“This year was not the first time that England flopped in a World Cup in Brazil. The fall was even harder in 1950, when making its debut in the competition, England also failed to make it out of the group stage, this time going down 1-0 to United States, still one of the most remarkable results in World Cup history. Great winger Stanley Matthews was not selected for that game, and watched horrified from the stands. He was much more impressed by a trip to the newly built Maracana stadium to watch the hosts in action.” The World Game – Tim Vickery