The Defining Moment
Brazil 1950
Brazil swept through the group stage and arrived at the final round as overwhelming favourites, dazzling with an attacking style that demolished Sweden (7-1) and Spain (6-1). They needed only a draw in the last match to be crowned champions. On 16 July 1950, before nearly 200,000 people at the Maracanã, Uruguay came from behind to win 2-1 in what became known as the Maracanazo the greatest sporting tragedy in Brazilian history. The silence of the stadium, the tears of an entire nation, and the image of Jules Rimet presenting the trophy without a speech were seared into memory forever. Brazil changed their white shirts for yellow, vowing never to wear the colour of that defeat again.
