When the match ended, people said the stadium was filled with "disturbing and traumatic absolute silence"[9][10] except for the euphoria and celebration of the Uruguayan players and delegation.
In Brazil, many newspapers refused to accept the fact that they had been defeated; famous radio journalist Ary Barroso (briefly) retired, and some distraught fans even went so far as to commit suicide.[11][12] The players of the time were vilified by the fans. Many went silently into retirement, while some others were never considered for the national team again. Unused squad members Nílton Santos and Carlos José Castilho were also members of the victorious Brazil squads in 1958 and 1962. Santos played in both finals whereas Castilho only played in the 1954 FIFA World Cup and in 2007 was posthumously awarded the 1958 and 1962 winning medals as a squad member.
Brazil's white shirts with blue collars that were worn in the final game were, in the wake of the defeat, criticised for being "unpatriotic", with pressure to change the colours. In 1953 a competition was held by the newspaper Correio da Manhã to design a new strip, with the rule being that it must incorporate the colours of the national flag. Eventually, the competition was won by Aldyr Garcia Schlee, a newspaper illustrator, who came up with the design of yellow shirt with green trim, blue shorts and white socks that was first used in March 1954 against Chile,and has been used ever since.[13]