour of North America[15], which meant their fitness levels weren’t exactly high upon arrival.[16]

Nevertheless, England began the group comfortably enough, defeating a well-organised, if limited Swiss side 2-0 in sweltering conditions in Rio, following two late goals from Stan Mortensen and Roy Bentley.[17] Yugoslavia, came back from an early goal, to defeat Chile 3-1, playing intricate passing football which wore down their largely part-time opponents, though Robledo’s pace consistently threatened the Yugoslav backline.[18]

In the second round of matches, England played Chile in Belo Horizonte, some 300 miles north of Rio, where the local crowd largely cheered on the Chileans. The game itself, was played on a rutted pitch, and Chile, having taken lessons from how Karl Rappan’s Swiss side had frustrated England through the use of his verrou system utilised blanket defence to frustrate the English. Chile, would take the lead through a deflected shot from Robledo, and looked to be heading to a shock victory, before Matthews, playing in the place of an exhausted Mortensen, levelled in the 80th minute, but despite waves of attacks, England failed to find a winner.[19]

Yugoslavia, overcame stubborn Swiss resistance to win 2-0, with Rajko Mitic, scoring both goals, with the Yugoslav coach’s plan of having operate as an auxiliary deep-lying midfielder rather than an out-and-out forward, confounding the Swiss system. The Yugoslavs, swift passing and interplay, was a style which had a long lineage in Central Europe, and had itself been introduced by Englishman Jimmy Hogan, long overlooked in his own land. The fact that Yugoslavia’s greatest zenith using the older system came against his homeland was an irony not lost on Hogan himself.

In the final round of matches, Switzerland defeated Chile 4-1, with Charles Antenen scoring the first ever Swiss hat-trick at the finals, with Robledo scoring Chile’s consolation. It was the other match however that would linger longer in the memory. Yugoslavia, having won both their matches, needed a draw to secure top-spot and a quarter final with Sweden, while England needed a win to secure the same.

The game itself began well enough for the English, with Finney scoring the opener in the twelfth minute – from there however, Yugoslavia’s patient possession game began to tell, and they equalised from a Stepjan Bobek header before half-time. It was the second half however, where the myth of English exceptionalism should’ve been put to bed as Yugoslavia’s passing game and off-the-ball movement confounding the English defence, with Mitic’s habit of dropping back leaving the experienced Arsenal defender Laurie Scott “at sixes and sevens.”[20] Yugoslavia, scored a second through Mitic and really should have added a third before the end of the game – it was nevertheless about a comprehensive defeat as 2-1 could be. The fact that its lessons would not be learned until much later, was a shame English football took a while to recover from.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Yugoslavia	3	3	0	0	7	2	+5	6
2​	England	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	3
3​	Switzerland	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	2
4​	Chile	3	0	1	2	3	8	-5	1

Results

25 June England 2-0 Switzerland

25 June Yugoslavia 3-1 Chile

29 June Yugoslavia 2-0 Switzerland

29 June Chile 1-1 England

July 2 Switzerland 4-1 Chile

July 2 England 1-2 Yugoslavia

Group 3

The third group was largely perceived to be the easiest within the tournament, as reigning champions Italy were paired with a strong, if overly physical Spanish side, an American side which had scraped into the finals behind Mexico and an Indian side who were the great unknowns, though they had acquitted themselves well at the 1948 Olympics.

The first round of matches saw Spain surprise the Italians with the directness of their play, and resulted in one of the games of the group stages, with the Spanish racing into a two goal lead before Valentino Mazzola scored twice to set the half-time score at 2-2. In the second half, Agustín Gaínza scored a third for Spain, before Giampiero Boniperti equalised, leaving the game poised as a draw. In the 89th minute, Silvestre Igoa scored a controversial winner, with the Italians protesting vigorously that he had scored with his hand – the Dutch referee, refused to disallow the goal and the result stood.[21]

In the other game, the United States eased to a 2-0 victory over a spirited Indian side, who were handicapped by their captain and left back Sailen Manna suffering a broken rib following a collision with Eddie Gaetjens. Reduced to hobbling ineffectually on the wing, his influence was severely reduced, and the Americans took advantage to score two goals either side of half-time. India, coached by Syed Abdul Rahim[22], would fail to recover from Manna’s injury and were not as competitive in their remaining fixtures, though their performance against the Americans was noted by both the British and Indian press.

In the second round of matches, Italy still seething from the controversial defeat to Spain, took vengeance on India, scoring four goals before half time, and another four in the second half, to win 8-1, though the result would be marred due to a slight injury suffered by Valentino Mazzola (later revealed to be a hairline fracture.) India’s first ever world cup goal was scored by Sarangapani Raman, who had also scored their first ever Olympic goal against the French two years prior. Spain, perhaps suffering from their exerts against the Italians, were lethargic against the Americans and drew 1-1, a result which was largely seen as an aberration.[23] In the final round, the Italians beat a spirited, if limited American side 2-0, while Spain recovered from their lethargy to beat India 3-0 and top the group, with Italy finishing as runners up.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Spain	3	2	1	0	8	4	+4	5
2​	Italy	3	2	0	1	13	4	+9	4
3​	United States	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	3
4​	India	3	0	0	3	1	13	-12	0

Results

25 June Spain 4-3 Italy

25 June India 0-2 United States

29 June Italy 8-1 India

29 June United States 1-1 Spain

2 July India 0-3 Spain

2 July Italy 2-0 United States

Group 4

If Group 3 had been seen (perhaps unfairly) as an easy draw, Group 4 was very much a group of death, with Uruguay, Argentina, Hungary and debutantes Scotland drawn together. The Scots, like the English, had returned from their isolation to make their debut at the finals, and while there weren’t the same expectations as there were on England, they nevertheless fancied their chances of making the knockout round. Much like the English however, they would have these assumptions shattered.

Both Uruguay and Argentina were in good form going into the tournament, with a players strike which had halted the Argentine league eventually resolved following intervention from the Tamborini government, though the strike itself had seen several Argentine players head to Colombia, due to the money being offered. Nevertheless, with the form of the famed River Plate La Maquina forward line and the presence of long-serving coach Guillermo Stabile, Argentina were viewed as a contender. Uruguay, themselves a previous champion, headed into the tournament in good form, having beaten both Argentina and Brazil in 1949 and easily coasted to qualification.

The outsiders, at least from their own perspective were Hungary, who had a young squad with a few veterans from the side of 1938, though like Yugoslavia, they remained largely wedded to a passing game introduced by Jimmy Hogan (who had himself been inspired by the passing style of the Scottish sides in the period before the First World War.

The group itself, would begin with Uruguay comfortably beating the Scots 5-1, with a display that, much like the Yugoslavs against England, should’ve been a wake-up call. The SFA, still selecting the side via committee[24], failed to heed the warning signs, and the Scots, despite a proud heritage of incisive passing play resorted to brutality to try and keep the score down, to little avail.

In the other opening game, Hungary and Argentina played out a goalless draw, in a match which was blighted by the high heat of Recife, and a pitch ill-suited to either side’s natural game, though Kispest FC forward Ferenc Purczeld, who averaged a goal-a-game for the national side going into the tournament nearly scored a late winner.

In the second round of matches, Scotland, better organised via the leadership of their captain George Young[25] held out for a 1-1 draw with Hungary, who again found the pitch ill-suited to their passing game, though the movement of Purczeld and Czibor unsettled the Scottish backline. In contrast to the slow-tempo of the game in Sao Paulo, Argentina and Uruguay played out a bad-tempered, frenetic match in Porto Alegre, the Uruguayans eventually triumphing 3-2 after both players had a man sent-off, and an Argentine equaliser was disallowed for offside.

If Scotland’s performance against Hungary (albeit aided by the pitch), had offered encouragement, their defeat by Argentina brought them down to earth. Argentina, unlike the organised, passing play of Hungary, relied on improvisation and forward speed, and tore an exhausted Scottish backline to shreds, going two-up before half-time, and eventually running out 4-1 winners, with William Waddell scoring a late consolation.

Hungary, meanwhile, drew their final game with Uruguay 2-2 to exit the tournament as the first side to be undefeated and still not qualify, though it added to their remarkable undefeated streak from the 1948 Olympics onwards. The game itself, was an excellent one, with Uruguay netting a late equaliser through Juan Schiaffino to clinch top spot in the group, with Argentina finishing second to set up a quarter-final with the Spanish.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Uruguay	3	2	1	0	10	5	+5	5
2​	Argentina	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	3
3​	Hungary	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
4​	Scotland	3	0	1	2	3	10	-7	1

Results

25 June Uruguay 5-1 Scotland

25 June Argentina 0-0 Hungary

29 June Scotland 1-1 Hungary

29 June Uruguay 3-2 Argentina

2 July Argentina 4-1 Scotland

2 July Hungary 2-2 Uruguay

Quarter-Finals

The quarter-finals, with the exception of the all European tie between Sweden and Yugoslavia pitted South American powers against their European rivals, with the hosts Brazil facing the mother of football England, Spain facing Argentina and the former champions Uruguay pitted against the holders Italy.

England, who had scraped through behind Yugoslavia in their group, found themselves drawn in a tie most would’ve wished against – Brazil, who’s preparation for the tournament had been largely funded by the Vargas government had spent huge sums on preparation for the tournament, and had watched England (who they viewed as the main European threat alongside Italy) closely throughout, were highly motivated and attuned to the conditions. The English, having huffed and puffed through a draw with the unheralded Chileans and had then been comprehensively outplayed by the Yugoslavs were running on fumes, as Jackie Milburn would later attest in his diary of the tournament.

The scene was set then for a Brazilian victory – and while that would be the outcome, England managed to put together their best display of the tournament, largely through a strong defence, which gave Alf Ramsey, operating as the right fullback the licence to get forward and double up on the Brazilian left-back (who had the added challenge of dealing with Stanley Matthews.) While this ploy, would lead to England taking the lead through a Wilf Mannion header, Brazil’s incisive passing and the roaming role taken by their centre-forward Ademir[26] began to undo the English game-plan. Nevertheless, England had held onto to the lead for an hour, before Brazil equalised through Jair Pinto – here on in England, faced with renewed attacks from Brazil, and beginning to wilt in the stifling heat, began to retreat further into their shell, and Ademir popped up to score the winner in the 87th minute. Despite the late heart-break (though as the English press on the ground recognised, Brazil fully deserved to win), this was England’s best performance in the tournament.[27]

In the all European tie, Sweden who had surprised Brazil in the group stages to secure a draw, knocked out Yugoslavia, thanks to a goal from midfielder Sune Andersson, who scored from the edge of the box in the 34th minute. Sweden’s manager George Raynor, having scouted Yugoslavia’s victory over England, and witnessing the Yugoslavs use of Mitic in a deep-lying role, employed the experienced midfielder Knut Nordahl to man-mark Mitic and had his fullbacks push up to counter the Yugoslav wingers – a ploy seemingly beyond the English imagination.

Spain, playing a style of direct football, had surprised Italy in the group stages, and almost surprised Argentina in the quarter-finals, their hard-running, quick passing, physical style[28] a match for Argentina’s more improvisational forward line, built around the River Plate and Racing sides which had dominated the Argentine league for the last decade.. The game, despite the somewhat frenetic pace appeared to be heading for a replay, as the sides remained locked at 0-0 as the end of extra time approached, before Ángel Labruna, part of that River Plate forward line, scored the winner to send Argentina, somewhat fortuitously through.

The final quarter-final paired the two nations to have won the World Cup – Uruguay, who had triumphed on home soil in 1930, and the Italians who had dominated the 1930s. Italy, built around a superb Torino team, were viewed, alongside England, as Brazil’s main threat to becoming champions, while Uruguay, despite their strong international record were viewed as mere outsiders.[29] The game, was hard-fought, though the poor quality of the pitch, hampered both sides attempts to play a passing game, and like the quarter final between Spain and Argentina appeared to be heading to extra-time and a replay. Italy, however, would come unstuck following an injury suffered by Valentino Mazzola, and faced with a man advantage, Uruguay were able to pounce, with Rubén Morán clinching the winner in the 84th minute, to set-up a semi-final (and replay of the 1930 final) with Argentina. Vittorio Pozzo, who had coached the Italian national team since 1919 was to have no final triumph.

Results

July 9 Brazil 2-1 England

July 9 Yugoslavia 0-1 Sweden

July 10 Spain 0-1 Argentina (a.e.t.)

July 10 Uruguay 1-0 Italy

Semi-finals & bronze medal match

If the quarter-finals had been reasonably tight and competitive, the first semi-final between Brazil and Sweden was a lopsided thrashing, with the Brazilians comfortably dispatching the Swedes 6-0 at the now inaugurated Tijuca Stadium.[30] The Swedes, deploying the same gameplan as they had against the Yugoslavs in the previous round, initially hampered and frustrated Brazil, but found themselves undone by a superlative display from Ademir at centre-forward who scored four goals in a half hour spell of brutal finishing. Sweden, understandably shellshocked from the barrage, retreated into their shell and conceded two late goals to set an unwanted record for margin of defeat in a World Cup semi-final.

In contrast, the rioplatense clash between Uruguay and Argentina, was a hard-fought victory for the Uruguayans, who required two late goals from Óscar Miguez to steal a late victory. The game, despite the scoreline, was not particularly high on quality with Argentina’s opener and Miguez’s double both coming from defensive errors, but was a harbinger of things to come, with Uruguayan captain Varela marshalling his side superbly to steal a victory through sheer force of will. The result, also extended Uruguay’s strong record over their southern neighbour, though the reaction in Argentina was less ferocious in defeat than it had been in 1930.

In the third place playoff, staged in Sao Paulo, Sweden began brightly and took the lead through Stig Sundqvist and nearly doubled their advantage before half-time. Argentina, however, began to grow into the game and soon equalised after half-time through Labruna, before sealing the victory with two late goals from Juan José Pizutti to take third place and condemn Sweden to a second fourth place finish.

Results

13 July Brazil 6-0 Sweden

13 July Argentina 2-3 Uruguay

Third place playoff

15 July Argentina 3-1 Sweden

Final

Has any game had so much written about it as the 1950 Mundial final? The moment of one nation’s greatest triumph, the moment it would reach its apotheosis was to be snatched away, proving the football gods sense of humour. Or at least that how it’s told.

In reality, Brazil had largely had a struggle-free route to the final, minus a hiccup against an organised Sweden in the group stage and a hard-won but deserved victory over an exhausted English side in the quarter finals, but had swatted aside the Swedes in the semi-final and were largely assumed to be champions – indeed newspapers printed before the match itself declared Brazil champions of the world.

Uruguay, in contrast, had had a much tougher route to the final, having come through the first properly recognised “group of death” in the tournament’s history and two hard-fought knockout wins over both Italy and Argentina. While well-martialled and with a squad of strong quality, they were viewed as not being a threat to the inevitable triumph of their larger neighbours. Hubris was indeed to come.

The game, staged in front of some 174,000 people (officially)[31] began with Brazilian attacks meeting obdurate Uruguayan defence, and while Brazil appeared to have taken the lead, their goal through Ademir was ruled offside. Brazil, nevertheless took the lead though Friaça Cardoso, despite strong protests from Varela and the Uruguayan defence that he had been offside. Despite the virulence of the protests, the referee, Englishman Arthur Ellis, allowed the goal to stand.

Largely expected to wilt, the Uruguayans continued to play calm, possession football, and slowly began to take control of the game. Brazil, unlike their counterparts, hadn’t had their defence tested, and not for the first time it proved to be their weak link, with Brazil’s captain Augusto da Costa caught out of position allowing Miguez to score the equaliser. It would be Uruguay’s winner which would silence the stadium however – a low cross from Ghiggia Pereyra caused havoc in the Brazilian box, and Juan Schiaffino took advantage to fire beyond the reach of the helpless Moacir Barbosa[32] and thus silence the vast arena. The final whistle deafened. Hubris had lost, and Uruguay were world champions once more, while o fantasma was born.

Result

16 July Brazil 1-2 Uruguay

---

[1] In contrast to the reticence that Uruguay faced in 1930, the main opposition this time was cost, as many European FAs, and to a lesser extent FIFA itself, faced financial struggle.
[2] Also helped by the Brazilians threatening to withdraw from hosting if the demands were not meant.
[3] The slow pace of construction was eventually solved following the expansion of the stadium workforce and liberalisation of some labour laws by the Vargas government, and is credited by some historians as being a cause of the beginning wave of rural-to-urban migration experienced by cities such as Rio in the 1950s and 60s.
[4] The only African side to enter was Egypt.
[5] The case would eventually be fully decided in 1953 with the IFA representing Northern Ireland and the FAI representing Eire/Irish Free State. Both sides would continue to refer to themselves as Ireland long past this however.
[6] Who themselves had to play a preliminary tournament with Egypt and Syria which they comfortably won was later seen by some as a contributory factor to the country’s decision to join the UAEF, though given the political and military ties the country had with both the American and Soviet aligned blocs such a move was likely inevitable.
[7] Gyula Zsengellér, the scorer of the winning goal, was one of four veterans of the 1938 side that made the Hungarian squad for the tournament.
[8] The Swedes, whose side contained several excellent players, would be hampered by the rigid insistence on the national side only selecting amateurs, as their best players were signed by clubs in Italy and France whose leagues were fully professional.
[9] Who before Venezuela’s entry into international football were firmly established as the whipping boys of the South American confederation.
[10] Following independence from Britain in 1947, India took part in the 1948 Olympics as an independent nation for the first time, narrowly losing to the French in the first round.
[11] There was some controversy over the final match between India and the Philippines, staged in Karachi in late 1949, with the Filipino delegation protesting that the pitch was unplayable due to the high heat, though despite protests the match would go ahead with India winning 2-0 to seal their qualification.
[12] A rare example of magnanimity from the British associations during the period – there is a suggestion that the Atlee government, keen to maintain the cordial relations they held with the newly independent India may have intervened with the respective associations.
[13] It would not be the last time an Englishman in South America would be caught out by overconfidence.
[14] The Chilean side contained Newcastle United inside-forward George Robledo, who had formed a strong partnership with local hero Jackie Milburn.
[15] The tour would be a success with England defeating Canada 5-1 in Toronto, the United States 3-1 in New York and Mexico 2-0 in Mexico City. A Football League XI, also toured, defeating Newfoundland 9-1 in St John and an American League XI 8-2 in St Louis.
[16] This would become a familiar complaint for British teams at future tournaments.
[17] Bentley, played as a roving centre-forward, rather than as a traditional battering-ram centre-forward, which meant that his strengths were often not played too, but at the World Cup he was one of England’s best performers.
[18] Robledo’s performances at the World Cup alerted Spanish side Athletic Madrid to his services, and he would later join them in 1951.
[19] The reaction back home would be incredulous, and combined with England’s crushing at home by the touring West Indies was seen as a sporting nadir, including a mock obituary for English sport in the Daily Express.
[20] In fairness to the English here, the heat and humidity in Rio made a chasing game against the Yugoslavs almost impossible – the Yugoslavs themselves relying on passing as a means to conserve energy as much as win. The heat itself was described by Ramsey, who had been stationed in India during the end of the war, as reminding him of Calcutta.
[21] Even with modern television techniques, it’s still hard to tell if Igoa handled the ball into the net or not, but the sense of robbery was so great in Italy, that his proposed transfer to Bologna after the tournament fell through in the face of fan pressure.
[22] Rahim Saab, as he was more popularly known, was the first Asian coach to ever take charge of a side at the World Cup, and India were one of the only sides not to be coached by a European or Latin American at the fianls.
[23] The New York Times dismissed the result entirely, assuming it was a misprint.
[24] Unlike England, who despite their innate conservatism had appointed a full-time managerial set-up with Ted Magner, who had led Derby to FA Cup glory in 1946 and had previously coached Denmark and Walter Winterbottom, a former RAF wing commander and academic, coaching the side, though like Scotland there was still a selector’s committee on which both were only part.
[25] Who would become both the first Scottish international to 50 and 75 caps before his retirement after his 77th and final game in 1957.
[26] Who had begun his career as a left-winger before moving to centre-forward and maintained an ability to roam and drift, making the man-marking utilised in the traditional British W-M formation redundant. His ability to suddenly shift tempo also aided his goalscoring.
[27] There have long been suggestions that if Tom Finney had been fit, the game might have been a closer contest in the latter stages, but Brazil largely dominated the game. The game was also notable for being the first time England wore a blue away kit – as Brazil were playing in their home white strip England were obliged to change.
[28] Though in contrast to some of the later teams tarred with that brush at subsequent tournaments, the Spanish weren’t particularly dirty.
[29] Fuelled partially by the dreadful Copa America tournament they had, hosted in Brazil in 1949, where they finished second bottom of their group and failed to make the semi-finals for the first time.
[30] Setting a world-record attendance while doing so, with some 152,000 people in attendance.
[31] The number of people claiming to have attended in relation to the actual attendance, has long been a running joke in Brazil – the attendance remains a world record and the record for any world cup match. It has never been determined how many people snuck into the game illegally, but the current estimate is an attendance of around 218,000.
[32] Perhaps tellingly, as the game progress Barbosa kept Brazil in it, with a string of saves.

 

[Stateless]

I will admit, I initially read Israel as being one of Spain's Iberian neighbours, which is quite a detail to slip in.

Poor Brazil, even an alternate universe can't spare them the Maracanaço.

 

[morbidteaparty]

I will admit, I initially read Israel as being one of Spain's Iberian neighbours, which is quite a detail to slip in.

Poor Brazil, even an alternate universe can't spare them the Maracanaço.

I did think about changing it but it's such a seismic shock (and one of my fave world cup stories) I just didn't have the heart

 

[morbidteaparty]

Next update will be on the '54 World Cup, but after that I'm thinking of doing a brief detour into continental club and international competitions - if there's any other areas that would be of interest (this is still primarily a world cup TL, but I love football so happy to do a few tangents) please let me know!

 

[Stateless]

Next update will be on the '54 World Cup, but after that I'm thinking of doing a brief detour into continental club and international competitions - if there's any other areas that would be of interest (this is still primarily a world cup TL, but I love football so happy to do a few tangents) please let me know!

I'm looking forward to the next update; in the intervening period in OTL England suffered the Match of the Century, which killed the careers of Stan Mortensen, Alf Ramsey and others, but set in motion changes in coaching which would bring success for Don Revie, Bill Nicholson, Matt Busby, Ron Greenwood, etc. and laid the groundwork for England's 1966 victory. I wonder if this Hungary team will win the 1952 Olympic tournament, and therefore be invited to play the match in '53. Will England's wake up have started earlier?

 

[morbidteaparty]

1954 – France

Background and format

In contrast to the 1950 tournament, which had been boycotted by the Eastern bloc, the return of the tournament to Europe, saw the re-entry of communist sides, as well as Germany and Japan, who had both been barred from entering the previous tournament.

In Europe, at the international level at least, the centre of gravity had begun to shift eastwards – England had been beaten by Yugoslavia at the 1950 tournament and were humiliated by the same side, as well as the Hungarians, losing their proud unbeaten home record in the process.[1] While Italy, Spain and France remained competitive, the national sides of the nonaligned central Europeans and the socialist nations of the east, had begun to establish themselves as forces to be reckoned with, confirmed in the minds of many by the USSR, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Germany making up the last four of the 1952 Olympic tournament.[2]

England’s defeats to both Yugoslavia and Hungary proved to be watershed moments, with the realisation that the game had moved on from the British Isles evident in the 2-0 and 4-1 defeats to both nations, and persuaded the reform-minded FA General Secretary Stanley Rous to implement coaching seminars across the board, while reducing the power of the FA selection committee and leaving the majority of power in the coaching staff’s hands.[3]

While international football in Europe appeared to be shifting further east, the tournament was hosted in one of Western Europe’s traditional powers: France. France, in the midst of a postwar boom and political stability[4] had emerged from the war alongside Britain as the shaper of a new European consensus, with numerous continental organisations headquartered there including the Paris Treaty Organisation,[5] the European Council for Trade & Industry,[6] the Council of Europe and most importantly for the World Cup, FIFA itself.

France, like Brazil, had been chosen as host in 1946, and undertook a programme of stadium renovation and expansion, including the Parc des Princes in Paris, which would host the final, while games would be staged in the capital, Marseilles, Lille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Le Havre, Reims and Toulouse. Unlike Brazil four years earlier however, the French public and press didn’t expect their side to emerge as champions, and the French national team prepared for the tournament with a series of friendlies which saw mixed results.

The tournament format was the same as 1950 with one exception: if sides finished level on points and goal difference, a playoff would be held to determine who would qualify for the quarter-finals. Unlike in 1950 the sides would also be seeded to ensure that they were reasonably even. Squad numbers were now made official, while squads were mandated to be 22 players in size.[7] The tournament also saw the beginnings of increased commercialism, though these were largely French companies who provided sponsorship.[8] The tournament was also the first to be predominantly televised, though due to the novelty of the technology most public engagement was still through radio commentary and the press.

Qualification

In contrast to the qualifying for the 1950 tournament, qualification for 1954 was broadly organised via the respective continental confederations. France as hosts and Uruguay as holders qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be determined via qualification: ten for Europe[9], three for the Americas and one for Asia.

In Europe, as with 1950, the 1952-53 and 1953-54 Home Championships were used as qualifying for the British sides, with England and Scotland again qualifying as the British representatives, though in contrast to 1950 expectations were less complacent. In the other groups, Belgium surprised Sweden, who had finished fourth in 1950 to qualify for their first tournament since 1938 and ensure that Sweden failed to qualify for the first time.

Germany, who had been disqualified from 1950, comfortably won their qualifying group to take part in the finals for the first time since they had hosted it in 1938. In contrast to that tournament, the national side was no longer representing the National Socialist regime, but a re-established democratic republic. Germany’s participation at a French hosted sporting event caused widespread comment in the French media, though the two nations enjoyed reasonably civil postwar relations. Germany’s qualification saw them play a qualifying game in Saarbrücken as a celebration of that territory’s return to Germany in 1952. The Germans, despite the long wait for the return of international football, proved too strong for the Danes and Norwegians, and comfortably qualified for the finals.

Elsewhere, Italy who had underwhelmed at the previous tournament, overcame a stuttering start to comfortably top their qualifying group ahead of Portugal and Luxembourg and qualify for the finals for the first time,[10] while Austria competed for the first time since 1938 after finishing ahead of the Soviets and Irish. The remaining European berths were secured by Hungary, Olympic champions Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia while Egypt found themselves again acting as Africa’s lone representative.

