🌏 World Cup Moments: USA achieve an upset for the ages | OneFootball

When the United States of America met England in the group stage of the 1950 World Cup, few gave them any hope of springing a surprise.

The nations had met earlier that year, an English reserve side registered a comfortable victory and they expected nothing less in this one, having already won their opening game, while the US had lost to Spain.

So confident was Walter Winterbottom of success that he rested many of his main stars, including Stanley Matthews, for the tougher tests that lay ahead.

After all, this was a USA side who were made up of native-born amateurs and semi-pros (unlike their previous two trips to the tournament) and whose main occupations included professions as varied as dishwashers, students, grave diggers and postmen.

In a two-horse race, they were quoted as being 500/1 underdogs and even at home, few gave them any hope with just one media member making the trip to Belo Horizonte - and even then he did so off his own back.

"We'd have been happy with a 2-0 loss," Harry Keough admitted many years later. "In our wildest dreams we didn't ever think we'd win."

Goalkeeper Frank Borghi, an undertaker by trade, was called into action four times in the opening 12 minutes, while England hit the woodwork on another two occasions.

"I was honestly just hoping to hold them to five or six goals," he recalled afterwards when reflecting on that early dominance.

So certain were England of victory that American players also revealed later that their opponents laughed and joked with each other on the field throughout the first half - or at least until the 37th minute.

Because it was then that Philadelphia school teacher Walter Bahr sent a hopeful ball into the area which glanced off the head of diving Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens and into the net of nonplussed goalkeeper Bert Williams.

Gaetjens combined his accounting studies with a dishwashing job in Brooklyn and rarely had time for football. In fact, he was only discovered by coach William Jeffrey shortly before his team's departure for Brazil.

But he would soon become a hero along with goalkeeper Borghi who produced save after save in the second half (and was helped by his post on two more occasions) to deny England, who succumbed to one of the tournament's all-time upsets.

The delighted 10,000 fans in Belo Horizonte, who had taken the underdogs to their hearts, hoisted the players on their shoulders in celebration after the full-time whistle.

"Not a lot went right. It was a game we seemed destined to lose," England's Tom Finney said of the defeat. "We could have played them 100 times and we would have won 99 of them comfortably."

That was an attitude reflected by his country's media upon learning of the result. So sure were certain outlets that it must be a mistake, they reported that England had won the game 10-1.

Unfortunately, there wasn't quite the same buzz Stateside. There were no glowing reports with nobody paying any particular attention to events in South America.

Even after returning home, the heroic victors responsible for the 'Miracle on Grass' were welcomed by only their families and no fanfare.

It would be another 40 years before they qualified for the World Cup again.