Chapter XLIX - The Harder They Come
Group 1
The opening match of the cup pit England against Bohemia, in one of that tournament's sleepiest matches. Bohemia's defense remained as tight as in the previous tournament, their nine-man blanket defence smothering the England attack. England spent most of the match passing the ball around while trying and failing to find any openings. No real goal chances were created all through the match. England were now unbeaten in their last ten matches, and losing only once in their last twenty-one, but this was a subpar performance that disappointed the 86,000 crowd.
The next day, Argentina debuted against Bulgaria. The Bulgarians spent most of the match in the defensive, and after a barren first half, Argentina finally began finding breaches in the second half. Luis Artime took the only chance he had and opened the score, shooting in off a post after the Bulgarians had given the ball away, and later, Oscar Más ran onto a return pass from Maschio and lobbed Naydenov as the latter and Penev collided.
Three days later, England faced Bulgaria and started behind on the score, as four minutes in, a misplaced back pass by Ron Flowers gifted Giorgi Asparuhov a goal, but from then on England totally dominated the match. Jimmy Greaves scored four goals, all of them in the first half - first off a cross by Terry Paine, then after a long pass from Edwards that caught the Bulgarian defence by surprise, the third after catching a ball that went loose when Taylor and Naydenov collided, and the fourth by shotting from the edge of the area after a pass by Bobby Charlton. Bobby Moore got on the scoresheet with a twenty-five meter drive that could have come from the foot of Bobby Charlton, who created the sixth goal for Paine in a second half played at exhibition pace.
The next day, Bohemia faced Argentina. The rain that had been falling since the previous night had left the pitch heavy andf the ball passing (the forte of both teams) was hampered. In any case, Bohemia began the first few minutes in the offensive, and opened the score at 16 minutes, when Edmund Schmidt was fouled in the area, and Masopust converted the penalty kick. Then, at 30 minutes, Siegfried Held headed in a cross from František Veselý. However, Argentina improved in the second half, and tied the match with two goals from Artime. First, he converted Maschio's low cross from the right and dragged Onega’s pass past a defender before hitting a left-foot shot.
Three days later, Bohemia went up against Bulgaria. the Bohemians were in a godd position to qualify. Even a tie would might do depending on the other groups' results, but the best way to guarantee the qualification was to win. Bulgaria, in the other hand, was virtually eliminated - the goal difference was insurmountable. After a lukewarm first 40 minutes, Bohemia began creating some dangerous chances, and Jozef Adamec opened the score in the last play before the break. In the second half, Adamec scored again, and eleven minutes before the end, Veselý settled the score.
The next day, Argentina faced England, with both teams virtually qualified, but playing for the top spot, and England having the advantage of the tie. But the match became rough quickly. Rafael Albrecht was sent off midway through the second half after kneeing Peters in the groin, and another eight players were booked by the referee. Eventually, after Roma had made a solid save from Greaves, England scored a very good goal. From wide on the right, Edwards hit a kind of brisk lob which left Roma confused, and Taylor came in to glance his header across the keeper and inside the far post. Despite the fact that England had committed even more fouls than Argentina and played just as roughly, only the Argentines got a warning from the FIFA disciplinary committee.
Group 2
Italy and Chile made the first match of the group at Portsmouth, on a thoroughly tepid match, frustratingly so after Italy’s upbeat start. Angelo Domenghini had a shot kicked off the line by a defender before being sent clear by Bulgarelli’s perfect pass inside Luis Eyzaguirre. Juan Olivares saved the shot, but Mazzola slid in to score, but after that, the Italians retreated to the defense, even after they were one man up when Armando Tobar injured himself in the early second half. Rivera and the rest of the attack also didn't produce much, and it was only in the final two minutes that Italy finally managed to score the second, when Marino Perani made just enough room on the outside to hit a leftfooted shot high to the near post.
Meanwhile, Burgundy played against Korea at Southampton. Korea was a practically unknown team made up of mostly short players, but from the start, Burgundy went through the match with a energetic, violent even, posture from their players. Concentrated, the Burgundians opened a two-goal lead within two minutes, goals from Paul Van Himst and Armand Jurion, and kept playing with the same seriousness until they scored the third, Van Himst again, two minutes from the end. But there was a reason for this excess of zeal. In the run-up to the Cup, on their way to England, Korea had played two friendlies in Burgundy and had beaten Anderlecht (the base of the national team) by 2x0. Thus, the Burgundians were the only ones who knew what the Koreans were capable of, but Chile and Italy remained thinking that beating the Koreans would be easy...