While Europe saw mostly familiar names qualify, Asia’s qualifying path was more open, though the continent’s record at the finals was not one to write home about, with no Asian side having won a match at the finals. For 1954, the qualifying round grouped Korea, Japan, India, China and Vietnam into a round-robin group, with the qualifying matches representing Japan’s first since being readmitted to FIFA and Korea’s first as an independent nation.[11] Korea, who had competed at the 1948 Olympics alongside India, comfortably topped the group, including a 5-1 thrashing of Japan in Tokyo, much to the delight of the Korean government. India, who had been expected to be the main challengers, struggled due to internal disputes between the AIFF and clubs and often failed to field their strongest side. Korea became the fourth Asian nation to qualify for the World Cup.

Finally, in the Americas it was largely business as usual with Brazil, still smarting from the failure of 1950 and Argentina joining Uruguay as South American representatives, though Argentina were lucky to do so, having secured their place via an offside goal against neighbours Paraguay. In the North, Mexico eased to qualification ahead of the United States, Haiti, Costa Rica and Cuba to make it a fourth finals out of five. Mexico, who had been confirmed as hosts for the 1958 World Cup in 1950 (thus moving the World Cup to a continent outside of Europe or South America for the first time) were still awaiting their first victory at the finals.

The teams

• France (hosts)
• Uruguay (holders)
• Argentina
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Czechoslovakia
• Egypt
• England
• Germany
• Hungary
• Italy
• Korea (debut)
• Mexico
• Scotland
• Yugoslavia

FIFA designated eight seeds for the tournament: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Uruguay & Yugoslavia, with the remaining eight sides unseeded. The draw for the tournamnent was made on May 25 1954 and was as follows:

Group 1: France, Brazil, Egypt, Scotland

Group 2: Hungary, Argentina, Mexico, Czechoslovakia

Group 3: Urugay, England, Austria, Belgium

Group 4: Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Korea

Tournament summary

Group 1

France kicked off the tournament with a 1-0 win over Scotland, the only goal scored by Raymond Kopaszewski, who had previously scored for his club side Reims against Celtic in a 1953 friendly. While France, the game was not high on quality, though Scottish captain George Young was denied an equaliser by a superb save from French goalkeeper César Ruminski.

In the other game, Brazil playing in a new national strip[12] subjected Egypt to a 5-0 thrashing, with Waldyr Pereira scoring a peach of a free-kick, with the flight and curve on the ball leaving Egyptian goalkeeper Abdel Heimada no chance.[13] Brazil, though not yet fully shifted to a back four, also played a different style than its 1950 predecessor with the midfield focusing on patient passing and intelligent movement as much as feints and trickery.

In the next round of games, Brazil and France played out a 1-1 draw in scorching conditions in Marseilles, with Jean Vicent’s late equaliser denying Brazil victory. The match, despite the heat, was a competitive one with both sides committed to attack, though as the conditions took their toll the frenetic pace of the first half wound down, with the French seemingly resigned to defeat before an error from Moacir Barbosa[14] allowed Vincent to steal an equaliser. Scotland, meanwhile, secured their first World Cup victory with a 2-0 victory over Egypt, with Bobby Johnstone and Allan Brown scoring in either half, giving Scotland a chance of making the knockout stages if they could pull off an upset against Brazil in the final round.

The final round of fixtures saw France ease past Egypt 2-1, thanks to two goals from André Strappe, though the French struggled to maintain fluency, and were lucky that Egyptian appeals for a penalty following a robust tackle on Mohamed Diab al-Attar by French captain Roger Marche were denied by the Welsh referee. Nevertheless, the win saw France qualify for the quarter finals, and restored a measure of pride to the Egyptians who finished last.

Scotland, required a win to make the knockout stages while Brazil needed a draw – the result was a game which saw the Brazilians taken by surprise by an early lead before, eventually, securing a comfortable win over committed if limited opponents. The Scots, playing much better than they had done in Brazil four years early, began the game brightly with Waldyr Pereira largely nullified through the diligent man-marking of Scottish defender Bobby Evans, and took the lead through Ernie Copland, who was making his international debut.[15] Despite their diligent defensive effort, Scotland began to tire in the second half before Tatu Rodrigues equalised for Brazil in the 60th minute before Brazilian captain José Bauer scored the winner.[16] As a result, Brazil topped the group with France finishing second, while Scotland exited having restored a measure of pride following their abject performance in 1950. Egypt, Africa’s perennial representative, still awaited the opportunity to add to their sole victory in 1930.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Brazil	3	2	1	0	8	2	+6	5
2​	France	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	5
3​	Scotland	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	2
4​	Egypt	3	0	0	3	1	9	-8	0

Results

June 16 France 1-0 Scotland

June 16 Brazil 5-0 Egypt

June 19 France 1-1 Brazil

June 19 Scotland 2-0 Egypt

June 22 Egypt 1-2 France

June 22 Brazil 2-1 Scotland

Group 2

Group 2, on paper at least, looked relatively even balanced with only perennial whipping boys Mexico not expected to offer much.[17] Hungary, with their intelligent movement and passing played an evolved version of the 1930s Mitteleuropa style which had been common across the former Habsburg realms, while the Czechoslovaks played a more conservative version of the same style.[18] The Argentines took an aging squad largely built around individual flair with 35 year old Ángel Labruna captaining the side. Despite the age profile of the squad, Argentina’s strong performance in Brazil four years earlier with largely the same team created expectations of success in Buenos Aires, with the government of José Tamborini declaring that the team would return conquerors of Europe.

In the opening round of fixtures, Hungary equalled the record margin of victory at the world cup, by crushing Mexico 9-0, with Ferenc Purczeld, Péter Poteleczky scoring two goals each either side of a hat-trick from Sándor Kocsis and a goal a-piece from Mihály Lendenmayer and Zoltán Czibor. Hungary’s long unbeaten run had come to an end in the 1952 Olympic final but including the game against Mexico they had scored forty goals in seven matches.[19] In the other opening game, Argentina were rudely awakened by how far European football had advanced, as Czechoslovakia swept them aside 4-1. Indeed as Brian Glanville noted in The Times the result could have been even harder on the Argentines if the Czechs hadn’t eased up in the last twenty minutes, with Argentina’s sluggish defence only containing one player under the age of thirty.[20]

The second round of fixtures saw Hungary comfortably dispatch their Czechoslovak neighbours 2-0 with Nándor Hidegkuti, reprising the withdrawn role from which he had tormented England in 1953, scoring both goals either side of half time. The game, despite the routine manner of the Hungarian victory was notable for Purczeld suffering an ankle injury following a robust tackle from Czech captain Ladislav Novák.[21] While Purczeld, would sit out the game against Argentina, he would return to the Hungary side for the knockout stage, despite being below his best.

Argentina restored a measure of pride with an 3-0 victory over Mexico, though the game was a bad-tempered affair, with both sides having a player sent off following a mass brawl sparked by a bad foul on Labruna by Mexican defender Jorge Romo, though after a degree of order had been restored by Spanish referee Manuel Asensi the remaining fifteen minutes passed without incident.

In the final round of fixtures, Hungary made several changes to their starting eleven, with József Tóth scoring twice in a 3-1 victory, sending Hungary through to the quarter-finals with an enviable record. Argentina, meanwhile, returned home in disgrace though they still had a way to go before the nadir of 1958. Czechoslovakia qualified for the quarter-finals with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Mexico who again exited the world cup without securing a point.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Hungary	3	3	0	0	14	1	+13	6
2​	Czechoslovakia	3	2	0	1	8	3	+5	4
3​	Argentina	3	1	0	2	4	7	-3	2
4​	Mexico	3	0	0	3	0	16	-16	0

Results

June 17 Hungary 9-0 Mexico

June 17 Czechoslovakia 4-1 Argentina

June 20 Czechoslovakia 0-2 Hungary

June 20 Argentina 3-0 Mexico

June 23 Argentina 1-3 Hungary

June 23 Mexico 0-4 Czechoslovakia

Group 3

Group 3 paired holders Uruguay with England, Austria and Belgium, the latter two sides returning to the tournament for the first time in sixteen years. In contrast to 1950, expectations were less triumphalist in England, though they still expected to at least make the semi-finals. Austria, still playing a version of the style introduced by Jimmy Hogan and refined by Hugo Meisl, were heirs to the 1930s wunderteam while Uruguay contained several of the squad who had triumphed in Brazil. Belgium, returning to the tournament for the first time since 1938, had surprised Sweden in qualification, but weren’t expected to challenge for the knockout round.

Defending champions Uruguay began with a 3-2 victory over England, who had initially taken the lead through Bolton Wanderers strike Nat Lofthouse before two goals from Óscar Miguez handed Uruguay the lead. England, equalising through Ivor Broadis looked to have secured a draw, before a goalkeeping error from Gil Merrick gifted Juan Schiaffino the winner.[22] Despite the defeat, response in the British press was broadly positive – to lose narrowly to the world champions wasn’t a disgrace.

Austria meanwhile, beat Belgium 1-0, with a wonder goal from Theodor Wagner, who having beaten two Belgian defenders, feinted onto his weaker foot and then blasted the ball from twenty-five yards past the stranded Belgian goalkeeper. The goal became immortalised in Austria, via the famous radio commentary that described it as a goal from the Radetzky march.

In the second round of matches, England struggled to a 2-2 draw with Austria, with Jimmy Mullen’s late equaliser saving England from defeat. Preoccupied by England’s struggles against the technical passing game of Hungary and Yugoslavia, and noting Austria’s ability on the ball, Walter Winterbottom had adopted a more defensive gameplan, with Billy Wright stepping up into midfield as an auxiliary midfielder in order to disrupt the Austrian passing game. Winterbottom’s tactics almost worked, but were undone by a defensive error and own goal from Jimmy Dickinson and England’s play became more ragged, requiring a late goal from Lofthouse to snatch a draw.

As England struggled, Uruguay glided, with Julio Abbadie and Carlos Borges each scoring a brace in a 4-1 victory over Belgium, which despite the scoreline, was a competitive game for the holders, with the Belgians tiring in the last ten minutes, allowing Abbadie and Borges to add gloss to the result. Nevertheless, the result put Uruguay in pole position to qualify, with Austria and England left to duke it out for second in the group.

The final round of fixtures saw England comfortably dispatch Belgium 2-0, with goals from Dennis Wilshaw and Tom Finney who had come into the side to replace Mullen, who had suffered an injury in the draw with Austria. Winterbottom, again experimented with his tactics, with the Fulham youngster Johnny Haynes making his international debut as a withdrawn forward with license to roam.[23] Haynes, who was nineteen, was a revelation in the role, as his passing ability gifted England the ability to play a more passing style. The fact that it game so late in the tournament was an unfortunate afterthought.

If Haynes’s debut was a triumph, it was overshadowed by the best game of the group stages and one of the best of the tournament, with Uruguay and Austria playing out a 4-4 draw in Lille, a game which saw both sides commit to attacking vigour. Uruguay initially raced into a 2-0 lead, with goals from Schiaffino and Alcides Ghiggia, before Erich Probst scored twice to restore parity, to leave the score 2-2 at half-time. In the second half, Uruguay restored a two-goal cushion through Miguez, only for Ernst Stojaspal to claw one back from a corner, after Uruguayan goalkeeper Máspoli misjudged the flight and parried it into his path. Austria’s equaliser would come from Ernst Happel, who’s freekick hit the underside of the bar and evaded Máspoli’s despairing dive. As a result, Austria qualified for the quarter-finals ahead of England, who had performed better than 1950, but suffered worse results.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Uruguay	3	2	1	0	11	7	+4	5
2​	Austria	3	1	2	0	7	6	+1	4
3​	England	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	3
4​	Belgium	3	0	0	3	1	7	-6	0

Results

June 16 Austria 1-0 Belgium

June 16 Uruguay 3-2 England

June 19 England 2-2 Austria

June 19 Belgium 1-4 Uruguay

June 22 England 2-0 Belgium

June 22 Uruguay 4-4 Austria

Group 4

Group 4 paired former champions Italy, now under the management of Luigi Bertolini who had been part of the 1934 championship side, with Olympic champions Yugoslavia, debutantes Korea and Germany who had been readmitted to FIFA in 1951. The Germans, under coach Sepp Herberger were well-organised and, through partnerships with Geda, had been provided with boots with screwable studs which allowed them to adapt to differing playing conditions, an innovation which would be come increasingly widespread as Geda began to establish itself as the pre-eminent sportswear firm.[24] Nevertheless, Germany were not regarded as a contender, with the Italians and Yugoslavs expected to qualify for the knockout rounds.

Italy began with a comfortable 5-2 victory over Korea, with Choi Chung-min scoring his country’s first ever goals at the tournament. Italy, with Torino’s playmaker Valentino Mazzola as their conduttore simply had too much for a committed if limited Korean side, though the ease with which Choi scored Korea’s consolations should have sounded alarm bells for the Italians.

Germany and Yugoslavia played out a sterile 0-0 in dreadful conditions in Reims, with the wet weather hampering Yugoslavia’s passing game, while Germany found themselves denied by a superb goalkeeping performance from Vladimir Beara, who would become established as one of the best goalkeepers of the decade – in a twist of fate he would end his career in Germany.

