Montevideo: Alcides Ghiggia, the former Uruguay striker who scored the goal which won the 1950 World Cup against hosts Brazil, died Thursday -- 65 years to the day after his famous strike in the Maracana Stadium that traumatized a nation.


Uruguayan former footballer Alcides Ghiggia. Pic/AFP 

Ghiggia, who was 88, died from a heart attack, his wife Beatriz confirmed to AFP. He was the last surviving member of Uruguay's 1950 World Cup-winning team. Speaking about his match-winning goal, Ghiggia once famously told Brazilian television in an interview: "Only three men have ever silenced the Maracana -- the Pope, Frank Sinatra, and me!"