The Defining Moment
Uruguay 1930
Uruguay, hosts and inspiration of the very first World Cup, reached the final with the pressure of an entire nation on their shoulders. On 30 July 1930, before 93,000 people at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Argentina led 2-1 at half-time. But La Celeste, with the ferocity of a team playing on home soil, turned the match around in the second half. Pedro Cea equalised, Santos Iriarte scored the third, and Héctor Castro el manco, who had lost part of his forearm in a childhood accident sealed the 4-2 victory. Uruguay were crowned the first ever World Cup champions, capping a golden decade that also included two Olympic gold medals.