In the second round of matches, Italy narrowly lost to Yugoslavia, with the game marred by a controversial refereeing decision from Brazilian official Mário Vianna, who disallowed two Italian goals and sent off Italian captain Giampiero Boniperti following his protests against not being awared a foul for a tackle from Yugoslav defender Tomislav Crnković. Yugoslavia won 1-0 following a late goal from Branko Zebec, while the game became known as the “Sack of Toulouse” in the Italian press.[25] Germany meanwhile, comfortably defeated the Koreans 4-0 in Le Havre, with German captain Fritz Walter, Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn on the scoresheet, leaving qualification poised between Germany, Yugoslavia and Italy as the final round of matches drew near.

In the final round, Germany pulled off a surprise which reverberated back home, by defeating the Italians 2-1, which coupled with Yugoslavia’s shock draw with Korea sent the Germans through as group winners. Italy started strongly, motivated by the injustices of their defeat to Yugoslavia and with members of the Italian royal family in attendance[26] opened the scoring through Benito Lorenzi. Valentino Mazzola’s influence faded however, as the Germans used a combination of man-markers to mark him out of the game. Germany, whose anthem had been booed by French fans throughout the tournament,[27] grew into the game and equalised through Morlock, whose shot deflected off Aldo Ballarin and wrongfooted Valerio Bacigalupo to leave the scores level at half-time. In the second half, Germany continued to attack aggressively, and were rewarded with a late winner from Bernhard Klodt, though it would take an excellent save from Bernd Trautmann in the German goal to preserve the victory.[28]

If Germany’s victory over Italy was a surprise, the shock of the group (and indeed tournament) was Korea’s 2-2 draw with Yugoslavia, which saw the Koreans become the first Asian side to win a point at the finals. Yugoslavia, perhaps with an eye on the quarter-finals, rested several players, and were strangely lethargic in the first half, but nothing should be taken away from the Koreans, who were unlucky not to win. Korea, perhaps surprising themselves, took an early lead, as a miscommunication between Yugoslav goalkeeper Branko Kralj and his defence allowed Woo Sang-kwon to steal home. Korea, nearly doubled their lead five minutes later, but were denied through a superb save from Kralj, and then conceded an equaliser to leave the scores level at half-time. Korea again restored their lead in the 79th minute through Choi Chung-min and appeared to be holding on to one of the great upsets, before an error from Hong Deok-young in the Korean goal allowed Yugoslavia to cruelly snatch a point, knocking out Italy in the process.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Germany	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	5
2​	Yugoslavia	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3
3​	Italy	3	1	0	2	6	5	+1	2
4​	Korea	3	0	1	2	4	11	-7	1

Results

June 17 Italy 5-2 Korea

June 17 Yugoslavia 0-0 Germany

June 20 Korea 0-4 Germany

June 20 Italy 0-1 Yugoslavia

June 23 Yugoslavia 2-2 Korea

June 23 Germany 2-1 Italy

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were scheduled for four days after the conclusion of the group stages and were played on June 26 & 27, with the draw as follows:

June 27 Brazil vs. Czechoslovakia

June 26 Hungary vs. France

June 27 Uruguay vs. Yugoslavia

June 26 Germany vs. Austria

The first match, played between the hosts France and the fancied Hungarians in Paris was a goal-fest, with Hungary eventually triumphing 5-3 to send the hosts out, though the game was only decided in the last quarter of an hour of play. Hungary, having made some injury enforced changes, with Mihalj Tot replacing Purczeld, raced into a three-goal lead thanks to the superb finishing of Sándor Kocsis. France, carried perhaps by the home crowd, fought hard but managed to square the game 3-3 by the hour mark, thanks to an inspired performance from Raymond Kopaszewski who scored France’s first goal and set-up the other two. Hungary, perhaps taken aback by the ferocity of the French response initially struggled to regain the upper hand, but retook the lead through an own goal from French defender Robert Jonquet, before Gyula Lipovics scored the winner in the 85th minute. The Hungarians were cheered from the field, with the Hungarian coach comparing the scenes to the triumphant return of the French army to Paris in 1944.[29]

The second quarter-final, pairing neighbours Germany and Austria was a less exciting affair, with the Germans triumphing 2-0 in a game that was marred as a contest by the first half injury to Austrian centre-forward Erich Probst, which hampered Austria’s attacking threat. Goals from Helmut Rahn and Werner Liebrich saw the Germans home, and the match marked the first time Germany played in their change strip of green shirts, white shorts and green socks.[30] While the match itself was a fairly routine German win, it had drawn much commentary in both nations, due to wartime history and the changing relations between the two nations in the aftermath of the war itself.

The third quarter-final, between Brazil and Czechoslovakia is perhaps more famous for the brawl and bad-tempered nature of the match than the result itself – Brazil won the match 3-1 while the “Battle of Bourdeaux” was inconclusive. The game itself, had been viewed as one of the ties of the round – Brazil played notably attacking football and had a strong forward line, while the Czechoslovaks played a more physical variant of the traditional Danubian passing game, with many expecting the game to be a classic. Brazil led 2-1 at half-time, thanks to goals from Djalma Santos and Julinho, while the Czechs had clawed one back through Anton Malatinský and had been unlucky not equalise with Ladislav Kačáni denied an equaliser through a fine save from Moacir Barbosa in the Brazilian goal. It would be the second half however, where the descent into violence would begin, as both Czechoslovak captain Ladislav Novák and Brazilian defender Nilton Santos were sent off for fighting following a foul on Novák by the Brazilian. From here on in, the game descended into a mess of cynical fouls, bad tackles and general foul-play with the Brazilians vehemently protesting when referee Arthur Ellis failed to award a penalty for a foul on Waldyr Pereira, who himself was sent off for a foul on Malatinský. In the midst of all this, Brazil added a third through Maurinho to kill off the contest. The final whistle saw the two sides descend into a brawl, which was eventually broken up by French gendarmes – nevertheless Brazil were through.

In the final quarter-final, holders Uruguay defeated Olympic champions Yugoslavia 2-0 thanks to goals from their captain Obdulio Varela[31] and Juan Hohberg. Yugoslavia began strongly and came close to scoring through Miloš Milutinović. The conditions, with a driving rain sweeping across the stadium in Lille, hindered the passing play of both teams, and the first goal saw Varela poke home following a goalmouth scramble, with Yugoslav goalkeeper Vladimir Beara stranded. The second however, was of real quality, with Hohberg running onto a superb defence splitting pass from Ghiggia to fire past Beara and secure the win.

Results:

June 27 Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia

June 26 Hungary 5-3 France

June 27 Uruguay 2-0 Yugoslavia

June 26 Germany 2-0 Austria

Semi-finals

The semi-finals, scheduled for June 30 saw a replay of the 1950 final between Brazil and Uruguay, and an all European tie between favourites Hungary and the surprise-package Germany. The first of these matches, was hotly anticipated, particularly in South America, with Brazil clamouring for revenge on the nation which had inflicted the fantasma.

The game would see no Brazilian vengeance, as hampered by the absence of Waldyr Pereira and Nilton Santos, both of whom were suspended following the quarter-final with Czechoslovakia, Brazil struggled to break-down an obdurate Uruguay. Two goals from Juan Hohberg settled the tie in Uruguay’s favour, with Brazil, paralysed perhaps by the traumatic memories of Rio four years earlier retreated into their shells. Uruguay’s excellent record at the finals (having reached the semi-finals or final in every tournament they had competed in) and seeming hoodoo over Brazil continued.

The match between Germany and Hungary was a tight affair, with the Hungarians initially struggling to break down the dogged German defence. Purczeld, restored to the line-up, was largely subdued, and it would take a József Bozsik free-kick to break the deadlock just before half-time. Max Morlock would equalise for the Germans, and the game seemed to be heading to a replay before Zoltán Czibor scored the decisive second goal in the 97th minute to send Hungary through to their first ever World Cup final. Germany, despite the heartbreak were acclaimed back home – a symbol of a new nation, freed from the past, their time at the World Cup would come again. The Germans, would finish third having comfortably beaten Brazil 3-1 (the Brazilians suffering the after effects of another traumatic defeat to Uruguay.

Results

June 30 Uruguay 2-0 Brazil

June 30 Germany 1-2 Hungary

Third place playoff

July 3 Germany 3-1 Brazil

The final

The final was highly anticipated, with the holders Uruguay facing a Hungarian side whose style of play was revolutionary.[32] Like in 1950, Uruguay were seen as the underdog, though in the Hungarians they faced an opponent who were nowhere near as hubristic as the Brazilians in 1950. The game should nevertheless been a real moment of apotheosis for the Hungarian golden team – that it wasn’t is one of the great cruelties of sport, though perhaps the irony of the losing side still being discussed long after the winners had been forgotten perhaps makes up for it.[33] Uruguay, nevertheless were certainly not there to roll over – while not as reliant on individual skill as their neighbours in Brazil and Argentina, their gameplan was built around a strong defence and an improvisational attack, in contrast to the systemised, positional play of the Hungarians.

The match, played in Paris began at a furious pace, with Hungary taking the lead through Purczeld, who scored from close range after Máspoli had been unable to hold onto Kocsis’s shot. Uruguay, were a side who thrived in adversity, and motivated by their rock of a captain Varela, equalised through Ghiggia who ghosted home to score a header at the near post from a corner. The game, both sides now level, settled into a fairly even contest, though Uruguay were indebted to Máspoli for keeping the scores level at half-time, as he made a superb double save to deny Nándor Hidegkuti and Purczeld.

The second half, saw Hungary denied a second goal as Purczeld was ruled offside by Welsh linesman Benjamin Griffiths[34], and with Uruguay deploying Rodríguez Andrade as a holding midfielder with a brief to man-mark and disrupt Hidegkuti, Hungary’s fluency in the final third began to fade, though Máspoli made a sharp save to deny Czibor in the 70th minute. The game would be won by a moment of individual brilliance from Juan Schiaffino, who running onto a pass after Varela had dispossessed Bozsik feinted with his right foot, before burying a drive beyond the despairing reach of Gyula Grosics in the Hungarian goal.

Uruguay’s triumph was greeted with an explosion of joy in Montevideo, with Juan López, the manager who had overseen their consecutive triumphs, awarded with the country’s highest civilian honour, while the squad were awarded presidential medals. Despite the triumph, it would be Hungary’s systemised approach that would become the dominant approach to football in the second half of the twentieth century, with Uruguay’s triumph, the last victory for a solely improvisational approach to football on the world stage.