Three days later, Chile visited Korea at Southampton. But Chile found the Koreans not only hard to stop, but also hard to see, because they wouldn't stop running. So, after Rubén Marcos scored one goal on a penalty kick, fruit of Shin Yung-kyoo's competent tackling on Pedro Araya, Chile struggled to keep up with the Koreans. and two minutes from the end, just as the match finally seemed to be under control, six Koreans came up out of nowhere in the Chilean area and Park Seung-zin scored on a fierce low volley after a defensive header dropped to him on the edge of the box.
The next day Italy visited Burgundy at Portsmouth. A tie seemed like a good result for Italy, the three points putting them on a good position to qualify, even if somehow Korea managed to snatch a tie in he next match, so they went for a more defensive scheme, leaving Mazzola as the only center-forward and switching both wingers. It worked on the first half, but then, early in the second half, Van Himst scored and Italy wound up needing to attack while having a weak forward line. Klaas Nuninga (naturalized German) made things worse at 67 minutes, scoring on a free kick. Even then, Italy tried to get back into the match with what they had and towards the end, Bulgarelli slipped Bernardus Muller’s tackle down the right and crossed for the unmarked Meroni to get in a powerful header that Graafland couldn't reach.
Four days later, Chile visited Burgundy needing a win to keep their qualification hopes alive, even if only in third place. Once both teams wen into the pitch, things seemed easier, since the Burgundian manager, Constant Vanden Stock, had switched nearly all the players, given they were already qualified. Among those debuting that day was 19-year old Johan Cruyff, winning his first cap for the national team. But things weren't so easy for Chile when the match got going - the Burgundian reserves seemed to be almost as good as the first team, and opened the score on a counter-attack - Coen Moulijn drove in a rebound from Wilfried Puis's shot. Chile equalized soon after with Marcos again, but couldn't get through the Burgundian defence for the rest of the match, and then, five minutes from the end, in another counter-attack, Cruyff scored the winning goal after lobbing the ball over Olivares.
Meanwhile, at Southampton, Italy faced Korea, with the London bookmakers giving Korea odds of 1000/1 before the match. the Italian manager, Edmondo Fabbri, returned to the attack that had played against Chile and set up a theoretically more agile defence. Thus, the match had many goal opportunities, but, unused to the Korean rhythm, the Italians were always just a fraction of second too late to conclude their plays, while the Korean attack traded passes at a breakneck pace. To make things worse, Bulgarelli (who had already been having problems with his knee since the beginning of the competition) injured himself trying to tackle Park Seung-zin and spent the rest of the match limping on the left wing. Then, 42 minutes in, an Italian clearance was headed back towards their area and Pak Doo-ik let it run into his stride before hitting a ground shot across Albertosi. Italy didn't fret, figuring that surely the Koreans wouldn't be keeping that pace through the second half, but they did, and Italy wasn't able to equalize.
Group 3
After the 1962 tournament, the Brazilian press began preaching the need of a renovation in the national team, given the team had had the oldest average age on the tournament. The renovation was attempted, with 47 different players representing the team between 1963 and 1965, and only Pelé having a guaranteed spot on the team. The results were mixed - the team had won most of its matches in this period, but lost to Burgundy by 5x1 in 1963, lost the Nations' Cup (a friendly tournament in celebration of CBD's 50th anniversary) to Argentina at home, then lost the South American Championship to Chile by only one goal. But the biggest worry of the team these years was to find the 'ideal partner' for Pelé - eleven centerforwards were tested and none of them seemed to have it all, but the people were still confident that the title would come regardless.
