The 1950 World Cup would enter popular memory for the wonder of the Maracanã, the vast and noisy crowds that turned up to follow their Brazilian heroes, and of course the shock result in the “final” which saw Uruguay win their second World Cup by defeating the hosts in what became known as the Maracanzo – A result which seemed to traumatise the Brazilian nation like few others.

It was also the first World Cup to be held in twelve years due to the savagery of the Second World War, and slowly a decimated Europe returned to the football fields and to World Cup qualifying groups. Most groups were two team affairs, simple home and away fixtures with the winner progressing, however Ireland were drawn in a group of three, alongside Sweden and Finland. It was to be Ireland’s first meeting with both nations.

The Swedes would have been strong favourites for the group, they had triumphed in the football tournament at the 1948 Olympics in London and featured stars like Nils Liedholm and Gunnar Gren who would find greater fame in Italy with AC Milan. The Finns, however, were something of an unknown quantity with Irish newspaper previews detailing the struggle faced by Finish football due to the harshness of the climate and the ongoing recovery from the ravages of the Second World War.

For the visit of Finland to Dublin in September of 1949, the Republic of Ireland opted for experimentation. Having been well-beaten by a strong Spanish side in a recent friendly, there was a more youthful look to the Irish team against Finland with several debutants, especially in the attack. A brand-new front five was named, with Johnny Gavin, Arthur Fitzsimons, Jim Higgins, Peter Desmond and Tommy O’Connor all listed to start. Higgins had enjoyed a blistering start to the season with Dundalk, scoring six times before August was out but had to cry off with an injury, his place being taken by Shelbourne’s Brendan Carroll.

It was to be a further changed front line as Carroll had to go off injured after 25 minutes and Paddy Daly being the only outfield player (the 12th man) available as his replacement. This prompted another reshuffle, with the ever-versatile Con Martin moving from centre-half to the centre forward role and Daly taking Martin’s place. Despite the disruption to the team there seemed to be no ill-effects on the pitch. Johnny Gavin opened proceedings with a goal direct from a corner, 21-year-old Gavin was just beginning to make his name at Norwich but he would go on to become the Norfolk club’s record goal-scorer, a distinction still held to this day.

Two more goals followed, Peter Desmond was fouled which drew a penalty and was dispatched by Con Martin before victory was sealed, this time Martin again proving his worth as a striker flicking in a header in the 68th minute from an Ireland corner. A relatively comfortable 3-0 win in front of 23,000 in Dalymount.

The return leg in October was to be a different affair, Finland’s football season was coming to a close and the harsher winter weather was already in force, Ireland were playing in a biting wind with temperatures hovering just above freezing. The FAI had spared no expense, paying over £1,000 to fly an Aer Lingus charter flight to Helsinki and despite the conditions the Irish team must have been optimistic, they had just beaten England in Goodison Park a month earlier and regular centre forward Davy Walsh was back in the starting XI.

Walsh looked to have scored early on but Dutch referee Jan Bronkhorst disallowed it for a supposed foul on the Finish keeper. Ireland did however take the lead through Everton’s Peter Farrell, slipped in by Drums’ Tim Coffey, Farrell beat his man before unleashing a fierce shot into the Finnish net on 65 minutes. Ireland remained in the lead until the last minute when Jorma Vaihela managed to bundle the ball, and a number of Irish players, into the net. The Irish team quickly protested to the referee that the Finns had fouled in the lead up to the equaliser but their laments fell on deaf ears.

Finland decided to withdraw from qualifying after the game and never faced Sweden in the group. Ireland knew they would have to beat the Swedes to force a play-off but these narrow hopes were dashed by a Calle Palmér hat-trick in Dalymount. The Swedes would go to Brazil where they would finish third behind Uruguay and the hosts while it would be another 40 years before Ireland would grace World football’s greatest stage.

This article originally featured in the match programme for Ireland v Finland in November 2024. Banner photo from the Irish Press showing Con Martin bearing down on Finnish keeper Thure Sarnola in the September 1949 game.