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Brazil 6-5 Poland · the Black Diamond in the rain · 1938

REEL · ENTRY OF 222 · ARCHIVE OF RECORD

THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY

THE MATCH

Strasbourg, 5 June 1938. A first-round knockout tie between Brazil and Poland, played in a downpour on a pitch turned to mud. Eleven goals and extra time: Brazil 6–5 Poland.

THE LOSER

Ernst Wilimowski scored four for Poland, and Poland still went home.

THE BLACK DIAMOND

Leônidas da Silva lit up the rain. The story goes that he tried to play barefoot and the referee made him put his boots back on. He finished the tournament as its top scorer, the World Cup's first true artist.

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