World Cup 1962 History: No Pele, but Garrincha was there.

VHO - It seemed as though Brazil would collapse when Pele fell, but the 1962 World Cup told a different story: without their biggest star, the Selecao still beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final at Estadio Nacional and became the second team in history to successfully defend their title. And the rest of the story was written by the magical curved feet of Garrincha.

Báo Văn Hóa•31/05/2026

World Cup 1962 History: No Pele, but Garrincha - Photo 1

The seventh World Cup was held in Chile, featuring 6 teams from the Americas and 10 teams from Europe.

Luck was not on Di Stefano's side. At the age of 36, he intended to play for his second homeland, Spain, but suffered a right knee injury just before the opening match.

Di Stefano – “The Golden Arrow”, one of the greatest players in history, never participated in the World Cup finals.

Pele, another icon, also didn't go far in Chile due to a muscle tear, and yet another legend, goalkeeper Lev Yashin, also became the villain. The world's best goalkeeper allowed Colombia to score 4 goals because, apparently, he had a little too much to drink while warming up in the locker room.

Chile 1962 ushered in a new era. For the first time, the average number of goals scored in a World Cup dropped below 3, and since then, the world of football has never returned to its golden age of football feasts.

The primary reason for the decline in goals scored was the rise of violent play. The atmosphere in the stadiums was thick with venomous hatred. Kicks replaced passes. The culmination was a match named as a condemnation: "The Battle of Santiago."

On June 2, 1962, at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile defeated Italy 2–0 in a violent match. This was due to two players being sent off, the punches, and the police having to intervene four times.

The "Battle of Santiago" was also one of the reasons why referees later invented the yellow and red cards.

But despite the violence, beauty prevailed in Chile. Brazil triumphed without Pele, under the leadership of Didi. Amarildo shone in the difficult role of replacing Pele; Djalma Santos became a wall in defense; and in attack, Garrincha was both inspired and became an inspiration himself.

"Where did Garrincha come from?" asked the newspaper El Mercurio after Brazil defeated the host nation.

The Chileans had previously beaten Italy and also defeated Switzerland and the Soviet Union. The hosts devoured the pasta, chocolate, and vodka, but choked on the coffee: Brazil won 4–2.

In the final, Brazil defeated Czechoslovakia 3–1 and, just like in 1958, became undefeated champions.

For the first time in history, the World Cup final was televised live internationally, albeit in black and white and only to a few countries.

Chile finished third – their best ever – and Yugoslavia came in fourth thanks to a "bird" named Dragoslav Šekularac who was unstoppable by any defender.

The tournament did not have a single top scorer, but several players tied for four goals: Garrincha and Vavá (Brazil), Sánchez (Chile), Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Albert (Hungary) and Ivanov (Soviet Union).

Memorable images from the 1962 World Cup