Result

July 4 Uruguay 2-1 Hungary

---

[1] Though England had lost to Eire at home in 1948, most commentators didn’t classify this as a defeat to a foreign side, with the general public largely treating it as an extension of the home internationals, largely due to Eire’s status as a republic in the commonwealth following the 1941 constitutional changes.
[2] While Germany and Hungary were officially neutral, democratic republics their non-aligned political status saw them as a bridge between the Soviet sphere and the West. The tournament itself, saw Yugoslavia end Hungary’s long unbeaten record for their only international triumph.
[3] By the time of the 1954 World Cup, Walter Winterbottom had taken sole charge, though his assistants included Frank Swift, the former Manchester City and England goalkeeper and Manchester United coach Tom Curry. Due to the need to compromise, the selection committee remained but was largely an advisory body and no longer held a veto over selections.
[4] In governmental terms at least: while the constitutional reforms granted greater powers to the prime minister and cabinet, the country was split between left and right, while overseas French troops were in the midst of a brutal war in Indochina and facing rising tensions in North Africa.
[5] The Paris Treaty expanded the 1946 London Agreement between France and the UK to include the Low Countries and Italy. The United States, while never a member, signed a memorandum of understanding with the PTO, which essentially aligned Western Europe with the United States in the Cold War. The Americans had signed a similar memorandum with the Nordic Defence Union (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) in 1949 and enjoyed cordial relations with the non-aligned nations of Central and Southern Europe who had signed respective treaties with the US, their Western European counterparts and the Soviets, leaving postwar Europe a largely split between these three blocs.
[6] Despite the somewhat grandiose name, the CECI operated as a talking shop for intercontinental trade and economic policies. While originally envisioned as a way to establish a common economic area as envisioned by French politician Robert Schuman, opposition from the non-aligned nations in Central Europe (known as the Danubian Five) restricted its purview, though there would be convergence on some areas of trade and economics, such as standardisations, as well as membership expansion over the next few decades.
[7] Previously national sides had flexibility over the size of the playing squad they took to a tournament, with the maximum number being eighteen, including four non-travelling reserves. The rule change made the twenty-two squad size mandatory.
[8] Including some of the bigger industrial companies such as Peugeot, cigarette brand Gauloise and various household good brands. The tournament is also notable for being one of the first to feature equipment partnerships between various sporting brands and national sides including Geda, Le Coq Sportif, Umbro and Ferrino.
[9] While they partook in a loosely separate qualifying tournament, African and Middle Eastern sides were grouped with Europe as Africa’s small confederal size and opposition from both European and South American sides meant that Africa was not granted a separate qualifying spot. The Middle Eastern sides, including Turkey and Israel had not yet fully affiliated to a continental confederation and were group with Europe for geographic ease.
[10] In all three previous appearances the Italians had qualified automatically, either as hosts or holders.
[11] Korea had played matches during the period of Japanese occupation, but only following the establishment of the independent (if Soviet aligned) Korea in 1947 did a national side begin to play matches.
[12] A canary yellow shirt with green trim and three green vertical stripes across the middle, blue shorts and white socks, combining the colours of the Brazilian flag. The change was instigated due to the white strip worn in the final of 1950 being deemed insufficiently patriotic.
[13] Waldyr’s freekick style, which saw the ball additional spin as it headed towards the goal became revelatory for European sides, with the more tactically inclined also noting his deep-lying midfield role for the Brazilians.
[14] Barbosa, who had been first choice for 1950 was now behind Gilberto in the pecking order but played due to the first choice having suffered a stomach upset before the game.
[15] Copland, who was making his international debut at the age of 29, would play sporadically for Scotland up until 1957 remains the only Raith Rovers player to score at the World Cup.
[16] This would be his only international goal.
[17] Since their debut in 1930, Mexico had yet to win a game despite playing in four of the five tournaments and had in seven games at the finals had conceded 31 goals while scoring only five.
[18] Hungary were coached by former international and committed communist Gusztáv Sebes, who had adopted a version of Márton Bukovi’s 4-2-4 (though to modern eyes the formation didn’t resemble this as much – later developments in both Brazil and Central Europe would formalise the formation.)
[19] With the exception of Sweden and Poland, both of whom were competitive if limited sides, four of those games had been against the minnows of Iceland and Luxembourg and Mexico. Hungary’s goalscoring record between 1948 and 1954 is however unlikely to be matched any time soon.
[20] Pedro Dellacha, who would captain the side in 1958 was 27.
[21] There has been speculation in recent years that the tackle was a deliberate ploy to injure Purczeld, but at the time it was largely viewed as a hard but fair tackle.
[22] Merrick was one of the survivors of Hungary’s 4-1 and 6-0 victories over England (the latter of which remains England’s record defeat.)
[23] Haynes, an inside forward would as a result gradually play as what we would term an attacking midfielder/second striker, though in England’s tinkered W-M he was still recognisably an inside forward.
[24] Geda would later split in 1960 as the two brothers fell out over strategy and earnings, with Adolf Dassler forming Addas and Rudolf forming RuDa.
[25] The controversy would be reignited four years later when Vianna revealed that he should have awarded Italy for a handball from Ivan Horvat and that Boniperti’s sending off was motivated by irritation with the Italian captain rather than foul play.
[26] Speculated by some to be due to the fact that Marseille was close to Monaco and the Riviera, though in the case of the Crown Prince the royal family did contain one well-known football fan.
[27] The issue became taken up by the German government delegation attending the event with the French organising committee, with the issue later raised during an informal meeting of the French and German foreign ministers, Robert Schuman and Franz Neumann.
[28] Trautmann, who had found fame in England following his signing by Manchester City in 1949 had returned to Germany with Schalke 04 in 1952 and quickly established himself as national team first choice. While in England he had been known as Bert, but upon his return to Germany reverted to using Bernd as his shorter first name. Trautmann, would become well liked at Manchester City and would return to the club later in the decade following a falling out with the Schalke management.
[29] Sebes had played in France and had ties to the French labour movement from his time playing for a Renault factory side. A committed communist, who was often viewed with suspicion by his non-aligned government and FA, Sebes often insisted that his side played a socialist style of football, much to the chagrin of the conservative government of László Varga.
[30] The colours were those of the German football association DFB.
[31] Still captaining the side at the age of thirty-six, in contrast to his holding midfield role in 1950, he had dropped deeper into defence, operating as a third centre-half, due to his lack of pace.
[32] In Europe at least: in South America, which ironically thanks to a Hungarian coaching influence, the passing style, if not the wholly committed team ethos was well known.
[33] Somewhat unfairly to the Uruguayans who became not only the first side to win three world cups but only the second to win consecutive tournaments, as well as the first South American side to triumph in Europe.
[34] A strict disciplinarian, Griffiths was a teacher in his day job, giving his officiating a schoolmasterly air. Griffiths, who became the first Welshman to referee the FA Cup final, would later describe his experiences officiating in the cup final and World Cup final as second in pride to meeting King Edward VIII when officiating the FA Cup final,

 

[Stateless]

Did the World Cup being in France, rather than the relatively cooler Switzerland, contribute to Germany's defeat? You mention a hot match played in Marseille, and a wet one played between Germany and Yugoslavia. Fritz Walter had contracted malaria in North Africa (not sure whether a North African theatre was part of the Second World War in this timeline), which meant he struggled in hot weather. I do feel for the Aranycsapat, even if Yugoslavia have already taken their lustre off. The Ezüstcapat. I expect to see the Netherlands similarly hard done by, to maintain their status as football also-rans.

Fascinating the other glimpses we get of an alternate world - Puskas not Magyarising his name for example, and the Italian royal family watching a match in 1954.

The third World Cup victory for Uruguay means that they, not Brazil, are the permanent winners of the Jules Rimet trophy (which maybe doesn't get stolen from Montevideo and melted down). So a new trophy for 1958, probably in a different design.

A 1958 tournament in Mexico will be quite different to our one in Sweden. It will be interesting to see if all the home nations qualify, if England's improvements with regards coaching and selection allow them to escape their group, whether Brazil are too psychologically damaged by twin defeats by Uruguay, and whether one of France's best ever teams (Kopa, Fontaine, Piantoni) can improve on their performance in our timeline.

 

[morbidteaparty]

Did the World Cup being in France, rather than the relatively cooler Switzerland, contribute to Germany's defeat? You mention a hot match played in Marseille, and a wet one played between Germany and Yugoslavia. Fritz Walter had contracted malaria in North Africa (not sure whether a North African theatre was part of the Second World War in this timeline), which meant he struggled in hot weather. I do feel for the Aranycsapat, even if Yugoslavia have already taken their lustre off. The Ezüstcapat. I expect to see the Netherlands similarly hard done by, to maintain their status as football also-rans.

Fascinating the other glimpses we get of an alternate world - Puskas not Magyarising his name for example, and the Italian royal family watching a match in 1954.

The third World Cup victory for Uruguay means that they, not Brazil, are the permanent winners of the Jules Rimet trophy (which maybe doesn't get stolen from Montevideo and melted down). So a new trophy for 1958, probably in a different design.

A 1958 tournament in Mexico will be quite different to our one in Sweden. It will be interesting to see if all the home nations qualify, if England's improvements with regards coaching and selection allow them to escape their group, whether Brazil are too psychologically damaged by twin defeats by Uruguay, and whether one of France's best ever teams (Kopa, Fontaine, Piantoni) can improve on their performance in our timeline.

I'm glad the world building feels realistic! I've always had the idea of writing something around there being a third neutral (if somewhat Finlandised) European bloc between those largely aligned with the US and the Warsaw Pact. As a result of this l, this world is slightly less binary (if still very much dealing with a cold war.) If there's any general interest, I might write a general overview of the world itself at some point but I don't want to get too bogged down in world building and neglect the football!

Regarding it being hosted in France, Germany are somewhat hampered by conditions as well as hostility on the part of the French public - France and the reconstituted, bourgeois republic (as described by Molotov) have cool relations but are generally aligned. No one wants a repeat of Franco-German revanchism!

As for Mexico 58, there will be numerous wrinkles, but the next thing I'm planning is a general update on the world of international club football (particularly Europe.) Watch this space!

 

[Stateless]

Also looking forward to Run DMC's 1986 hit, My Addas. I think the subtle worldbuilding is best, rather than actually explicitly having an update about the wider world. Keep the focus on the football!

 

[morbidteaparty]

As football began to return to pre-eminence in the postwar years, and as international trade and ties began to return to normality, football faced growing calls for greater international competition, both at the club and national team level. With club friendlies often regarded as informal challenges for a title, particularly in Europe, the continental football governing bodies, established in the aftermath of war, began to explore the possibility of establishing their own international championships. These would be established reasonably quickly in both Africa and Asia, with the first continental championships outside of South America established in 1955 and 1956 respectively.

In Europe, perhaps hampered by the slower consolidation, international formalised competition was concentrated on club football, given particular impetus by the growing number of prestigious friendlies between club sides from across the continent. In contrast, to the continental tensions inherent in the deepening Cold War, football relations between the various national FAs were relatively cordial with club sides from the Communist east taking part in friendly matches against their counterparts in the west and centre.[1] The growing internationalising of club friendlies across the continent, spurred the UAEF to begin formalising a series of international club tournaments, spurred in part by the success of the Latin and Danube Cups played by sides in Western and Central Europe.[2] Following negotiations between the UAEF, national football associations and publishing organisations, the first European Cup was agreed to be held from the 1955-56 season onwards, with entry open to league champions from each affiliated football association. The success of this tournament would see the establishment of the Intercity Federation Cup from 1957-58[3] and a Cup Winners Cup from 1959-60, granting Europe three continental club tournaments.

The club tournaments, would from a slow start, become wildly successful and highly regarded, even within the traditionally conservative British Isles, whose FAs (under the direction of Football Association General Secretary Stanley Rous and with support from most of the clubs) supported the establishment of the tournaments. Indeed British sides, would become strongly competitive in the tournament, with Aberdeen, Manchester United and Chelsea all making the semi-finals in the first five years of the tournament, though it would become synonymous with sides from the former Latin Cup with clubs from Spain, France and Italy all winning it in the first five years.[4] The success of the tournament, was also marked by the growing level of tactical and commercial innovation across the game, with almost all nations, with the exception of those under communist control, having some sort of professional league, though the money on offer varied massively across the board.[5] Commercially, the tournaments also saw increased sponsorship, with brands from across Western Europe interested in some sort of sponsorship in the various competitions.[6] While the European Cup was largely dominated by sides from Spain and Italy, the Federation Cup was a more even affair, though Barcelona’s hat-trick of triumphs over English opposition (Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United twice) demonstrated the potency of Spanish club football.[7]

What is perhaps most striking about this period of continental club football, is the significant shift it marks in the transition of football to the commercial behemoth it is today, particularly with the increase of sponsorship, as well as the increase in players moving from across the continent to the increasingly monied leagues of Italy and Spain, a trend which had begun with South Americans from the 1930s onwards.[8] While it would become increasingly professionalised from the late 1960s onwards, the postwar boom years of the 1950s, it can be argued, is the real locus point for when commercial interests began to become increasingly involved with the sport.

If the club tournaments were a roaring success, it would take slightly longer to get full support for the international championships envisioned by UAEF, with numerous nations sceptical of the worth of a new international tournament, though by 1968 when the format was revised it would be firmly established as a prestigious competition.[9] While there were claims that the establishment of the tournament would be detrimental to the World Cup, the main knock-on effect was on the Olympic football tournament, which for countries outside the Eastern bloc, largely became a sideshow for European nations as the continental championship grew in stature.

***​

In contrast to Europe, African football was broadly enthusiastic in support for the idea of a continental international championship, with the idea first proposed by the Ethiopian FA in 1951. The first African continental championship held in 1955, having been delayed due to funding disagreements and political upheaval in Cairo, with Egypt having been due to host the first tournament.[10] Following negotiations, it was agreed that the newly independent Sudan would host the tournament which was contested by the six founding members of the African Football Confederation (AFC/CAF), on a round-robin basis, followed by a final between the top two teams.[11] Egypt, perhaps unsurprisingly given their World Cup experience, comfortably won the tournament, defeating Ethiopia 6-2 in the final, with South Africa finishing third ahead of the hosts and Libya.[12] The tournament, would grow from modest beginnings to encompass the continent as decolonisation picked up pace – it would also, after three successive Egyptian triumphs become a more competitive tournament, with winners from across the continent. Africa, would also see the establishment of various regional international and club tournaments, as the size of the continent, and general lack of infrastructure across most of Sub-Saharan Africa made pan-continental tournaments outside of the Cup of Nations difficult. As a result, in contrast to Europe, Africa’s continental club football wouldn’t see a dedicated tournament until the mid-1960s, and it wouldn’t be until 1970 that the African Champions Cup would be fully established as a competition.

In Asia, similarly to Africa, support for an international tournament was widespread, with nations from across the continent agreeing to the creation of a competition in 1953.[13] The first tournament was held in 1956 in Hong Kong and saw the Koreans triumph over Israel in the final, with all matches played at the Government Stadium. Korea’s triumph saw them cement their reputation as Asia’s pre-eminent side, having become the first ever Asian side to secure a point at the World Cup in 1954. The expansion of the AFU’s membership, saw increasing politicisation of the competition from the 1960 edition onwards – Israel’s complicated status was already established, and following the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, they would resign from the AFU and become a member of the UAEF, essentially formalising what had been de facto for the 1950s.

While Israel’s situation would be resolved largely amicably, the status of the Two Chinas, with the American-backed Republic controlling most of the country, facing a communist controlled Soviet aligned state in Manchuria.[14] The ROC had been a founding member of the AFU, while the PRC’s admittance would be confirmed in 1957, further entangling Asian sport into the Cold War. Similarly, to Israel, a solution was found, with the two sides always grouped separately, though as with a notorious match at the 1972 Asian Cup, they would face each other occasionally.