But a few months before the Cup, there was a break between the CBD chairman, João Havelange, and the head of the delegation in the previous two Cup, Paulo Machado de Carvalho. The sticking point was the choice of coach, with Doctor Paulo favoring Aymoré Moreira (Vicente Feola would manage the team during the matches but Aymoré would be responsible for the tactical preparation), but Havelange nominated Paulo Amaral instead, and Doctor Paulo quit the delegation after that. His leadership had been vital for the victories in 1958 and 1962, since he had been able to harmonize the often contradictory interests of the São Paulo and Rio teams, and keep the press and club officials' pressures at bay. Havelange then chose to head the delegation himself, and with more suggestible officials at the helm, the club pressures began before the first call-up, continued during the preparation and continued even into the tournament. The result was that 47 players were called up to begin training in late March, over half of them being cut by the time the final list was defined. And even then, besides the many baffling cuts (Carlos Alberto and Servílio, for example), there was a clear preference in the final list for already-established names, with Gilmar, Djalma Santos and Bellini (35, 37 and 36 years old, respectively) being called up and being intended to be on the starting team, along with Orlando, 30, Zito - 33, and kept on the list despite a injury - and Garrincha, 32, and clearly past his prime by then.
The Brazilian debut would be against Abyssinia, another team that few knew what to expect from. the Walias came up with a defensive formation and made it clear from the first minute they would do all they could to stop Pelé. Thus, both goals came through free kicks. The first was scored by Pelé, on a kick that went through the barrier and went in on Gilamichael Teklemariam's right post, and the second by Garrincha, who smashed the ball into the top near corner with the outside of his right foot. But aside of that, Garrincha did very little, and at some point, the Abyssinian forward Netsere Woldeselassié stole the ball from him and dribbled past him three times in a row. Brazil wasn't helped by the referee's passivity - Pelé's marker, Negasi Gebreselassié, fouled him nine times before the referee thought of booking him.
Meanwhile, at Manchester, Portugal faced Hungary. Talk beforehand centred round Eusébio. No-one was disappointed. Showing his intent in the very first minute, he beat Sdévari and Kaposzta to force a corner, which José Augusto headed in. Eusébio would later go on to hit the post twice. Hungary, forced to come out at once, dominated the next hour, but they needed a reciprocal goalkeeping error for their equaliser, Carvalho losing the ball in Albert’s challenge to leave Ferenc Bene with an open goal. Within five minutes, they were back where they started. Szentmihályi, who had been injured in the very first minute, let an easy cross from Torres bounce off his chest for José Augusto to head in again. At the very end Torres, 194cm tall, headed in Eusébio’s corner.
Three days later, Brazil visited Hungary at Manchester, still confident. Less than one year before, their B team, largely made out of São Paulo teams players, had beaten Hungary's first team by 5x3. Brazil had made two changes - Pelé was spared for the match against Portugal, while Gérson, recovering from an injury, went in on Denílson's place. In a far cry from the defensive matches the cup had seen until then, both teams played fearlessly (on total, there were 19 goal shots through the match). Only two minutes in, Sipos pushed the ball out to Bene on the right, the winger jagged inside to stop Altair in his tracks, left him on his backside by beating him on the outside, cut inside Bellini, and scored with a low left-footer inside the near post. A little jewel, and just the start Hungary needed. Brazil recovered quickly, though. At 14 minutes, Lima's free kick deflected throug the barrier to Tostão, whose left foot struck it high to Gelei’s left. Then, Alcindo shot at the open goal to put Brazil in the lead, but twisted his ankle, all by himself, only one minute later.
Brazil held on to the lead through the first half, but Hungary improved in the second half, and 19 minutes in, equalized: Albert clipped a first-time pass up the right wing. Instead of beating his man, Bene looked up and hit a cross which dropped just above the penalty spot. Farkas, running full pelt, caught it with his instep just above the ground and a fraction behind him. The shot nearly holed the net behind a stationary Gilmar. The goal invigorated the Magyars and disorientated the Brazilians. Less than ten minutes later, Bene was brought down by Paulo Henrique in the area and Kálmán Mészöly converted the penalty kick. There was still time for Hungary to score one more, when Albert took the ball from the midfield all down to the penalty spot, then passed to Farkas, coming up unmarked, who shot into Gilmar's left corner.
The next day, at Liverpool, Abyssinia faced Portugal. Needing to win, the Abyssinian manager, Tessema Wolde, tried to field a more offensive team, but to little avail. Only nine minutes in, Torres sent in a high cross that was headed in by Eusébio, to open the score. Abyssinia managed to equalize soon after, with Mengistu Worku heading in a free kick by Woldeselassié, but Portugal regained the lead five minues later, with José Augusto. Eusébio scored the third before the second half was through, and Torres ended the scoring by following Gebrehiwot's feeble back-pass into the net.
