THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE STAGE
Montevideo, Uruguay, 1930: the first World Cup. Thirteen teams entered. Only four came from Europe, most crossing the Atlantic by ship, two weeks at sea, with the trophy travelling with them. Uruguay built the Estadio Centenario for the tournament at breakneck speed.
THE FINAL
Hosts and neighbours Uruguay and Argentina met in front of 68,000. They could not agree on the ball, so Argentina's was used in the first half and Uruguay's in the second.
THE GOAL
89th minute, 3–2. Pablo Dorado crossed from the right and Héctor Castro, "El Manco", rose to meet it. 4–2: Uruguay were the first world champions.
THE LEGACY
Uruguay declared a national holiday; in Buenos Aires a crowd threw stones at the Uruguayan consulate. Uruguay, three and a half million people, remain the smallest nation to win a World Cup. Castro, who lost a hand at thirteen, later coached the national team.
MORE FROM THE WORLD CUP UNIVERSE
THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.