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1970 FIFA World Cup final

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1970 FIFA World Cup final
Both teams lining up before the match
Event1970 FIFA World Cup
Brazil Italy
4 1
Date21 June 1970
VenueEstadio Azteca, Mexico City
RefereeRudi Glöckner (East Germany)
Attendance107,412
← 1966
1974 →

The final match of the 1970 FIFA World Cup was held on Sunday, 21 June, in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, between Brazil and Italy. It marked the first time that two former world champions met in a final; Italy had previously won the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, while Brazil won in 1958 and 1962.

Road to the final

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Before the finals in Mexico, Brazil had to play qualifying matches against Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay. Brazil was far superior, winning all six games, scoring twenty-three goals and conceding only two. The last match of the qualifying round, which Brazil won against Paraguay 1–0, had the largest official audience ever recorded for a football match, with 183,341 spectators in Brazil's Maracanã Stadium. In total, the Brazilian team won all 12 games, scoring 42 goals and conceding only 8.[1][2]

 Brazil Round  Italy
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
 Czechoslovakia 4–1 Match 1  Sweden 1–0
 England 1–0 Match 2  Uruguay 0–0
 Romania 3–2 Match 3  Israel 0–0
Group 3 winner
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 330083+56
 England 320121+14
 Romania 310245−12
 Czechoslovakia 300327−50
 Final group standings Group 2 winner
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Italy 312010+14
 Uruguay 311121+13
 Sweden 31112203
 Israel 302113−22
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
 Peru 4–2 Quarter-finals  Mexico 4–1
 Uruguay 3–1 Semi-finals  West Germany 4–3 (a.e.t.)

Match

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Recreation of Pelé's room at the Inter-American Social Security Conference Hotel of Mexico City, their hotel prior to their match against Italy on June 21, 1970.

Summary

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Sequences of the 2nd and 3rd Brazil goals scored by Gerson (above) and Jairzinho (below), respectively

Brazil struck first, with Pelé heading in a cross by Rivellino in the 18th minute.[3] Roberto Boninsegna equalized for Italy after a blunder in the Brazilian defence. In the second half, Brazil's firepower and creativity was too much for an Italian side that clung to their cautious defensive system. Gérson fired in a powerful shot for the second goal, and then helped provide the third, with a long free kick to Pelé who headed down into the path of the onrushing Jairzinho.

Pelé capped his superb performance by drawing the Italian defence in the centre and feeding captain Carlos Alberto on the right flank for the final score. Carlos Alberto's goal, after a series of moves by the Brazilian team from the left to the centre, is considered one of the greatest goals ever scored in the history of the tournament.[4]

A total of seven outfield players from Brazil passed the ball until captain Carlos Alberto hammered the ball into the corner of the Italian goal following a pass across the Italian penalty area from Pelé, prompted by Tostão, who, with his back to the goal, told Pelé that Alberto was steaming in on the right flank. Tostão started the move five yards from the left of the Brazilian penalty area, then ran the length of the field to the Italian box without touching the ball again to tell Pelé to lay it off for Alberto. The players involved in the passes in order were Tostão, Piazza, Clodoaldo, Pelé and Gérson. Clodoaldo beat four Italian players in his own half before passing to Rivellino who hit a perfect pass down the wing to Jairzinho. Jairzinho crossed from the wing to the centre of the box to Pelé who held the ball up to play a pass for Alberto to smash it home. The only outfield players not involved in the move were Everaldo and Brito, although the ball did ricochet off Everaldo's foot when he was nutmegged by Juliano in the tackle. This caused the ball to run loose for Tostao as he tracked back. In 2002, the UK public voted the goal as number 36 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.[5][6]

Details

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Brazil 4–1 Italy
 [Report 1]
Attendance: 107,412

Brazil
Italy
GK1Félix
RB4Carlos Alberto (c)
CB2Brito
CB3Piazza
LB16Everaldo
RH5Clodoaldo
LH8Gérson
OR7Jairzinho
OL11RivellinoYellow card 45'
CF9Tostão
CF10Pelé
Substitutes:
GK12Ado
DF6Marco Antônio
DF15Fontana
MF18Caju
FW13Roberto
Manager:
Mário Zagallo
GK1Enrico Albertosi
RB2Tarcisio BurgnichYellow card 27'
CB8Roberto Rosato
CB5Pierluigi Cera
LWB3Giacinto Facchetti (c)
DM10Mario Bertinidownward-facing red arrow 74'
CM16Giancarlo De Sisti
RW13Angelo Domenghini
AM15Sandro Mazzola
CF20Roberto Boninsegnadownward-facing red arrow 84'
CF11Gigi Riva
Substitutes:
GK12Dino Zoff
DF4Fabrizio Poletti
MF21Giuseppe Furino
MF18Antonio Julianoupward-facing green arrow 74'
MF14Gianni Riveraupward-facing green arrow 84'
Manager:
Ferruccio Valcareggi

Assistant referees:
Rudolf Scheurer (Switzerland)
Ángel Coerezza (Argentina)

Match rules:

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Replay on 23 June if scores still level
  • Five named substitutes
  • Maximum of two substitutions

Post-match

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Pelé celebrating after winning the match. It was his last World Cup as he would retire from the national team one year later[7]

With this third win after their 1958 and 1962 World Cup victories, Brazil became the world's most successful national football team at that time, surpassing both Italy and Uruguay, who each had two championships. The third title earned Brazil the right to retain the Jules Rimet Trophy permanently;[8][9] it was stolen in 1983 while on display in Rio de Janeiro and never recovered.

Thirty-eight-year-old Brazilian coach Mário Zagallo became the first footballer to win the World Cup as a player (1958, 1962) and a coach, as well the second youngest coach to win a World Cup, after Alberto Suppici in 1930. Pelé ended his World Cup playing career as the competition's first (and as of 2026, only) three-time winner.[10]

Legacy

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Historically, this 1970 Brazil squad is generally revered as the best World Cup team.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Brazil outplay Italy and take Jules Rimet Trophy outright". Glasgow Herald (Page 4). 22 June 1970. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Pele and 1970: How the greatest player of all time cemented his legend". BBC Sport. 31 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "Coca-Cola Memorable Celebrations 1: Pele's iconic leap of joy after scoring Brazil's century goal". Goal.com. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Benson, Andrew (2 June 2006). "The perfect goal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  5. ↑ 100 Greatest sporting moments – results Archived 15 January 2002 at the Wayback Machine Channel 4. Retrieved 29 August 2014
  6. ↑ "World Cup final 1970: Brazil v Italy – as it happened". Guardian. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Un día como hoy Pelé jugó su último partido con la selección brasileña on Libero, 18 Jul 2020 Archived 2 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Brazil". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. 22 June 1970. p. 1C. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Brazil's heroes of 1970 relive their days of glory". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 10 June 2000. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "70 Facts About Brazil Legend Football Icon Pele On His 70th Birthday". Goal.com. 21 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Molinaro, John. "THE TOP 10 WORLD CUP TEAMS OF ALL-TIME". Sportsnet. Sportsnet. Archived from the original on 20 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.

Reports

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  1. ↑
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