On 29 June 1950, at the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States defeated England 1–0 in a group match. This unexpected result has led to the match being described as the "Miracle on Grass",[1] in reference to the 1980 Miracle on Ice, in which the US ice hockey team beat the Soviet Union.[2][3] The match was played in Belo Horizonte at Estádio Independência. The game and the U.S. team were profiled by author Geoffrey Douglas in his book The Game of Their Lives, which was made into a film of the same name (later renamed as The Miracle Match).
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This was England's World Cup debut, the English Football Association having boycotted the previous three tournaments owing to a dispute with FIFA. England and the USA were both drawn in Group 2, along with Spain and Chile: under the rules of the competition only the group winner from this four-nation round-robin would progress to the final stage. Each team had played one previous match in the group, with England beating Chile 2-0 and the USA losing 3-1 to Spain.
At the time, the English considered themselves the "Kings of Football", with a post-war record of 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws. They had beaten the Italians 4–0 and the Portuguese 10–0 in Lisbon two weeks before that. Conversely, the Americans, despite having reached the last four of the inaugural 1930 World Cup, had lost their last seven international matches (including the 1934 World Cup and 1948 Summer Olympics) by the combined score of 45–2, including losses to Italy (7–1), Norway (11–0) and Northern Ireland (5–0). The odds were 3–1 the English would win the Cup, and 500–1 for the U.S.[4]
England had Stanley Matthews available, who was widely considered one of the best players 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 entirely of Arthur Drewry, then president of the English/Wales Football League and later the president of FIFA), 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.
The American team consisted of semi-professional players, most of whom had other jobs to support their families. Walter Bahr was a high school teacher, Frank Borghi drove a hearse for his uncle's funeral parlor,[5] and others worked as mail carriers or dishwashers.[6] The team had also been hastily assembled, and had only been able to train together once, and that was the day before they left for Brazil, which happened to be against the touring English team featuring Matthews.[7] Three players—Joe Maca, Ed McIlvenny, and Joe Gaetjens—were added to the roster just prior to that game.[8] "We have no chance," recently-appointed coach Bill Jeffrey told the press.[9]
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 English goalkeeper 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, Bahr took a long shot from twenty-five yards out, but as Williams moved to his right to intercept, Gaetjens dived headlong near the penalty spot[10] and grazed the ball enough to put it to the left of the English goalkeeper, whose momentum prevented him from changing direction, 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.
The U.S. played with renewed confidence as the second half opened, creating another scoring opportunity in the 54th minute. In the 59th minute England was 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. From Alf Ramsey's resulting free kick, Jimmy 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 the chance to tie the game. Some English players claimed that the ball had crossed the line, but the goal was not awarded.[11]
England had no more chances on goal and the game ended in victory for the U.S. team.
According to the official history of the English Football Association, American newspapermen reported that England scored two legitimate goals—shots that clearly passed beyond the goal line—but were not given as goals.[12]
England lost their next match and failed to qualify for the Final Round, finishing the First Round with a record of 1–0–2.
The U.S. lost their next match 5–2, versus Chile, ending their 1950 World Cup run with a First Round record of 1–0–2. They would not qualify for the World Cup again until 1990.
Spain advanced from Group 2 of the First Round, finishing last in next/Final Round. Uruguay won the 1950 World Cup.
John Souza, the U.S. inside right forward, was selected to the World Cup All-Star team by the Brazilian sports newspaper Mundo Esportivo, and remained the only American player selected to a World Cup All-Star team until Claudio Reyna in 2002.[13]
Newspaper headlines in most World Cup nations trumpeted the shocking upset, except in the United States and England.
There was only one American journalist at the World Cup: Dent McSkimming of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who could not get the newspaper to pay for the trip, and had taken time off work to cover the event.[14] His report of the match was the only one to appear in any major American newspaper.[15]
In England, newspapers at the time were generally small, and only had a single page devoted to sports. Because the English cricket team happened to suffer their first-ever defeat to the West Indies the very same day, that was the major story in most publications.[13] However, in publications that did report the World Cup match, so unexpected was the result that it was presumed that the 1–0 scoreline was a typing error and so it was reported that England had won on a scoreline of 10–0 or 10–1.[16]
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, McIlvenny, and 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 2 December 1950.[13]
England's blue kit, which had made its debut in this match, was never worn again.[17] Walter Bahr erroneously notes that England has never had a blue kit since then,[18] but a blue away kit was worn again in 1959 during a 1–4 loss to Peru.[19]
The United States and England did not play another World Cup match against each other until the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
| 29 June 1950 18:00 BRT |
United States | 1 – 0 | England | Estádio Independência, Belo Horizonte Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Generoso Dattilo (Italy) |
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| Gaetjens 38' | Report |
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