Four days later, Brazil went back to Liverpool to play against Portugal, and needing at least a tie to qualify. After the recent weak performances, Feola and the rest of the staff had not only brought Pelé back in, but also switched another eight players, including Gilmar. His substitute, Manga, looked nervous from the start, and soon Eusébio gave him good reason, beating his man on the left and putting over a near-post cross which Manga batted straight onto the head of Simões. Eleven minutes later, Coluna took a free kick deep on the right, Torres soared to head it back from the far post, Eusébio headed almost through the stationary Manga, flattening Orlando in the process. Then four minutes later, Morais took Pelé out of the match with a double foul on the edge of the penalty area for which he wasn't even booked. In the second half, Rildo pulled one back with a stern ground shot, but any hopes of a tie vanished twelve minutes later, when Eusébio scored the third. Two days later, the organizing committee proposed allowing substitutions for the next Cup - they were already practiced regularly in South American tournaments for decades before, but hadn't been allowed in the World Cup yet.
Meanwhile, at Manchester, Hungary played against Abyssinia. Still keeping the same scheme as in the previous match, Abyssinia had improved further and managed to open the score, again with Worku. Late in the first half, Gebreselassié lunged in at a cross from Rákosi, but the ball went into his own net. Abyssinia took the lead right after, when Hailé Tesfagabre hammered in a half-volley into the top corner. However, Hungary grew in the second half and managed to equalize nine minutes in, when Bene headed in a cross from Albert.
Group 4
The first match of the group pit Uruguay against Scotland. The match kept up the highly defensive football that had been seen the previous day - Scotland went out on the attack, pushed by the large crowd that had crossed the border to watch them, and Uruguay went on the defensive, using Troche as sweeper behind a back four, and everyone else in withdrawn positions, including their two most creative players Pedro Rocha and Julio César Cortés — a web the Scottish players rarely looked like breaking. Jim Baxter came the closest, his header dropping onto the top of the bar, but that was it.
Meanwhile, Poland faced Mexico at Sunderland. The Poles were proud of their speed, but their ball control and passing were lamentable and they never came to terms with Enrique Borja. When Szeja saved his shot, from Padilla’s cross, he pushed the loose ball in from close range. Poland equalized later, also scored from a rebound, Włodzimierz Lubański's ground shot going in off a post, but at 72 minutes, Salvador Reyes went into the area and once the defense began closing in, passed to Borja, coming up from the left, who scored from the edge of the area.
Three days later, Scotland visited Mexico at Sunderland. Seventen minutes in, Reyes headed in a cross from Borja and opened the score. Scotland was the better team through most of the match, their attack moving with fluency and precision, largely due to Baxter's skillful and accurate passing, but there was no one in the middle to respond with the same point and enterprise, a situation made worse by the fact that Denis Law had been injured before the tournament and wasn't predicted to return until after the group stage, and so, Mexico for the first time, won two matches in a row and was virtually qualified as a result.
The next day, Uruguay faced Poland at Middlesbrough. Again the Poles were quick, Sadek taking a return pass at speed and hurtling towards the right-hand goal line, where Manicera pulled him back with a better sense of where the penalty area was than the referee, and the kick was converted by Józef Gałeczka. That goal seemed to wake the Uruguayans up, who soon began dominating the match and took the lead before half-time - First they kept possession interminably until Rocha shot home from the right, then Cortés smashed in a volley from a similar position. On the second half, Uruguay returned to the same defensive posture of the first match.
Four days later, Mexico, already qualified, faced Uruguay at Middlesbrough. With Uruguay only needing a tie, and both teams being known for their defensive solidity, the score couldn't really be anything else than a 0x0. Despite Uruguay having more of a reason to attack, it was Mexico that came the closest to scoring, with Cisneros hitting a post in the first half, and Borja always a threat in the air. Good news for Carbajal, who had his first clean sheet for Mexico after 16 years.
Meanwhile, Scotland played against Poland needing to win to have a better chance of qualifying. And it seemed like they could do it, as 38 minutes in, Alex Young put the loose ball in from right next to a goalpost after Greig had headed a cross from Baxter against the base of the other post, but 15 minutes before the end, Bobby Ferguson fumbled a header from Suski's cross and allowed Poland to equalize. Again, Scotland couldn't find the goal they needed and fell on the group stage.
