With the World Cup around the corner, we thought it would be the perfect time to look at the Top 10 Moments in World Cup history. Some of these moments are known by even the most casual of sports fans, while others might be mostly lost to the history books yet incredible stories nonetheless. The greatest games, goals, and gaffes from the world's biggest sporting event - and as always we rank them 10 to 1 with video accompaniment, and at least a couple of the videos are in English!
10) First Penalty Shootout - 1982 Semis France v W. Germany
-Penalties were somewhat of a novelty when the 1982 World Cup rolled around. It had been used a few times in international competitions, but never in a WC. In the Semis, Germany and France were tied 1-1 after the 90 minutes. They then each scored 2 goals in extra time to end the 120 minutes 3-3. In the penalty shootout, France had the early advantage until Harald Schumacher (who knocked Patrick Battiston unconscious earlier in the game) stopped Didier Six. Horst Hrubesch ended up with the winner for Germany as they took the shootout 5-4.
9) The Home Country Wins At Home - 1966 Final England v W. Germany
-The home of soccer finally hosted the World Cup in 1966. England made a run all the way to the final where they met West Germany. With some of the greatest names in the history of English soccer like Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton in the side, it was forward Geoff Hurst's hat-trick that led England to an extra-time 4-2 win and their first title. English folks cling to that day like Cubs fans do to 1908! Here's the classic video from 1966 with a sweet orange ball!
8) Miracle on Grass - 1950 USA v England
-If you think soccer is still struggling to become a mainstream sport now, think back to 1950 when 1 vacationing reporter was the only American media member on hand to witness perhaps the greatest upset in WC history. The Miracle on Grass saw an American side that had lost their last 7 games in major tournaments 45-2 take on an England team that was one of the world's best. The US won a shocking 1-0 victory. They wouldn't win another game in 1950, not qualify for another WC until 1990, and not win another WC game until 1994! Let's hope this result repeats itself on June 12th.
7) Baggio's Boo Boo - 1994 Final Brazil v Italy
-The 1994 Brazilian side won't go down as one of its greatest title teams, and the '94 Final won't go down as one of the classic finals ever, in fact it ended 0-0 after 120 minutes. But, the game and the tournament will be remembered for one thing - Roberto Baggio's missed PK. Baggio, Italy's best player (hideous ponytail and all) and the previous year's World Player of the Year, stepped up to the spot needing to connect on his PK to extend the shootout. He probably would like it back...
6) Samba Sensation - 1970 Final Brazil v Italy
-Many soccer aficionados agree that the 1970 Brazil team was the greatest of all time. They swept through the World Cup in 1970 to win their 3rd title by scoring 19 goals in 6 games. With stars like Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson, and Carlos Alberto, this Brazil team is considered one of the greatest offensive forces known to man. Their 4-1 thrashing of Italy in the final is symbolic of everything that is beautiful about the beautiful game - especially Carlos Alberto's goal, considered to be the best team goal ever...
5) Zidane Loses His Head - 2006 Final France v Italy
-Another countdown and another headbutt of the century sighting! Of course, we're all familiar with Zizou's headbutt in extra time of the 2006 Final against Italy. Here's what we said from our Top 10 D'Oh Moments of the Decade, where Zidane finished 2nd:
French legend Zinedine Zidane decides that he wants to go out in style by being tossed in his final game (ala Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Forget Paris, highly underrated movie). The image of him walking past the World Cup trophy is one of the lasting images of this or any decade...
4) The Greatest Game Ever - 1970 Semis Germany v Italy
-When you have a monument outside a stadium in another country dedicated to your game, you know something special happened. This matchup in the Azteca Stadium is considered to be the best WC game ever, and maybe even the best soccer game period. While 1970's World Cup was dominated by Brazil, Italy and Germany played the Game of the Century. Italy led for most of the 90 minutes 1-0, but Germany equalized in injury time. What followed was an incredible half hour of soccer - 5 goals, 3 lead changes, and Franz Beckenbauer's arm in a sling. Italy emerged 4-3 winners, here's the highlights...
3) Germany Beats The Golden Team - 1954 Final Germany v Hungary
-This is perhaps one of the most underrated moments and upsets in sports history. In the 1950's, Hungary of all countries was the world soccer power. Led by Real Madrid's Ferenc Puskas, the Hungarians were known as the Golden Team. They were unbeaten in a record 32 straight games, achieved the highest ever World Ranking (still standing), and became the first non-British team to win at Wembley with a remarkable 6-3 victory. This is truly one of the great teams of all time, have a look at the highlights from the Wembley showdown dubbed the Match of the Century in the pregame hype...
This was Total Football before Total Football existed. So, in the '54 Final, everyone expected Hungary to pulverize West Germany (especially since they had beaten the Germans 8-3 in the group stages!) But, Germany shocked the world with a 3-2 win. The scope of the win though is not grasped by us today. Keep in mind that this happened less than 10 years after the end of World War II and this was the first thing that Germans had to cheer about since that time. It's truly a monumental moment...
2) The Maracanazo - 1950 Final Uruguay v Brazil
-In thinking of the World Cup, upsets don't usually come to mind. But, this one may be the greatest of them all. In 1950, Brazil hosted the World Cup and was in the infancy of their time as the elite soccer nation. Oddly enough, this was the only tournament not to feature a traditional final, but a final 4 team group stage. As it turned out, Brazil won their first 2 group games by a 13-2 combined score and only needed a draw to win in their last game vs Uruguay. Uruguay had 1 win and 1 draw and needed to win outright vs Brazil to lift the trophy. It was so obvious that Brazil was going to win that celebrations were ongoing in Rio leading up to the final and an insane crowd of over 200,000 people jammed into the new Maracana to watch the game.
Imagine for one second... traveling on the road with the World Cup on the line, playing an unbeatable team, and having to face almost a quarter of a million people rooting against you. Oh, and Brazil opened up with a 1-0 lead! But, somehow Uruguay snatched a goal back in the 66th minute to make it 1-1 and still needed one more. They got it through Alcides Ghiggia with 11 minutes left. Just like that, 200,000 people were silenced, and Uruguay would hold on to win the World Cup and complete one of the most unbelievable upsets in sports history. This great video tells the story of that game...
1B) The Hand of God - 1986 Diego Maradona v England
-The Top 2 Moments in World Cup history came from the same player, in the same game, and they happened 3 minutes apart. In the '86 Quarterfinals, Argentina met England, and Diego Maradona put Argentina in front with the legendary Hand of God goal. It is the most infamous goal ever...
1A) The Greatest Goal Ever - 1986 Diego Maradona v England
-The mercurial Maradona decided to follow up the Hand of God goal with a goal that only a player of divine ability could score. Maradona's second goal is widely considered the single greatest of all time. He beats numerous defenders on a dazzling run and finishes expertly. Argentina went on to win the game and the World Cup...
That's our list. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with the rankings or have we missed a great World Cup moment? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below and check back for all of our 2010 World Cup coverage where we'll hopefully see something worthy of being an all time great World Cup moment.
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