England v United States (1950)
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On June 29, 1950, at the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States men's national soccer team defeated the English team 1–0 in group play. The event is also known as the Miracle on Grass. The match was held in Belo Horizonte at Estádio Independência. The game and the U.S. team was profiled by author Geoffrey Douglas in his book The Game of Their Lives (ISBN 0-8050-3875-2), which was made into a movie in 2005. It is considered by some as one of the greatest soccer upsets of all-time.
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[edit] Game summary
At the time, the English were considered the "Kings of Football", with a post-war record of 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws. Conversely, the Americans had lost their last seven international matches (including the 1934 World Cup and 1948 Summer Olympics) by the combined score of 45–2. The odds were 3–1 the English would win the Cup, and 500–1 for the U.S.
England had Stanley Matthews available, considered the best player in the world at the time, but he had not played with the English team in the three international matches prior to the World Cup (in fact, he had joined the team late, having been touring Canada as part of another group of English internationals). As such, the selection committee (consisting of one man, Arthur Drewry), opted to stay with the team that had just defeated Chile. As there were no substitutes allowed in those days, Matthews watched the game with the other reserves. Drewry, at one time the Football League president, would become the Secretary of FIFA following the death of Jules Rimet.
England won the toss and elected to kick off. Within ninety seconds, Stanley Mortensen sent a cross from the left wing to Roy Bentley, who let off a shot that was barely pushed aside by U.S. goalkeeper Frank Borghi. By the twelfth minute, England had six clear shots on goal but could not convert, with two shots hitting the post, one just going over the top, and another brilliantly saved by Borghi.
The U.S. struggled to move to the offense, and finally managed a shot on goal in the twenty-fifth minute, which was blocked by Bert Williams. The English counterattacked with three successive clear shots at the goal in minutes 30, 31, and 32, but failed to score. Mortensen twice went over the crossbar, and Tom Finney's header to the top corner was tipped away by Borghi.
In the thirty-seventh minute, Walter Bahr crossed the ball from approximately twenty-five yards out, but as Williams moved to intercept, Joe Gaetjens dove headlong and grazed the ball enough to put it past the reach of the English goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The crowd exploded as the U.S. improbably led 1–0. As the half drew to a close, Finney had a chance to tie the score, but the whistle blew before he could shoot.
[edit] Second half
With renewed confidence, the U.S. played tougher as the second half opened, creating another scoring opportunity in the ninth minute. In the 59th minute England were awarded a direct free kick but Mortensen's shot was well saved by Borghi. But England began threatening again, and it was fifteen minutes before the Americans were able to get another shot. With eight minutes left, Charlie Colombo brought down Mortensen with an illegal tackle at the edge of the penalty area. England pleaded for a penalty kick, but the referee ruled it was outside the box. On the resulting free kick, James Mullen headed the ball for what he thought was a goal, failing to notice that Borghi had tipped it away at the last second, denying the English on their chance to tie the game.
England had no more chances on goal and the game ended in victory for the U.S. team. England then lost their next match and failed to qualify for the knockout stage. The U.S. team was able to score two goals against Chile, but still lost that match 5–2 to end their World Cup run. They would not qualify for the World Cup again until 1990.
John Souza, the U.S. inside right forward, was selected to a World Cup All-Star team by the Brazilian sports newspaper Mundo Esportivo, and remained the only American player ever selected to a World Cup All-Star team until Claudio Reyna in 2002.
[edit] Aftermath
Around the world, newspaper headlines trumpeted the shocking upset, except, oddly enough, in the United States and England. In fact, only one American journalist was even at the World Cup (Dent McSkimming of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who was there on vacation), and his report of the match was the only one to appear in any American newspaper. In England, the top story was the English cricket team's first ever defeat by the West Indies, which happened the same day.
Afterwards, a number of books and newspapers in England suggested that the U.S. team had arrived "through Ellis Island", meaning that the team was made up of imported players, but eight of the starting eleven were American-born. The other three, Gaetjens, Ed McIlvenny, and Joe Maca, were not U.S. citizens but had declared their intentions to gain citizenship and according to the rules of the United States Soccer Football Association at the time were allowed to play. The U.S. was cleared of any wrongdoing by FIFA in a hearing on December 2, 1950.
[edit] USA v England 1950
Estádio Independência, Belo Horizonte, June 29, 1950
USA  |
1 - 0 |  England |
Attendance: 10 000 spectators
Referee: Datillo (Italy) 
Assistant Referee: Galeati (Italy)
Assistant Referee: De la Salle (France) 
Scorers:
USA: 1: 38' Joe Gaetjens 1-0
England: 0:
USA: Frank Borghi (St. Louis Simpkins-Ford) - Harry Keough (St. Louis McMahon), Joe Maca (Brooklyn Hispano), Walter Bahr (Philadelphia Nationals), Ed McIlvenny (c)[1] (Philadelphia Nationals), Charlie Colombo (St. Louis Simpkins-Ford), Frank "Peewee" Wallace (St Louis Simpkins-Ford), Gino Pariani (St. Louis Simpkins-Ford), Joe Gaetjens (New York Brookhattan) , John "Clarkie" Souza (Fall River Ponta Delgada), Eddie Souza (no relation) (Fall River Ponta Delgada). Coach: William Jeffrey.
England: Bert Williams (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Alf Ramsey (Tottenham Hotspur), John Aston (Manchester United), Billy Wright (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Laurie Hughes (Liverpool), Jimmy Dickinson (Portsmouth), Wilf Mannion (Middlesbrough), Tom Finney (Preston North End), James Mullen (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Stanley Mortensen (Blackpool), Roy Bentley (Chelsea). Selector: Arthur Drewry
[edit] Quotes
- Wilf Mannion - "Bloody ridiculous. Can't we play them again tomorrow?"[2]
- Harry Keough - "Boy, I feel sorry for these bastards. How are they ever going to live down the fact we beat them?"[3]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Although Bahr was the normal captain, McIlvenny was selected for the role "because he was British".
- ^ Winter, Henry. "Hammers in profit with no loss of principle", Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2001. (registration required)
- ^ Lewis, Michael. "Miracle on Grass", Soccer Digest, August 2000.
[edit] References
- Douglas, Geoffery, The Game of Their Lives (ISBN 0-8050-3875-2)
- Jose, Colin, The Real Story about the 1950 U.S. World Cup Team
- Lewis, Michael, Miracle on Grass, Soccer Digest, August, 2000
- Lopez, Tobias, Walter Bahr remembers, February 22, 2004
