Brazil 4-2 Chile
Chile 1962 | Semi-final
Estadio Nacional, Santiago
Attendance: 76,594
Brazil goals: Garrincha (9 & 32), Vava (47 & 78)
Chile goals: Jorge Toro (42), Leonel Sanchez (61)

Teams
Brazil
Gilmar; Djalma Santos, Mauro, Zozimo, Nilton Santos; Zito, Didi; Garrincha, Vava, Amarildo, Zagallo.
Coach: Aymore Moreira

Chile
Misael Escuti; Luis Eyzaguirre, Carlos Contreras, Raul Sanchez, Manuel Rodriguez; Jorge Toro, Eladio Rojas; Jaime Ramirez, Honorino Landa, Armando Tobar, Leonel Sanchez.
Coach: Fernando Riera

Going into the game
Brazil versus Chile was no longer a mammoth mismatch. A Seleção had stuttered rather than steamrolled their way through; La Roja had outstripped a star-stacked Italy side and beat Soviet Union, the reigning European champions, to ride a carriage of confidence into the last four. Moreira had to plot victory without the injured Pele; Chile’s own talisman, Sanchez, was fit and firing on all cylinders. Moreover, Goliath had to enter battle in David’s backyard, preoccupied by the omen that four host teams had reached the World Cup final in its six previous editions, and with 77,000 fans cheering the underdog’s every move.

Hitherto head-to-head record
۲۱ Brazil wins
۴ draws
۲ Chile wins

The game
They called him ‘The Joy of the People’. Garrincha fittingly left the Estadio Nacional having enthralled the Chileans who had turned up to cheer against him. A late red card ended his reign of terror, but the winger had, by then, done irreparable damage to the hosts. Garrincha menaced his helpless pursuers throughout with his hypersonic hip-shakes and dummies, smashed the post, broke the deadlock with a thunderous strike from his weaker left foot, doubled it with a thumping header, and set up a Vava goal. Chile did themselves proud – Toro netted a sterling free-kick and Sanchez got on the score-sheet – but they simply had no answer for Garrincha.

Quotes
“Garrincha, what planet is he from?”
The headline in Chilean newspaper El Mercurio the following day

“In 400 years from now, every time people speak about football, they’ll have to speak about Mané Garrincha.”
Joao Saldanha, journalist and future Brazil coach

“I scored a decisive goal against the Soviet Union and had the chance to do the same against Brazil. We were trailing 3-2 and I remember shooting from just inside the penalty box. It looked like a perfect shot. It went past Gilmar but the ball hit the right post and remained inches from crossing the line. We could have won the match if that had gone in. Ultimately, these little things can make a world of difference in decisive matches.”
Eladio Rojas, Chile midfielder

“We always knew it was going to be a difficult game. Chile were a good side with two or three excellent players, plus they had the crowd behind them. But fortunately Garrincha was unstoppable that day.”
Mauro, Brazil defender