#18 Uruguay 1930
In any series of sporting events, the original doesn’t tend to be the best or most memorable even if it’s where the whole thing started, and the same can definitely be said of the World Cup. Firstly, there was no qualification system – all of FIFA’s affiliated countries were invited and the majority of European nations – largely because of the journey to South America – declined, including all of the British teams, plus Germany, Spain, Italy and others.
The format was also very odd. With 13 teams in the tournament, the sides were divided into four groups – one containing four teams, three containing three – and the winners went into the semi-finals. This meant that Argentina had to play one more game than the other semi-finalists Uruguay, the USA and Yugoslavia. They still made it to the final, beating the USA 6-1 in the semi, but lost to the hosts 4-2 in the deciding game.
Although from all sources the inaugural World Cup went down like a storm in Uruguay, it’s hard to rank it any higher based on the lack of teams and the odd format it used.
#17 Chile 1962
For the first time, the World Cup used almost a modern format – four groups of four with the winners and runners-up advancing to the knockout stages, and a goal average system – an early precursor to the current goal difference system – was introduced, replacing playoffs between sides that ended with the same points in a group. And sides such as Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain, Italy and West Germany were all entered.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a vintage tournament. Due to an earthquake in Chile two years before, the government understandably weren’t focused on football and it meant for a dour atmosphere that was made worse by negative tactics – perhaps due to the goal average system – that meant the average amount of goals dropped below three for the first time, and also violent play, which culminated in the infamous ‘Battle of Santiago’ between Chile and Italy.
Despite only two Italian players being sent off, the match was marred by some horrendous fouls and ended with the Italians needing police protection when leaving the field.
In the end, a Garrincha-inspired Brazil ran out winners for the second time, although they had to do it without Pele, who was injured in the group stages. Needless to say, though, it wasn’t as memorable a win as their victory in 1958 and it ended up being overshadowed by their next one too.
