Football in Brazil

Association Football is the most popular sport in Brazil. The Brazilian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup tournament a record five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, and is the only team to succeed in qualifying for every World Cup competition ever held. It is among the favorites to win the trophy every time the competition is scheduled. After Brazil won its 3rd World Cup in 1970, they were awarded the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently. But 365 days before World Cup 2014 began, Brazil's rank dropped to 22nd, an all-time-low position.

Pelé, arguably the greatest footballer ever, led Brazil to three of those championships and is the top scorer of all time in the sport. All of the leading players in the national teams are prominent in the football world, including Garrincha, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Romário, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká, and Neymar in the men's game, and Marta in the women's game. Some of these players can be considered super-stars, achieving celebrity status internationally and signing sports contracts, as well as advertisement and endorsement contracts, in the value of millions of euros.

Uruguay v Brazil (1950 FIFA World Cup)

Uruguay v Brazil was the decisive match of the final group stage at the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The match was played at the Estádio do Maracanã in the then-Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro on 16 July 1950. Unlike other World Cups, the 1950 winner was determined by a final group stage, with the final four teams playing in round-robin format, instead of a knockout stage. With Brazil one point ahead of Uruguay going into the match, Uruguay needed a win while Brazil needed only to avoid defeat to claim the title of world champions.

Brazil took the lead shortly after half-time on a goal by Friaça, but Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised for Uruguay mid-way through the half. Alcides Ghiggia scored the winning goal with 11 minutes remaining in the match, resulting in one of the biggest upsets in football history, and the term Maracanazo (Portuguese: Maracanaço, pronounced [maɾakɐˈnasu], roughly translated as "The Maracanã Blow", after the name of the stadium) first became synonymous with the match. It was the second (and to date, the last) final match featuring two South American countries (the first being the 1930 final between Uruguay and Argentina, which was also won by Uruguay).

Brazil

Coordinates: 10°S 52°W / 10°S 52°W / -10; -52

Brazil (ⁱ/brəˈzɪl/; Portuguese: Brasil [bɾaˈziw] ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil,  listen  ), is the largest sovereign state in both South America and the Latin American region. It is the world's fifth-largest country, both by geographical area and by population. It is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world, and the only one in the Americas.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and occupies 47.3 percent of the continent of South America. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, and is the subject of significant global interest and debate regarding deforestation and environmental protection.

World Cup

World Cup commonly refers to:

World Cup can also refer to:

Athletics

Badminton

Bandy

Baseball and softball

Basketball

Chess

Cricket

Equestrian

Football

American football

Association football

Uruguay

Coordinates: 33°S 56°W / 33°S 56°W / -33; -56

Uruguay (ⁱ/ˈjʊərəɡwaɪ/;Spanish: [uɾuˈɣwai]), officially the Eastern Republic of Uruguay (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It is bordered by Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southeast. Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America after Suriname.

Uruguay was inhabited by the Charrúa people for approximately 4000 years before the Portuguese invaded. Portugal established Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest European settlements in the country, in 1680. Montevideo was founded as a military stronghold by the Spanish in the early 18th century, signifying the competing claims over the region. Uruguay won its independence between 1811 and 1828, following a four-way struggle between Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil. It remained subject to foreign influence and intervention throughout the 19th century, with the military playing a recurring role in domestic politics until the late 20th century. Modern Uruguay is a democratic constitutional republic, with a president who serves as both head of state and head of government.