Brazil still haunted by 1950 final defeat to Uruguay at the Maracana
The South American pair face off in the Confederations Cup semi-final tonight with Big Phil’s men out to avenge one of the nation’s most heartbreaking losses.
Uruguay's Alcides Ghiggia finds the back of the net. Credit: AP/Press Association Images
CONFEDERATIONS CUP HOSTS Brazil meet Uruguay in the semi-final of the competition in Belo Horizonte tonight.
For fans of La Celeste (The Sky Blues) the match will evoke memories of arguably their greatest achievement - defeating La Selecao in the 1950 World Cup final.
Advertisement
Staged in front of nearly 200,000 fans at Rio's Maracana Stadium, which will also host next year's final, the home side only needed a draw as the tournament ended in a four team mini-league (and not knockout stages) in those days.
When they went in front two minutes into the second half through Friaca, the stadium exploded. However, the visitors soon silenced the crowd with two goals from Juan Shiaffino and Alcides Ghigghia before going on to clinch the Jules Rimet Trophy for the second time.
While they may have been a bogey team for Brazil back then, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez hasn't tasted victory in the fixture in his last four attempts while you need to go back as far as 2001 for their last win over the heavyweights of South American football.
Speaking about tonight's game, Tabarez said: "Matches against Brazil are very special and this a very important match for us. We will certainly be motivated for what is most definitely one of the great fixtures in international football.
Brazil is Brazil and so we will have to fight every inch of the way but we believe we are up for the challenge. I hope we will see a fiesta of South American football.
Brazil still haunted by 1950 final defeat to Uruguay at the Maracana
CONFEDERATIONS CUP HOSTS Brazil meet Uruguay in the semi-final of the competition in Belo Horizonte tonight.
For fans of La Celeste (The Sky Blues) the match will evoke memories of arguably their greatest achievement - defeating La Selecao in the 1950 World Cup final.
Staged in front of nearly 200,000 fans at Rio's Maracana Stadium, which will also host next year's final, the home side only needed a draw as the tournament ended in a four team mini-league (and not knockout stages) in those days.
When they went in front two minutes into the second half through Friaca, the stadium exploded. However, the visitors soon silenced the crowd with two goals from Juan Shiaffino and Alcides Ghigghia before going on to clinch the Jules Rimet Trophy for the second time.
YouTube credit: FIFATV
While they may have been a bogey team for Brazil back then, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez hasn't tasted victory in the fixture in his last four attempts while you need to go back as far as 2001 for their last win over the heavyweights of South American football.
Speaking about tonight's game, Tabarez said: "Matches against Brazil are very special and this a very important match for us. We will certainly be motivated for what is most definitely one of the great fixtures in international football.
"We are very motivated but it's 11 against 11."
-Additional reporting from AFP
100,000 expected to protest before Brazil match tonight
23 years ago today, a nation held its breath and David O’Leary held his nerve
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Confederations Cup Confederations Cup history lesson TEAM:Brazil Uruguay World Cup 1950