Having scored 13 goals in their previous two games in the final group — seven against the Swedes, six against Spain — Brazil had only to draw with Uruguay, admittedly their traditional bogey team, to clinch the title. The Brazil inside-forward trio of Zizinho, Ademir and Jair seemed irresistible in its sustained brilliance, formidable technique and ruthless finishing.
For much of the first half of this extraordinary game, it seemed that Brazil would break through at any moment. They were, however, defied by a magnificent defence in which goalkeeper Roque Gaston Maspoli performed miracles of agility.
The dam suddenly burst soon after half-time when Friaca, the Brazil outside-right, finally, and to enormous relief, put his side ahead. But Obdulio Varela, Uruguay’s huge veteran centre-half and captain, increasingly came out of defence to feed his attack with long passes. Eventually the pale, slender inside-left, Juan Schiaffino, receiving from the little hunched but dynamic right- winger Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, scored the equaliser. With Uruguay constantly probing a suspect left-sided Brazil defence, Ghiggia scored an astonishing winner.
In 1954 another huge surprise in the final: Hungary, the supreme favourites, were beaten by a West Germany team that had been thrashed 8-3 in the preliminary round. Were the Germans drugged? There was much speculation at the time and Hungarian captain Ferenc Puskas claimed he had seen German players vomiting in the dressing room after the game. A suspiciously large number of them also went down with jaundice.
But in the final, after Hungary’s remarkable team had gone two goals ahead with Sandor Kocsis and deep-lying forward Nandor Hidegkuti in resplendent form, West Germany rallied. Puskas, who had talked his way back into the team he captained after being kicked out of action by the Germans in that earlier match, was clearly well below form. With their bull of an outside-right, Helmut Rahn, scoring twice, the Germans came through 3-2. A late goal by Puskas was disputably ruled out for offside by the Welsh linesman and English referee.
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In 1958 France surpassed themselves until it came to their semi-final in Sweden against Brazil. “Those French forwards,” said the Scotland right-half Tommy Docherty, “are like greased lightning.” Indeed they were, although Scotland put up an excellent show against them. Raymond Kopa, the little deep-lying centre-forward, superbly pulled the strings and Just Fontaine streaked through for goal after goal. He had arrived at training camp in Sweden not convinced that he would be playing.
In the event Fontaine ended with 13 goals, surely never to be surpassed, although four of these were scored in the irrelevant third-place match against a weakened West Germany.
Who knows what France might ultimately have accomplished, having thrashed a gallant Northern Ireland 4-0 in the quarter-finals, had injury not struck their polished centre-half Bob Jonquet in the semi-final against Brazil? There were no substitutes in those days. He limped on the flank for a while, then had to go off. Pele, 17 years old and prodigiously effective, took full advantage, scoring three times in a 5-2 victory for the Brazilians, although France did not disgrace themselves.
In 1974 Holland, the outstanding team of the tournament, somehow let the World Cup final in Munich slip away after going ahead against the hosts, West Germany, in barely a minute. Both teams played what was then known as Total Football, putting a huge premium on versatility, with Franz Beckenbauer, the virtual inventor as a teenage Bayern Munich libero, inspiring the Germans and Johan Cruyff galvanising the Dutch.
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Almost from the kick-off, Cruyff breached the German defence, only to be brought down in the box by Uli Hoeness. Johan Neeskens put away the penalty and it looked as if the floodgates would open.
Somehow or other they didn’t, and young German winger Bernd Hölzenbein, cutting into the Dutch box, procured an equalising penalty that Paul Breitner converted. Holland then threw away a marvellous chance to re-establish their lead shortly before half-time when Cruyff found Johnny Rep in space on the left. But Rep couldn’t beat the keeper, Sepp Maier, and Gerd M üller, alias Der Bomber, sealed it for West Germany after being set up by Rainer Bonhof.