Summary
The game began the way most people had already foreseen: an avalanche of Brazilian attacks against the Uruguayan defensive line. Unlike Spain and Sweden, however, the Uruguayans managed to withstand the barrage of shots launched against their goal by the Brazilian strikers. The first half ended scoreless, and even though the score still favored Brazil, Uruguay's strategy managed to subdue the intensity of the crowd.
Brazil scored the first goal of the match only two minutes after the interval, re-igniting the crowd's reaction. Once again, Varela played a big role when he took the ball and disputed the validity of the goal to the referee (arguing that the player was offside). Varela was finally calmed, then took the ball to the center of the field, and shouted to his team, "Now, it's time to win!".
Then, Uruguay actually managed to turn the tide on Brazil. When faced with a capable Uruguayan attack, Brazil showed their defensive frailty, and Juan Alberto Schiaffino scored the equalizer in the 66th minute. The crowd died down a bit, before erupting into cheers for their local team again shortly after (since the draw still favoured Brazil). Later, Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia, running down the right side of the field, scored another goal, with only 11 minutes remaining on the clock. The crowd was now dead quiet and remained so until English referee George Reader signalled the end of the match with Uruguay winning 2–1. Former FIFA president and mastermind of the World Cup, Jules Rimet, would then comment about what happened, "The silence was morbid, sometimes too difficult to bear". The once roaring crowd of two hundred thousand people stood in disbelief as they were being "stripped" of a title they had already considered rightfully theirs.
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