Unlike Europe, where the club game had long routes, outside of India and the Middle East, club football was largely undeveloped in Asia, making the establishment of a continental club competition a moot point until the late 1960s, when state and private investment in sport across the continent turbocharged the development of the sport across the continent. Despite the lack of relative development, the increased internationalisation of football was reflected by European and Latin American sides beginning to tour the continent, though these were largely confined to the Far East.[15]

In contrast to the late development of continental tournaments at both club and international level, the Americas were well developed in both, by the time of the 1950s, though South America’s club tournament was considerably more prestigious than those of North America, which were sporadically organised and dominated by Mexican sides.

In 1948, the CSF organised the Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones, which brought together eight champions from across the continent, excluding Colombia and Venezuela, which was won by Brazilian side Vasco da Gama. Recognising the success of the tournament, the CSF then organised it as a yearly competition from 1951 onwards, building upon the success of the original tournament, as well as the long established Copa Rioplatense, which was played between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay. The success of the tournament, would be a partial inspiration to the establishment of the European Cup, though by the late 1950s, the financial centre of gravity was beginning to pull players from South America to Europe, mostly Spain, Italy and Portugal.

South America also played host to the longest running international tournament, with the Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol having been established in 1916, and played fairly continuously since, minus the odd change in format and disputes between individual associations, though it was broadly taken seriously as a tournament, particularly in countries such as Chile, Peru and Paraguay where it offered the chance to bloody the noses of their more esteemed neighbours in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. The success of the tournament in terms of longevity, similarly to that of its much later club counterpart, also encouraged other confederations and associations to organise their own regional and continental tournaments.

The biggest takeaway from these developments, was the greater internationalisation of football – the World Cup remained (and still is) the pinnacle, but the increasing primacy of the club game would see club football begin to overtake international football as the most prestigious form of the sport, international tournaments notwithstanding. These developments wouldn’t become truly pronounced until the 1980s, and while continental club competitions would become broadly popular in their own right (perhaps more pronounced in Europe and South America than elsewhere), it remained broadly true for many football fans that their own domestic tournaments and performances of their national team were the main yardsticks by which they would judge their football – none more so than the World Cup.

---

[1] The most famous of these, was the series of friendlies played between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hungarian, Czech and Soviet sides as part of a series goodwill tours.
[2] The Latin Cup was played between the nations of France, Italy, Spain and Portugal and had been established in 1948 as an end of season club tournament, while the Danube Cup was a continuation of the old Mitroipa Cup, expanded to include club sides from Germany. Other club tournaments were held in the Low Countries and Scandinavia, while the British Isles would see periodic tournaments for club sides from the Home Nations to mark significant events, the most notable of which was the 1961 Jubilee Cup held to celebrate Edward VIII’s Silver Jubilee.
[3] This tournament was opened to sides who finished second in their respective leagues, having originally grown from an informal tournament linked to trade shows held across the continent. The tournament would drop the Intercity from its title in 1961.
[4] A.C. Milan won the inaugural tournament in 1956 and a second in 1958, while Madrid F.C. won in 1957 and 1960, with French side Reims triumphing in 1959.
[5] British clubs still had a system of a maximum wage, which began to see numbers of players move to Europe as countries such as Italy, Spain and Germany had no such system, though the majority moved to Italy were salaries were significantly higher than anywhere else in Europe.
[6] These were largely limited to hoardings, newspaper and periodical advertising and in a controversial case, national pools. Shirt sponsorship would remain banned until the 1970s, but sports equipment manufacturers would begin to sign deals with clubs participating in continental competition across Western and Central Europe. Europe, as with most football related matters, were behind the South Americans on this, with Uruguayan football seeing commercial sponsorship become widespread by the end of the 1940s.
[7] Spain, who had emerged from a bloody civil war in the early 1940s with the republican government triumphant, had benefitted from significant American aid and was undergoing a boom similar to those experienced elsewhere in Western Europe, with club sides well-funded and able to increasingly attract exceptional players globally, allowing them to compete with the continent’s pre-eminent league, Italy’s Serie A.
[8] While most striking in Serie A, where players from Northern Europe became increasingly common, it was a phenomenon across the continent, with British and Irish players beginning to move abroad, while the British clubs also found players from overseas, though this was still largely limited to the Commonwealth.
[9] The tournament, was originally held as a straight knockout, with hosts and semi-finals being decided once the preceding rounds had been completed. From 1968, the tournament would be revised as an eight team affair, with two separate groups and a host decided upon in advance, similar to that of the World Cup.
[10] Egypt’s monarchy had been overthrown by the army at the start of the decade and had bene replaced by a republican government headed by General Muhammad Naguib, which had soon fragmented under tensions between the more moderate and radical wings of the movement. Following the assassination of radical figurehead Gamal Nasser in 1954, the moderate wing under Naguib and Abdel Latif Boghdadi consolidated control, with Egypt establishing itself as a parliamentary republic. The overthrow of the monarchy also granted de facto independence to Sudan, which was formally recognised by the British Labour government in 1954.
[11] Due to Liberia withdrawing for financial reasons, the tournament went ahead with five sides.
[12] South Africa, under the long-serving United Party which had governed the party since 1934, was gradually transitioning from minority rule, though the majority of political power still remained in largely white hands. The national team itself, similar to the cricket side, picked largely from the white and coloured communities, though Louis Johanneson would become the first of many black players to debut for the side from the 1960s onwards. South Africa, had a strong team, including several players from English First Division side Charlton Athletic.
[13] This included Israel, who for political reasons often competed in European competition to qualify for the World Cup, but were a founding member of the Asian Football Union. For political reasons, they were largely grouped with sides from the Asia-Pacific region, or with nations from central and southern Asia who recognised them such as Iran and India.
[14] While officially referred to as the People’s Republic of China, it’s geographical location largely led it to be informally known as Manchuria.
[15] With the notable exception of Iran, whose Shah funded a one-off club competition in 1971 to commemorate both the anniversary of the Iranian monarchy and the celebration of Iran being awarded the 1978 finals, albeit in highly controversial circumstances, which will be covered later in this book.

 

[Stateless]

Did Germany organise a national-level league earlier in this timeline?

Is there a team from Königsberg, or Stettin, or Breslau in the Bundesliga?

 

[morbidteaparty]

Did Germany organise a national-level league earlier in this timeline?

Is there a team from Königsberg, or Stettin, or Breslau in the Bundesliga?

Germany establishes a truly national league (as opposed to a national championship based on regional qualifiers) in 1953 following the reintegration of the Saar Protectorate into the republic. Stettin remains within Germany, but Breslau and Königsberg are part of Poland postwar (though Königsberg is effectively a Soviet satelitte port, as the Soviets have naval treaty rights with Poland's government to use it.) Two Stettin sides play in the German league system, though neither are in the top flight - Polonia, founded by the Polish community and Hansa Stettin both bob along in the Nord-Ost regional league.

Football in Germany is officially semi-professional, but is de facto professional - players like Bernd Trautmann who returned from Manchester City are earning more money in Germany than he could've in England at the time as a professional, though obviously the level of payment varies widely from club to club.

A national second division is established in 1963, with the regional leagues becoming a third tier below that.

 

[Stateless]

Ooh, is the German league trophy the Viktoria rather than the Meisterschal? The Viktoria was missing after OTL's Second World War, so they commissioned the Meisterschal, but then the Viktoria turned up a year later. It's a more interesting trophy than the Meisterschal, which looks like a trophy for the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix.

 

[morbidteaparty]

Ooh, is the German league trophy the Viktoria rather than the Meisterschal? The Viktoria was missing after OTL's Second World War, so they commissioned the Meisterschal, but then the Viktoria turned up a year later. It's a more interesting trophy than the Meisterschal, which looks like a trophy for the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Yeah same trophy - I know from Uli Hesse's excellent history of German football Tor! that the original trophy is much nicer.

 

[morbidteaparty]

Background and format

1958 saw the tournament hosted outside of Europe or South America for the first time in its history, with Mexico having been selected as host following a vote of the FIFA Executive Committee in 1950. Despite a strong lobbying effort from the Swedes, Mexico comfortably won the vote of the executive committee, and the tournament returned to the Americas.[1] The awarding of the tournament to Mexico was seen as a Latin American triumph, with the tournament following on from the 1956 Buenos Aires Olympics.

Mexico, like much of Latin America, was in the midst of a postwar economic boom, and all of the venues for the tournament would be constructed from scratch, with the exception of Toluca’s La Bombonera, which had been built in the 1940s. The country also began a programme of infrastructure construction, including the building of Mexico City’s metro system (which would be completed in 1959) and an updating of its road and aviation networks. Similarly, to the tournament in Brazil, Mexico selected venues across its densely populated central belt, and while the stadiums themselves were well received, the heat of the Mexican summer, as well as issues of altitude were expected to be factors in the tournament itself.[2]

Mexico’s national side, in contrast to their burgeoning economy and growing influence internationally[3] was however something of an international whipping boy – far too strong for North America, and far too weak for the World Cup. As a result of the particularly humiliating performance in 1954, the government began to expand upon its investment in football, with further corporate involvement encouraged.[4] The national side, inspired by Brazil had also changed its colours to reflect those of its national flag, with green jerseys and white shorts replacing the maroon and blue combination previously worn. More impressively, the FA appointed the Uruguayan Juan López, who had coached Uruguay to victory in 1950 and 1954, as national team coach following his stepping down from Uruguay in 1955.[5]

As playoffs had not been required at the 1954 tournament despite being implemented, 1958 reverted to the format used in 1950, with a round-robin group phase and knockout round. The tournament was also the first to allow substitutions, following changes to the laws of the game in 1956, with two substitutes permitted per team from a group of five.[6] Similarly to 1954, there was increased commercial partnerships, though as in 1954 these were almost entirely Mexican companies, and were largely limited to the hoardings of the stadiums themselves. The tournament would also indicate the growing expansion of television, though compared to the glorious technicolour of the 1970s, the coverage often felt staid. Finally, as Uruguay had become the first side to win three World Cups, and had thus been handed the trophy permanently, a new trophy was commissioned. The result was a similar design to the original, with the figure of Victory holding up the Earth, with the names of previous winners engraved at the bottom. The trophy was named after Jules Rimet, the former FIFA president who had inaugurated the finals.

Qualification

Mexico and Uruguay qualified automatically, leaving fourteen places to be decided via qualification, with three for the Americas (one for the north and two for the south), ten for Europe and one place to be decided via a playoff of the top finishing teams from Africa and Asia.

Qualification for 1958 marked the first time that the Home Nations entered qualification separate from the Home Nations Championship, which had been used for 1950 and 1954, and with the exception of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland would qualify for the finals, the latter making their debut.[7] While England’s group was straightforward, with England seeing off Ireland, Denmark and Albania, the performances of their young side, which was largely built around Manchester United, created much excitement for the tournament.

While England’s qualification from a fairly easy group was largely expected, Scotland and Northern Ireland’s qualification were both genuine surprises, with the Scots triumphing over Italy, who failed to qualify for the first time.[8] Northern Ireland, under the astute management of Peter Doherty, qualified ahead of Spain, who failed to qualify for the second successive time. Only Wales, drawn in a group with Czechoslovakia and Israel failed to qualify, though they were unfortunate to lose to the Czechs in the decisive qualifier.

In the rest of Europe, Germany qualified with a perfect record ahead of Austria and Turkey, the latter of whom were now fully established as part of European football. Yugoslavia and Hungary, still based around the 1954 side, qualified comfortably as did France who scored nineteen goals in their four qualifying matches. Sweden, bolstered by the return of their Italian professionals to the national side following the lifting of the ban on professional internationals, made heavy weather of the Dutch and Luxembourg and squeaked home thanks to a late winner in Amsterdam from Gunnar Nordahl. The final European slot was taken by the Soviets, who had emerged from Stalin’s shadow, following his death in 1952, and were the reigning Olympic champions, having defeated Argentina in the final. Their qualification, ahead of the Poles saw them return to the World Cup for the first time since 1938.

If European qualification, was reasonably surprise free, Scotland and Northern Ireland notwithstanding, the Americas saw two real surprises emerge. In the North, Mexico’s absence, opened up competition, as the usual behemoth wasn’t in the way. To the surprise of many, though perhaps not their squad, who had dominated Central American football for most of the decade, Costa Rica finished comfortably top of the six team round robin to comfortably qualify. By qualifying, the Costa Ricans became the first Central American side to participate at the finals, and first nation outside of Mexico or the US to qualify for the tournament proper.

In South America, an even bigger shock occurred – Paraguay, often the ugly sister to her glamourous neighbours, crushed Argentina 5-0 in Asunción to qualify for the finals for the third time.[9] Brazil, often weighed down by expectation, comfortably qualified for the finals, and due in part to the obsession with overcoming the fantasma of successive defeats to Uruguay at the finals, took a large support staff, including for the first time a psychologist. In Flávio Costa and Vicente Feola, Brazil also possessed two innovative coaches, with Costa having been heavily influenced by Hungarian coaches at Flamengo and implementing a similar style (which would gradually evolve to the back four which became dominant tactically from the 1960s onwards) while Feola had coached Sao Paulo to dominance in the Campeonato Paulista using a more defensive version of the same system. The combination saw them comfortably swat aside Peru and Colombia to qualify for their sixth successive finals, a record.

