World Cup 2030 with shared headquarters in Latin America?
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(CNN Spanish) -
In 1950, Uruguay's victory against Brazil in its own territory was a feat of such magnitude that it earned it a proper name:
Maracanazo
.
It is probably the most illustrious match in the sky blue, but not the only one that went down in history.
Here, a review of the World Cup matches that were etched in the memory of a country passionate about football.
Against Argentina in 1930: the first at home
Uruguay organized the first World Cup in 1930. At that time it was the current Olympic champion —it had won soccer in 1924 and 1928— and the celebration of 100 years of the Constitution was also approaching.
Thirteen teams played the World Cup.
After defeating Argentina to the United States and Uruguay to Yugoslavia in the semifinals, the neighbors met in the final.
12 minutes into the match, Uruguay scored the first goal.
Argentina equalized minutes later and immediately surpassed the local team.
But in the second half the course changed.
Uruguay scored three and won the cup with a result of 4-2.
Against Brazil in 1950: the
Maracanazo
Juan Alberto Schiaffino kicks for Brazil on July 16, 1950 in Rio de Janeiro.
(Credit: AFP/Getty Images) (Photo credit should read STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Maracanazo
.
That expression that is used today in the world of football had its origin in the confrontation between Uruguay and Brazil in 1950 at the Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro.
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The 1950 World Cup was not defined in a final like current competitions, but it was a home run between the winning teams of each group, which were Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden and Spain.
Brazil beat Sweden and then Spain by six and five goal difference, respectively.
Uruguay, for its part, tied with Spain and beat the other European team in competition by 3-2. The last confrontation took place between Brazil and Uruguay.
Added to the difference between the teams was another fundamental one: Brazil, who had never lifted the World Cup until then, needed a draw to win it.
Uruguay had to win.
The
maracanazo
, says the Uruguayan Football Association, began to take shape in the 67th minute of the match.
Uruguay was losing 1-0 until Juan Alberto Schiaffino scored the first goal for the sky blue.
In the 79th minute it was Alcides Ghiggia's turn, who scored the second goal in front of some 200,000 spectators, mostly from the opposite side.
(In this World Cup, in addition, Uruguay had its game with the most goals in history: 8-0 against Bolivia in Belo Horizonte)
Against Hungary in 1954: the "match of the century"
Uruguay arrived in Switzerland 1954 undefeated.
He had won in 1930, had not played in the next two editions, had not taken part in the 1942 and 1946 World Cups due to World War II, and in 1950 he had shown his ability in the
Maracanazo
.
The light blue faced in the semifinal against Hungary, which came with a very good performance from Europe.
When they had barely played 12 minutes, the Hungarians scored their first goal.
And just over half an hour later, the second.
Uruguay scored their first goal with just 15 minutes to go.
It was done by Juan Hogberg, originally from Córdoba, Argentina, but nationalized from Uruguay.
In the 86th minute he himself scored the second.
Hogberg ended up passed out on the floor.
The stories speak of a cardiac arrest.
What is known is that after a medical intervention he continued playing.
Although Uruguay lost 4-0 in extra time, that confrontation went down in history for its level and for "the footballer who died in the 1954 World Cup, was resurrected and finished the game", as Olé titled in a chronicle.
Hungarian striker Nandor Hidegkuti scores his team's second goal in the semi-final match against Uruguay in Lausanne on June 30, 1954. (Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Against the USSR in 1970: the goal of the 117th minute
The new generations are aware of the adrenaline rush that the last minute can have, especially because of the match against Ghana in 2010. But those who followed the 1970 World Cup in Mexico already knew it.
Uruguay faced the USSR in the quarterfinals at the mythical Estadio Azteca.
They finished tied and went to overtime.
In the 117th minute, Uruguayan Víctor Espárrago scored.
The USSR protested to the judge, arguing that the ball had gone out of court, but they did not agree.
And so Uruguay was imposed for the first and only time on the Soviet bloc.
More than 50 years later, some still have doubts about that ball.
Espárrago recently spoke with Efe about the possibilities of the sky blue in Qatar 2022. "Uruguay, as it is today, can beat anyone. I hope they maintain this discipline, that they maintain this morale and this game," said the history of the selection.
Against Denmark in 1986: the biggest defeat
Denmark was the team against which the sky-blue had its worst defeat in the history of the World Cups.
It happened in Mexico in 1986. In the group stage, the Danish team beat the sky-blue team 6-1.
That World Cup, in any case, went down in history in the entire world, Uruguay included, for the title of Argentina, which came after Diego Maradona's "goal of the century" and "the hand of God" in the quarterfinals. against England.
Against Ghana in South Africa 2010: last minute heart attack
Uruguay and Ghana collided in the quarterfinals.
Uruguay was the last American team still standing and Ghana the only African.
The match went into extra time at 1-1. Ghana's John Paintsil took the last shot of the match, his teammate Kevin Prince Boateng headed it in and Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera came out of the goal to save it.
At a time when confusion reigned in the area, Dominic Adiyiah tried one last shot into the field and the one who intercepted the ball, with his hands, was Luis Suárez.
The other famous hand from a World Cup 2:09
The player, accumulator of controversies, was expelled from the court, and the judge awarded a penalty in favor of Ghana.
The question could be resolved in seconds in favor of the Africans, but the ball did not enter the goal.
The game ended in a tie, they went to penalties and Uruguay beat Ghana 4-2. And in one of the penalties, Sebastián Abreu "bitten it" a la Panenka, kicking softly in the lower part of the ball in the style of the legendary Czech footballer.
This 2022, Ghana and Uruguay will meet again, this time in the group stage.
And nowhere have they forgotten what happened in 2010.
"We think it will be time for revenge," the president of the Ghanaian football association, Kurt Okraku, recently told BBC Sport Africa.
Against Italy in 2014: the bite of Luis Suárez
There is a mark that Uruguay will never be able to remove: Luis Suárez's bite of defender Giorgio Chiellini during the Uruguay-Italy match at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
(Credit: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
The sky-blue won that match and qualified for the round of 16, but it was a bad-tasting victory.
Suarez said at first that he had collided with the Italian's shoulder and that "these are casual moves that happen."
But FIFA investigated, determined what had happened, and the full weight of the law fell on the gunman: he was suspended for nine games, banned from any football-related activity for four months, banned from entering any stadium where he The national team played in that period and they changed it with about US$ 112,000.
And it wasn't the first time.
As an Ajax player, the Uruguayan was banned for seven games for attacking Dutch midfielder Otman Bakkal with his teeth in a duel against PSV Eindhoven in 2010. In 2013, the striker, then at Liverpool, had been sidelined for ten games by bite Chelsea player Branislav Ivanovic.
Later Suárez apologized and promised that an incident of this type would not be repeated.
Uruguay national teamUruguay
