THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
NO FINAL
1950 is the only World Cup ever played without a final. Sixteen nations qualified and thirteen arrived in Brazil.
THE POOL
The title was settled by a four-team round-robin pool: Brazil, Uruguay, Sweden and Spain. First place took the trophy. No knockout and no showpiece match: a league table crowned the world champion.
THE LAST GAME
Brazil needed only a draw against Uruguay in the final game. On 16 July 1950, 173,850 came to the Maracanã for a coronation. What happened next, the Maracanazo, is told in EP05 of The World Cup Universe.
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← NEWER · Why Brazil stopped wearing white · 1950…OLDER · EP 05: The Only World Cup Without a Final | … →
THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.