Football Files

In the tunnel before the match at Wembley, an England player pointed at the stocky Hungarian captain and said: look at that little fat chap — we'll murder this lot. Hungary won six goals to three. It was the first time England had lost at home to a foreign nation. The German journalist covering the match wrote: after today, the modern era of football can begin. #FootballFiles #FootballHistory #Wor...

On the morning of July 16, 1950, Brazilian newspapers printed photographs of the world champions. There was only one problem. The match had not yet been played. Nearly 200,000 people filled the Maracanã expecting to witness Brazil's coronation. The celebrations were prepared. The speeches were written. The trophy was waiting. Uruguay had other ideas. What followed became known as the Maracanaz...

England arrived at their first FIFA World Cup as overwhelming favourites. Their opponents, the United States, included a Haitian dishwasher studying accounting who was not yet an American citizen. England had not lost to a non-British nation in fifty years. The result was so unbelievable that some British newspapers assumed the wire report was a mistake. The man who scored the winning goal, Joe Ga...

On May 4, 1949, the plane carrying Grande Torino crashed into the hillside of Superga above Turin. There were no survivors. The greatest club side in Italy was gone in an instant. Eight of the victims were members of the Italian national team. Just one year later, Italy travelled to the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The wounds of war were still fresh. The trauma of Superga was even fresher. Refus...

On the eve of the 1938 World Cup Final, Italy's players received a telegram from Rome. It contained three words: "Win or die." Whether Benito Mussolini meant it literally remains debated. What is certain is that football and politics had become impossible to separate. Italy's captain, Giuseppe Meazza, scored the decisive penalty while holding up his shorts with one hand after the...

Austria qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup and then disappeared from the map. Following the Anschluss, Austrian players were absorbed into Nazi Germany's squad — except Matthias Sindelar, who refused. Spain withdrew because of the Spanish Civil War. Europe was sliding toward catastrophe. Meanwhile, Brazil unveiled a brilliant new generation, Cuba shocked Romania, and one Brazilian forward e...

Austria's Wunderteam were arguably the greatest side in the world in 1934. Their star forward, Matthias Sindelar — Der Papierene, the Paper Man — played football with a grace and intelligence that seemed to belong to another sport. In the semi-final, the referee reportedly dined with Benito Mussolini the night before the match. Italy went on to win the World Cup. Five years later, Austria had...

Benito Mussolini wanted more than a football tournament. He wanted a victory that would showcase Fascist Italy to the world. The 1934 FIFA World Cup became the first tournament played under the shadow of modern political propaganda. Refereeing decisions were questioned. Opponents complained of intimidation. Controversy followed the competition from beginning to end. Yet there is a complication. It...

The first FIFA World Cup Final was more than a football match. The gates opened before sunrise. By midday, more than ninety thousand spectators had packed into Montevideo's Estadio Centenario. Tensions between Uruguay and Argentina were so high that the referee reportedly demanded an escape route after the match. One player received death threats before kickoff. Another was threatened at half-...

The first FIFA World Cup almost didn't happen. Most European nations refused to make the journey to South America. In the end, only four agreed to go. They all crossed the Atlantic together aboard a single ocean liner. On board were the teams of France, Belgium, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Also travelling with them were FIFA President Jules Rimet, three referees, and the World Cup trophy itself—p...

A French lawyer named Jules Rimet spent twenty-six years pursuing an idea most people believed was impossible: a football tournament featuring the nations of the world. England refused to participate. Much of Europe showed little interest. Crossing the Atlantic took weeks by ship. Yet Rimet persisted. A king personally selected one national squad. Four European teams sailed to South America aboard...

Why does football grip human beings like nothing else? The answer goes back two thousand years — to Chinese soldiers, a London pub, and thirteen rules that now govern a game played by two hundred and sixty-five million people. This is the story of how that happened, and what this show is going to do with it. Free archive. Permanent history. Start here. #FootballFiles #FootballHistory #FIFA #WorldC...