After World War II, Brazil was the proud host of the 4th World Cup. Then, for the first time, participants of the World Cup were also the British countries who had boycotted previous World Cups. 13 teams in total had lined up to fight for the coveted FIFA World Cup trophy.

The tournament format involved two series of round-robin play, with Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, and Brazil progressing. It was finally Uruguay and Brazil to stage one of the most thrilling finals ever played. In front of a crowd of 200,000 people in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium, Brazil opened the scoring ( Friaca 48') but Uruguay fought back and, with two goals scored (Schiaffino 66', Ghiggia 79'), took the unexpected lead and victory.

• Championship game: Uruguay vs. Brazil, Winner: Uruguay, 2-1
• Number of teams participating: 13
• Venue Sites: Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo