The hosts, Brazil, were seeded in Group 1 and as expected qualified for the final group stage although they got a fright against Switzerland. The showpiece of the tournament was the enormous Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which with a capacity of 200,000 was the largest stadium in the world.
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1950 Overview | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Final Group
Brazil
Mexico
Anywhere else in the world an attendance of 82,000 would be a very large crowd but the Maracanã was less than half-full to see the hosts open the tournament with a comfortable win against Mexico.
(Andre Silva)
Yugoslavia
Switzerland
Three goals in the second half put Yugoslavia level on points with Brazil at the top of the group.
(Andre Silva)
Brazil
Switzerland
Brazil took an early lead through Alfredo but Switzerland drew level with just over quarter of an hour gone. Baltazar put the home team ahead again 15 minutes later and Brazil seemed sure of the win until Fatton equalised with his second goal two minutes from time.
(Claudio Betta)
Yugoslavia
Mexico
An easy win for Yugoslavia put them a point clear at the top of the group. Mexico's goal came from a penalty a minute before the final whistle.
(Andre Silva)
Brazil
Yugoslavia
For Brazil anything less than a win would see them eliminated and Ademir gave them the perfect start, scoring after just four minutes. Zizinho scored their second in the 39th minute and the entire population breathed a collective sigh of relief.
(Andre Silva)
Switzerland
Mexico
The match was delayed for 20 minutes while alternative shirts were found to resolve a colour clash. The set used by Mexico was provided by Cruzeiro de Porto Alegre, whose blue and white shirts proved suitable. Since Brazil had already won the group the previous day, the result was academic.
(Cristiano Alvorcem)