Group 5
Russia debuted against Castille at Birmingham, and was rather lucky on coming out with a win, as the Castillians played better all through the match. However, the Castillians, despite having about ten clear goal chances, were unable to convert them, while Russia took the only chances they had. Even the Castillian goal only came on a penalty kick, as Danilov grabbed Suárez inside the area and Gento converted the penalty kick. Both Russian goals only came in the second half - First, Chislenko headed a cross from Streltsov against Betancort and then shot the rebound past the keeper. Then, Reija mishit a clearance and Malofeyev enabled Khusainov to go through for a shot that entered the net between Betancort and the near post.
Meanwhile, at Sheffield, Grão-Pará debuted against Germany and found themselves entirely outclassed. After Jürgen Nöldner put in the rebound when Seeler’s shot was saved, they scored three of the best goals seen in a single World Cup match, Beckenbauer (twice) and Haller striding through to score with confidence and perfect technique, a masterclass of finishing from midfield. Seeler, at the hub of everything, played a part in all three goals and was fouled for the penalty. Out of all the 20 teams that played on the first round, Germany seemed to be the most balanced, with a solid defense, a good attack and a excellent midfield.
Three days later, Grão-Pará visited Castille at Birmingham, and against a less well-rounded team, seemed to improve. Castille opened the score at 24 minutes, when Ufarte got past Assis on the right and gave a low cross to Suárez, who went over Abel's tackle and sent the ball soaring into the net with a swing from his left foot, from just inside the area. Grão-Pará equalized only seven minutes later, when João Tavares sent Quarentinha II away on the right, Manoel Maria shooting home the cross. However, Castille improved in the second half. Rivilla had already served warning with a strong run through the middle, and now scored a sensational individual goal, beating man after man before hammering the ball into the roof of the net for his only goal in international football. The next goal was just as good, Gento going on a long run down the left that recalled his prime, Amancio diving to head in the cross.
The next day, Germany faced Russia at Sheffield. No one expected it, but the match was violent from the outset. The first victim was Gusarov, who twisted an ankle trying to foul Beckenbauer. Near the end of the first half, Schnellinger went into a typical tackle on Chislenko. He took ball and man, leaving Chislenko clutching his ankle, then showed the other side of his game by running powerfully upfield before hitting a pass to the righthand side of the penalty area, where it was met by Haller’s diagonal run and strong shot. Immediately after the kick-off, a limping Chislenko lost the ball to Nöldner, gave him a kick on the back of the ankle and was sent off for his troubles. In the second half, the violence continued and even Voronin and Beckenbauer wound up booked. Germany scored the second migway through the second half, when Beckenbauer drifted outside a pack of players on the edge of the area before shooting left-footed just inside the lefthand post. Two minutes before the end, Streltsov scored when Tilkowski dropped the ball under pressure from Malofeyev.
Four days later, Castille faced Germany. The Spanish manager, José Villalonga, switched nearly the entire forward and midfield, partly because Suárez and Del Sol were injured. However, the eleven players that went to the field had never even trained together. Despite that, Castille opened the score, when Luis Aragonés ran onto Marcelino’s lob. However, Germany woke up after that and their better teamwork prevailed. Lothar Emmerich equalised with a staggering goal, chasing a loose ball to the left-hand goal line and battering it into the roof of the net from an impossible angle. Then Nöldner went back to the left, beat Rivilla, and hit a low cross which Seeler controlled and pushed home.
Meanwhile, Russia faced Grão-Pará at Sheffield, and the Paraese combined a good performance with the Russians still struggling with the losses from the previous match to score their first point. Grão-Pará opened the score quickly, when Robilotta's shot hit the post and Quarentinha I caught the rebound, but Russia didn't take long to equalize, when Malofeyed pushed through a ball that François had fumbled. Early in the second half, Kopayev put Russia on the lead with a right-foot shot following a pass by Voronin and a swift run up the center, but were unable to do much else against Grão-Pará in the next half-hour, and two minutes from the end, the debutants equalized with a beautiful effort - Quarentinha II started the effort passing to Pau Preto on the right. With his back to the Russian goal, the 37-year old winger (who retired right after the Cup) deftly turned the ball to Quarentinha I, who shot without delay into the net. Despite the tie, the result was still good enough for Russia, who qualified in second place.
And thus, the second round groups were drawn:
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Let me know your predictions and stay tuned for Part 50!