The final qualifying spot, was to be decided between Africa and Asia, a situation which would draw greater protest from both continents in the 1960s, as their memberships expanded rapidly. Korea, who had qualified in 1954, again comfortably finished top of their qualification group to set-up a playoff with Vietnam, who had finished ahead of the Republic of China and Indonesia to make the playoff. Korea won 8-2 on aggregate to qualify for the final round, which drew them against the African group winners. This would normally be expected to be Egypt, who had been Africa’s sole representative in four finals, and were continental champions in both 1955 and 1957. However, they would be surprised by Ethiopia, who finished first in the round robin series, ahead of the Egyptians, Sudanese and South Africans, who forfeited their final qualifier against Ethiopia due to travel issues. The playoff was decided over two legs, with the first in Addis Ababa ending in a draw, before Korea, with their side containing several veterans of 1954, won 2-0 in Seoul to send them the through to the World Cup for the second time.

Participating nations

• Mexico (hosts)
• Uruguay (holders)
• Brazil
• Costa Rica (debut)
• Czechoslovakia
• England
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• Korea
• Northern Ireland (debut)
• Paraguay
• Scotland
• Soviet Union
• Sweden
• Yugoslavia

FIFA retained the seeding system from 1954, with the four semi-finalists from that tournament, seeded for this one, alongside hosts Mexico, England, the Soviet Union and France. The draw for the tournament took place on February 8, 1954, with the groups as follows:

Group 1: Mexico, France, Northern Ireland, Czechoslovakia

Group 2: Soviet Union, Hungary, Paraguay, Costa Rica

Group 3: Brazil, Germany, Scotland, Korea

Group 4: England, Uruguay, Sweden, Yugoslavia

The groups, similarly to Brazil were geographically concentrated, though the selection of Veracruz as one of the venues would be criticised post tournament, for its humid and wet conditions, the tournament taking place during the city’s wet season.

Tournament summary

Group 1

In the Mexican media, successive failures at the World Cup, significantly tempered any expectation of the national team doing particularly well, with the Mexicans having never won or even drawn a game at the finals. Nevertheless, in their opening game, they pulled off a surprise, defeating Czechoslovakia in the newly constructed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in front of a capacity crowd of 107,000. The game itself was not a classic, as Mexico’s goal came from a goalkeeping error from the usually reliable Viliam Schrojf, who misjudged Salvador Reyes’s cross and palmed it into the path of Jaime Belmonte. Nevertheless, the win, Mexico’s first ever at the finals, was greeted with elation across the country, and viewed as testament to the coaching acumen of Juan López, who had focused on making the Mexicans well organised and hard to break down, similarly to his World Cup winning Uruguay sides.[10] The game was also notable for Adolf Scherer becoming the first substitute in World Cup history, as he replaced Pavol Molnár to make his debut.

In the other match, France overcame a stubborn Northern Ireland to win 2-1, with both goals coming from the explosive Moroccan born forward Louis Fontaine.[11] Northern Ireland, who had surprised Europe by qualifying ahead of the Spanish, proved obdurate opponents and were unlucky that Johnny Blanchflower’s header cannoned off the crossbar in the last-minute. Both sides, were effected by the altitude, and the game was played at a slower pace than in Europe.[12]

In the second round of matches, France beat Mexico 2-1, to put themselves in pole position to qualify for the knockout round. Mexico again proved stubborn opposition, but were undone by the skill of Raymond Kopaszewski, who scored once and set up Fontaine for the second, the duo’s intuitive understanding proving too much for the Mexican defence.[13] Czechoslovakia and Northern Ireland played out a 1-1 draw in scorching heat in Léon, with both sides using up their substitutes within the hour, and both sides reported dehydration after the match, with Brian Glanville later reporting that Northern Ireland’s Peter McParland (who had scored both their goals so far) suffered heat stroke.

The final round of fixtures, saw France beat Czechoslovakia 2-0, with Fontaine again scoring both goals to take his tally to five.[14] The game, again played in hot conditions, was settled by the hour, as the Czechoslovaks wilted in the face of France’s attacking pressure, and retreated into their shell, to exit the competition with a whimper.[15] France’s performances saw them become cast as a potential surprise challenger.

The other fixture saw Mexico defeat the Northern Irish 3-2 in an entertaining game, marred by poor refereeing from Argentine Juan Brozzi, who twice turned down Northern Irish penalty appeals, awarded a highly controversial penalty to the Mexicans which sealed the game, and mistakenly disallowed a Northern Irish goal for offside, which would’ve seen the British side take a 3-1 lead.[16] The game itself, was entertaining, before the controversial officiating changed the temperament, with the Northern Ireland manager Peter Doherty sent to the stands for his vehement protests at the award of the penalty that sealed Mexico’s victory. The penalty, which saw Bill Cunningham sent off the Northern Irish, was awarded for a foul on Carlos Calderón – the Northern Irish insisting instead that Calderón had fouled Robbie Blanchflower in the build-up.[17] Reyes converted the penalty to see Mexico home to the delight of the highly-partisan crowd, the Mexican press and government, which granted an exceptional request from the Governor of Mexico State, Gustavo Baz Prada, to grant a public holiday to commemorate the occasion. Northern Ireland, meanwhile returned home with the their heads held high, having been unlucky not to win their first match at the finals, and were generally regarded in the (predominantly British) press as playing with “much pluck and no little skill.”

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	France	3	3	0	0	6	2	+4	6
2​	Mexico	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	4
3​	Northern Ireland	3	0	1	2	4	6	-2	1
4​	Czechoslovakia	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3	1

Results

8 June Mexico 1-0 Czechoslovakia

8 June France 2-1 Northern Ireland

11 June Mexico 1-2 France

11 June Czechoslovakia 1-1 Northern Ireland

15 June France 2-0 Czechoslovakia

15 June Northern Ireland 2-3 Mexico

Group 2

The Soviets, returning to the finals for the first time in twenty years, were doing so as Olympic champions, and had a strong side built around Dynamo Moscow, and the surprise league runners up Torpedo Moscow, including the exquisitely skilful Eduard Streltsov.[18] They, and the Hungarians who were still largely built around the talented 1954 side were expected to comfortably qualify from a group containing Paraguay and debutantes Costa Rica.

The Soviets began with a comfortable 4-0 victory over the Costa Ricans, with goals from Streltsov, Nikita Simonyan and Valentin Ivanov. Despite the scoreline, the Costa Ricans had played well, but began to tire in the second half as the Soviets advanced fitness paid off. The game, played in Toluca, was not well attended however, with a crowd of less than 10,000 in attendance. The other opening match saw Hungary draw 1-1 with Paraguay, Juan Bautista Agüero’s strike cancelling out Lajos Tichy’s opener.

In the second round of matches, Hungary defeated the Soviets 2-1, with Ference Purczeld, who had transferred to Spanish side Espanyol in 1956[19], scoring Hungary’s first and setting up Zoltán Czibor for the second, to revive memories of the Aranycsapat. The Soviets, hampered by an injury to their captain Igor Netto[20] came close to forcing an equaliser from a Streltsov header, but were denied by a superb save from Gyula Grosics, while the Hungarians were prevented from adding to their lead, by a superb performance from Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, a proactive goalkeeper similar in style to Grosics.[21] In the other match, Costa Rica won their first ever game at the finals, defeating Paraguay 1-0 in a hard fought match, with Juan Soto scoring Costa Rica’s first ever World Cup goal, and securing the first victory for a Central American side at the finals.

The final round of fixtures saw the Soviets overcome Paraguay 2-1, with goals from Anatoli Ilyin and Simonyan seeing off the South Americans, who had taken the lead through José Parodi. The game, like others in the group, was not particularly well attend with a crowd of 8,429 seeing the Soviets triumph. In the other game, Costa Rica, held on to pull off a real shock of the round, drawing 0-0 with the Hungarians, in a game played in sweltering conditions in Veracruz. Hungary, making several changes from the victory over the Soviets, struggled to break down their opponents, who employed a deeply defensive game, much to the Hungarians frustration. Hungary finished behind the Soviets to set up a quarter final with the French, while the Soviets would face the hosts Mexico.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Soviet Union	3	2	0	1	7	3	+4	4
2​	Hungary	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	4
3​	Costa Rica	3	1	1	1	1	4	-3	3
4​	Czechoslovakia	3	0	1	2	2	3	-1	1

Results

8 June Soviet Union 4-0 Costa Rica

8 June Hungary 1-1 Paraguay

11 June Costa Rica 1-0 Paraguay

11 June Hungary 2-1 Soviet Union

15 June Paraguay 1-2 Soviet Union

15 June Costa Rica 0-0 Hungary

Group 3

Group 3 was largely expected to be a straight shootout between Brazil and Germany for the knockout stages, with Scotland viewed as tricky opponents, having knocked Italy out in qualifying, while Korea despite being Asian champions were viewed as makeweights. Brazil, tarnished by their successive traumas to Uruguay were taking no chances, having brought a professional medical set up and team psychiatrist along

Brazil began with a 3-0 victory over Korea, in a game played in a near tropical storm in Veracruz, with the Italo-Brazilian José Altafini scoring twice, with Vavá adding the third following a mistake from Ham Heung-chul in the Korean goal. Scotland and Germany, meeting for only the fourth time played out a 1-1 draw at high altitude, with the young German striker Uwe Seeler scoring the opener, before Bobby Collins equalised for the Scots. The game was perhaps most notable for an injury suffered by Scottish goalkeeper Tommy Younger, leading Bill Brown to become the first substitute goalkeeper in the competition’s history.

In the second round of matches, Scotland struggled to a 1-0 victory over Korea, a match again played in sweltering conditions, with John Mudie scoring the winner in the 75th minute. Brown, deputising for the injured Younger, prevented a draw with a superb save from the eighteen-year-old Cho Yoon-ok. In the other game, Brazil and Germany played out a tight affair, with Helmut Rahn opening the scoring, before two goals from Vavá secured the game for the Brazilians. The game was notable for the debut of two players who would become key for Brazil – the seventeen-year-old striker Dico, who came on as a substitute to make his World Cup debut, and Mané Garrincha who had missed the first game with a stomach upset. Brazil, were also playing with a back four, as opposed to the W-M formation broadly still in use in Europe. While on paper it was a 4-2-4, it was more a lopsided 4-3-3 with the winger Mário Lobo essentially playing a shuttling, auxiliary midfield role.

In the final round of matches, Germany defeated the Koreans 4-0, with goals from Seeler, Rahn and the 37 year old captain Fritz Walter, making his final appearance at the finals – attempting to clear the ball, his foot caught in the turf and he ruptured his knee, bringing a sad end to an otherwise glorious career. In Brazil’s final game, Dico, making his first start of the tournament, scored his first World Cup goal, timing his run to perfection to side foot past Bill Brown. The Scots, struggled to get into the game and conceded a second from Waldyr Pareira, who floated a free-kick into the top corner. Brazil qualified as top of the group, with Germany in second, while Scotland exited the tournament at the group stage for the third consecutive time.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	Brazil	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	6
2​	Germany	3	1	1	1	6	3	+3	3
3​	Scotland	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1	3
4​	Korea	3	0	0	3	0	8	-8	0

Results

8 June Brazil 3-0 Korea

8 June Germany 1-1 Scotland

11 June Scotland 1-0 Korea

11 June Germany 1-2 Brazil

15 June Brazil 2-0 Scotland

15 June Korea 0-4 Germany

Group 4

The final group paired holders Uruguay with three European sides in England, Yugoslavia, and Sweden. Uruguay had an aging team, but were expected to do well in Mexico, while both Yugoslavia and Sweden were viewed as tricky opponents, particularly with Sweden bringing back their Italian stars to the national side. England were in transition, with a side largely built around the young Manchester United side which had won two titles and the FA Cup, as well as reaching the European Cup semi-finals in the years since the 1954 debacle. With a youthful squad, sprinkled with veterans including captain Billy Wright, who was approaching a hundred caps, and Tom Finney. While built around the United side, with Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor, and Duncan Edwards all key players, England’s key player was Fulham midfielder Johnny Haynes who moved into a deeper role where his passing ability was harnessed.[22]

The first round of matches saw Uruguay defeat Sweden 3-0, with goals from Óscar Miguez, Walter Roque and Carlos Borges settling the tie in favour of the Uruguayans. Despite the scoreline, Sweden played well with their midfielder Kurt Hamrin twice being denied by Uruguayan goalkeeper Walter Taibo. In the other match, England and Yugoslavia drew 1-1, with Tom Finney scoring a late penalty after Todor Veselinović’s superb opener. Collecting the ball near the English area, he played a quick one-two with Zdravko Rajkov, eased past Billy Wight and delicately floated the ball over the onrushing Eddie Hopkinson. Edwards, had a thunderbolt shot saved by Vladimir Beara in the Yugoslav goal to keep the scores level.

In the second round of fixtures, Uruguay and England, played out a dreadful match settled by a late goal from Tom Finney, who had come on as a substitute, but the match was marred by a series of niggly fouls and never threatened to hit the heights expected of it. It promised much, delivered nothing and is best forgotten, as Brian Glanville’s match report put it. In contrast to the dire match in Puebla, Yugoslavia, comfortably overcame the Swedes, who found their traditional workmanlike, powerful running style difficult to maintain in the heat and altitude, with goals from Aleksandar Petaković and Radivoje Ognjanović settling the tie in Yugoslavia’s favour.

