The Taça das Nações (Portuguese for "Nations' Cup") or "Little World Cup" was a football tournament played in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1964 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian Football Confederation. Three international teams were invited,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, for the competition which was played in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

during late May and early June.

History

The tournament was intended to showcase the favourites for the upcoming 1966 FIFA World Cup hosted by

. The Brazilian squad – apart from Pelé – had notable players such as

Gérson Gérson de Oliveira Nunes, generally known as Gérson (; born 11 January 1941 in Niterói), nicknamed ''Canhotinha de ouro'' (literally: Golden left foot), is a Brazilian former association footballer who played as a midfielder. He won numerous ...

Jairzinho Jair Ventura Filho (born 25 December 1944), better known as Jairzinho (), is a Brazilian former footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and top scorer of th ...

and goalkeeper

Gilmar Gylmar dos Santos Neves (; 22 August 1930 – 25 August 2013), known simply as Gilmar, was a Brazilian footballer who played goalkeeper for Corinthians and Santos and was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups. He was elect ...

. Argentina, coached by José María Minella, included some experienced players such as

Amadeo Carrizo Amadeo Raúl Carrizo (12 June 1926 – 20 March 2020), popularly known by his first name "Amadeo", was an Argentine football goalkeeper and manager. Carrizo is considered a pioneer of the position, helping to innovate techniques and strategies f ...

José Varacka José Varacka (27 May 1932 – 22 October 2018) was an Argentine football player and coach. Club career Varacka played for three of the big five teams in Argentina. He started his career in 1952 with Independiente. In 1954 he played and score ...

, José Ramos Delgado, Alfredo Rojas and Antonio Rattín and young footballers such as

Alberto Rendo Alberto Rendo (born 3 January 1940) is an Argentine former footballer who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Career Born in Parque Patricios, Buenos Aires, Rendo played club football in the Argentine Primera División with Huracán and San Lo ...

and Roberto Telch.

Silvio Marzolini Silvio Marzolini (4 October 1940 – 17 July 2020)Marzol ...

did not participate due to being injured. The English team included

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...

, Bobby Moore and

Gordon Banks Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional caree ...

while most of Portugal's players were from Benfica, that had won the European Champions' Cup twice, with

Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...

as its most notable star. In the match between England and Brazil, Pelé devastated the England defence with skill and hard running, leaving England forward

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...

to remark, "Pelé is on another bloody planet." The England vs. Portugal game was also notable for being marred by controversy when Portuguese player

José Torres José ("Chegüi") Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born American professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he d ...

attempted to punch the referee for disallowing an offside Portuguese goal. The player was sent off, but was considered lucky not to face a lifetime ban from football. In another violent incident, a headbutt by Pelé broke the nose of the Argentine player José Agustín Messiano, who had to be replaced by Roberto Telch –who proceeded to score two goals in the game. The Argentine team eventually won the tournament after defeating Brazil 3–0 in their game in São Paulo, with goals by Telch (2) and

Ermindo Onega Ermindo Ángel Onega (30 April 1940 – 21 December 1979) was an Argentine footballer, attacking midfielder and forward from River Plate. He played for River Plate from 1957 to 1968, scoring 98 goals in 222 matches. In 1972, he played for C ...

.Pelé no la tiene
on Diario Uno, 9 June 2011 Argentine goalkeeper

stopped a penalty by Gerson."Salimos a enfriar el partido... y además lo ganamos"
by Osvaldo Ardizzone on ''El Gráfico'' Reportedly the Brazilian FA had already engraved the Brazilian player's names on the watches intended as prizes for the winning team.

Results

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Final table

The points system gave 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

Statistics

Goalscorers

References

External links

* Pablo Ciullini:

', Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, 2013-07-25 * Chris Goodwin, Glen Isherwood:
Taça das Nações, Brazil 1964
', England Football Online, 2010-03-14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taca das Nacoes 1964 in Argentine football 1964 in Brazilian football 1963–64 in English football 1963–64 in Portuguese football Brazilian football friendly trophies 30-31 01-07

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Defunct international association football competitions in South America International men's association football invitational tournaments