Old world
Brazil has struggled to get ready for the World Cup, even though it hosted it before, in 1950. Some oddities of that tournament:
— There was no final, as such. The winner was to be decided by a second group stage. But it came down to the last match, Brazil vs Uruguay, in which Brazil needed a draw and Uruguay a win. Uruguay won 2-1.
— That match, at Rio do Janeiro’s Maracana stadium, still holds the record of the best-attended match in World Cup history, with 199,954 spectators.
— Only 13 out of 16 teams who qualified turned up. Scotland could have gone but stuck to their manager’s promise that they would only attend if they beat England in qualifying. India withdrew supposedly because banned from playing barefoot.
Quarter given
Some World Cup records held by England
— Team most consistently knocked out in the quarter finals (8 times)
— Most kicks missed in shootouts: 7
— Oldest player fielded in a match: Peter Shilton, who was 40 in 1990
— England is one of only two teams to have won a game in injury time, against Belgium in 1986.
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