So, as Brazil won their way through to the final match, and as public expectation grew so much that it threatened to engulf even the massive Maracanã, each Brazilian game came to be refereed by one of the British team, including the decisive match of the final group stage.
Reader had refereed two matches prior to the final group: the opening game (in which Brazil beat Mexico) and Uruguay's thrashing of the Bolivians in Group 4; but it was to be in his appointment to the final Brazilian game that he would secure his place in history.