The final round of fixtures saw Uruguay defeat Yugoslavia 2-0, with goals from Miguez and Borges, though the tie wouldn’t be settled until the 77th minute. England huffed and puffed their way to a 2-1 victory over the Swedes, with Sweden’s Nils Liedholm scoring a late penalty to equalise, and it took a Nat Lofthouse goal to see the English through as group winners for the first time in the World Cup.

Pos​	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1​	England	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	5
2​	Uruguay	3	2	0	1	5	1	+4	4
3​	Yugoslavia	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	3
4​	Sweden	3	0	0	3	1	7	-6	0

Results

8 June Uruguay 3-0 Sweden

8 June England 1-1 Yugoslavia

11 June Yugoslavia 2-0 Sweden

11 June England 1-0 Uruguay

15 June Uruguay 2-0 Yugoslavia

15 June Sweden 1-2 England

Quarter finals

The quarter finals were drawn on 16 June, following the conclusion of the group stage, with Brazil and Uruguay facing off for a third time in the World Cup, a tie steeped in Brazilian trauma and Uruguayan triumph. The rest of the draw saw hosts Mexico paired with the Soviets, France facing Hungary and England facing Germany, with the games all scheduled for 19 June.

The first match saw France defeat Hungary 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Fontaine, who took his tournament tally to six, while François Remetter’s late save from Nándor Hidegkuti (playing his final game for Hungary at the age of 36) preserved France’s victory, to send them through to the semi-finals for the first time.

Mexico, buoyed by home support, began brightly against the Soviets in Mexico City, with the game goalless until the 44th minute when Anatoli Ilyin scored from a corner. In the second half, Eduard Streltsov added two goals to put the tie beyond Mexico, before Valentin Ivanov added a fourth. But for a strong performance from the experienced Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal, the result could’ve been worse, though Mexico’s achievements in making the quarter-finals were celebrated domestically. The Soviets, progressed to their first semi-final (having in their previous appearance in 1938 made the quarters) as a side to watch, though Mexico had been the weakest team to make the knockout stage.

The tie that really drew the eye was the quarter-final between Brazil and Uruguay, the third reprise in what was becoming a World Cup encompassing rivalry. Uruguay were not as strong as they had been in the previous tournaments, with their world cup winning squad long in the tooth. Brazil, by contrast, were a younger side, playing a more dynamic form of football, and on paper at least looked likely to win. The trauma of consecutive defeats to Uruguay on the world stage, and the Uruguayan guile however ensured that they posed a threat.

The game, began with sustained Brazilian pressure, as their lopsided attack caught the Uruguayans unaware, and it took two saves from Walter Taibo to keep them in the game. Uruguay, despite the pressure stayed in the game and took the lead against the run of play as Javier Ambrois shot deflected off Brazilian captain Hilderaldo Bellini and wrongfooted Gilberto in the Brazilian goal. While previous Brazilian sides had wilted in the face of Uruguayan wiles, this side was made of stronger stuff, and undaunted continued to press for an equaliser.[23] It came in the 50th minute, as Dico drifted past his marker and rifled the ball into the net, leaving Taibo no chance. From here, the game became increasingly one way traffic, as Uruguay’s hard-pressed defence struggled to contain Brazil’s forward line. Mário Lobo would add a second, following a goalmouth scramble, and Brazil’s victory would be sealed by Nilton Santos, who volleyed home the third in the 90th minute. The fantasma was released – Brazil had won, and Uruguay were out.

The final quarter-final paired England with Germany, who had finished third in 1954. The game, played in high temperatures in Guadalajara, was not a classic, and saw England eventually triumph 1-0 thanks to a goal from Duncan Edwards, who outmuscled Horst Eckel and fired beyond the reach of Bernd Trautmann.[24] The result meant that England qualified for the semi-finals for the first time, though the victory was marred by an injury suffered by Johnny Haynes which ruled him out of the semi-finals.

Results

19 June France 1-0 Hungary

19 June Soviet Union 4-0 Mexico

19 June Brazil 3-1 Uruguay

19 June England 1-0 Germany

Semi-finals

The semi-finals, scheduled for 24 June, paired France with the Soviet Union, both playing in their first semi-final, and Brazil with England in a repeat of the 1950 quarter final. In contrast to the quarter-finals, both games were largely won in the first half. France, aided by the absence of Soviet captain Igor Netto, who had been injured in the warm-up, raced into a three-goal lead, with Fontaine scoring twice and Kopaszewski scoring from the penalty spot, following a hand ball. Nikita Simonyan, captaining the USSR in the absence of Netto, clawed one back, as France eased off the pressure, but Fontaine added his third and France’s fourth to seal the win in the 75th minute, sending France through to the final for the first time.

In the other semi-final, Brazil again came back from a goal down to defeat England and make the final for the second time. The English, hampered by the absence of Haynes and the heat, took the lead through the unlikely source of captain Billy Wright, as he rose above his marker to head home from a Bryan Douglas corner. England’s lead was only temporary however as Roger Byrne - who had otherwise had an excellent tournament – gave away a penalty by fouling Mané Garrincha, who tormented him throughout the game.[25] From here, England found themselves increasingly on the backfoot, as Brazil’s attackers wore them down, and the teenager Dico scored twice to take the game beyond the reach of the English. Brazil were through to the final for the second time, while England faced a bronze medal match with the Soviets.[26] The Soviets, despite their poor performance against the French, were perhaps more motivated for the bronze medal match than their English peers, who made wholesale changes for the match from their defeat to Brazil, with only Roger Byrne, Billy Wright and Duncan Edwards retained for the match. The game, won 1-0 by the Soviets following a late goal from Streltsov, was most noted in England for being Tom Finney’s seventy-seventh cap and final cap for the national team. Finney, would later be clapped off the pitch by both sides, representing one of the first “guards of honour” at the World Cup.[27]

Results

24 June France 4-1 Soviet Union

24 June Brazil 3-1 England

Third Place Playoff

28 June Soviet Union 1-2 England

Final

This was the first final where the winner was guaranteed to be a new team, with neither side having won the tournament before. Brazil were slight favourites, though France possessed a fearsome attacking line-up, with Fontaine leading the tournament scoring charts with nine goals.

The game, played in front of a capacity crowd at the Azteca, began with France taking a surprise lead in the fourth minute, thanks to Roger Piantoni, who winning the ball back high up the pitch, feinted inside and squared for Fontaine to fire beyond the reach of Gilberto. The sudden nature of the goal spurred Brazil into life, and they soon equalised through Vavá. Brazil also changed their tactics with Mário Lobo, nominally a winger, marking Raymond Kopaszewski out of the game, nullifying one of France’s main sources of creativity. Brazil took the lead through Vavá again to leave the scores poised at 2-1 at half-time. France, pushing hard for an equaliser, saw Piantoni denied by Gilberto in the Brazilian goal, before Dico scored Brazil’s third in the 60th minute, putting the final beyond the reach of the French. The teenager, who emerged from this tournament a genuine international star, scored Brazil’s fourth and his second to seal the victory in the 85th minute.

Brazil’s triumph, their first ever, and made sweeter by their revenge against Uruguay, marked a number of firsts for the tournament – a new winner, for a start, but also the first time the final had been played between two side who had not previously won the tournament, while also marking the first victory for any national team in North America. Brazil’s triumph also announced the arrival of a new tactical style of play whcihb would become the basis for new formations and tactical thinking, as well as the emergence of new stars including the teenaged Dico, Mário Lobo, the powerful fullback pairing of Nilton and Djalma Santos and Mané Garrincha. The tournament also marked the burgeoning emergence of sports science, psychology and acclimatisation all of which would become much more established as the World Cup and football evolved. For many, this author included, 1958 marks the beginning of what we would view as the modern tournament.

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[1] There has long been speculation that Mexico’s bid won out due to Latin American interference, but recent access to the FIFA archives has debunked this – Mexico’s bid was more persuasive for FIFA due to the significant commitments promised by both the Mexican government and its significant industrial conglomerates which had begun to expand as the country’s economy boomed.
[2] 1958 is often referred to as the first modern world cup by sports scientists for the focus on acclimatisation, psychology and nutrition undertaken by teams – the altitude focus, was perhaps most famously captured by the Soviets using their cosmonaut programme as part of their preparations for the tournament.
[3] The deepening of ties between the American and Mexican governments were cemented in the 1950s due to fears of communist activity in both nations – Mexico would sometimes be disparagingly be referred to by some Latin American leftists, as America’s “Cerberus”.
[4] Mexico had established a professional league in 1943, which was largely concentrated in the capital.
[5] His salary was largely funded by the state owned oil firm Petróleos Mexicanos
[6] The introduction of substitutions may have inadvertently increased the transition to sides at both club and international level increasingly adopting utility players into their squads. Substitution rules at club level were determined by their own individual rules, though most competitions followed FIFA’s lead.
[7] Both Northern Ireland and Scotland pulled off significant upsets to qualify with the Scots finishing ahead of Italy (thanks to a famous victory at Hampden in 1957) and the Northern Irish qualifying ahead of Spain.
[8] The reaction in Italy itself was so vitriolic, that many called for their to be a ban on foreign signings, which was resisted by both the clubs and the FIGC – instead manager Paolo Mazza, a surprise choice for the role and Valentino Mazzola were scapegoated, with Mazza sacked and Mazzola never selected for the Azzuri again.
[9] The result saw Guillermo Stábile, the longest serving international coach, sacked from his job, while Argentina’s failure would see a radical shift in the country’s playing style to a much more systemised, often cynical style of football under successive coaches.
[10] López, recognising that he didn’t have the same calibre of player as he did with Uruguay, focused on structure and a reactive style of play, relying on his young and pacy forward line to pose the main threat.
[11] Fontaine, is best known for his phenomenal goalscoring record, but was a key figure in founding France’s first trade union for footballers, the UNFP, while a nomadic coaching career would see him manage across North Africa and the Middle East.
[12] The altitude and heat proved difficult for many of the European teams.
[13] The two had played together at Reims, before Kopaszewski left to join Madrid F.C, but the partnership was particularly noted at international level, with Kopaszewski essentially operating as a floating second striker to Fontaine’s focal point.
[14] Fontaine’s exploits have often led to the France squad being dismissed as a one-man team, which does them a disservice. Fontaine, a superbly gifted finisher, was aided by two skilful wingers/inside forwards in Kopaszewski Jean Vincent and a midfield led by Jean-Jacques Marcel provided a strong platform for France’s attacking play.
[15] This was only the second time Czechoslovakia had failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.
[16] In this, he was palpably let down by his linesman, who was much closer to play at the time.
[17] Modern analysis has since confirmed that the penalty shouldn’t have been awarded.
[18] For all his skill, Streltsov was never trusted by the Soviet authorities, and it was widely believed that a possible transfer to Dynamo Moscow was vetoed by leading figures in the politburo out of concern that he could use their European Cup involvement as a means to defect.
[19] Purczeld would transfer to Madrid F.C. after the World Cup, and would continue to play for Hungary until 1962. Hungary’s squad contained several players who had transferred overseas, as the money on offer dwarfed anything that could be offered by Hungarian clubs.
[20] The first Estonian to captain the Soviet side.
[21] Both of whom were proactive in their approach to goalkeeping, and relied on their athletic ability to be able to anticipate crosses and rush out to snatch the ball from attackers. Both were also nicknamed the “Black Panther” for their agility and habit of wearing all-black kits.
[22] Haynes had suffered injuries following a car accident in 1956 and while he recovered, his pace wasn’t the same, facilitating the transfer to a deeper role.
[23] Uruguayan captain José Santamaría would described the Brazilian midfield play as being “stung to death by a hive of bees”
[24] Trautmann would return to England following the World Cup and re-signed for Manchester City, where he would play until retiring in 1964.
[25] Byrne, who would take over as national captain following Wright’s retirement, would describe Garrincha as being on another planet.
[26] The third place playoff would be the second time the two sides had met, with the first having occurred a few months earlier in a friendly held in Moscow which ended in a 1-1 draw.
[27] Finney, who scored 29 international goals for England would retire as the national’s side joint top-score with Nat Lofthouse and Vivian Woodward, before Lofthouse broke his record in 1959.

 

[Stateless]

Footnote 7 seems incomplete at the moment.

Another great update. I thought maybe you'd erased Pelé from history, but then I checked his wikipedia page. Was the Brazil psychologist thing like that in our timeline, or is this something alternate?

I don't think you've said who is hosting in 1962, which is causing me to speculate. Having a tournament in North America makes me think a tournament in Europe is likelier than one in South America, so Germany or an earlier World Cup in England maybe?

The more competitive qualification for CAF and the AFC in 1958 makes me hopeful that the UAEF doesn't cheat them out of qualification spots.

The fact that there's been no Munich air disaster throws up a heap of questions. I wonder whether Duncan Edwards makes the move to Italy that was being mooted before his death. Tommy Taylor has clearly had a frustrating tournament, not scoring despite his goals:games ratio for club and country (maybe an acclimatisation problem?) - how does he respond? It also means that George Best is perhaps not picked up by Manchester United, as it's too difficult for a slight Northern Irish lad to force his way into an established side, and Denis Law isn't needed from Torino, and Shay Brennan's career never takes off.