this victory, also known as the “maracanaço”, was considered a miracle. it made a myth and immortalized varela in the eyes of uruguay's football-loving population. at the age of 37 he traveled to switzerland with the national team to defend the title at the 1954 world cup. at the time, he was the oldest player to have ever played in a world cup. scotland and czechoslovakia were easily beaten in the preliminary round before uruguay beat england 4-2 in the quarter-finals. varela sustained a leg injury in that game. there were no substitutes back then, so he had to play the full 90 minutes heavily bandaged to the end.