This was arguably one of the most memorable, influential and controversial World Cup games of all time. The 1954 final, played at the Wankdorf Stadium, Switzerland, saw West Germany triumph over favourites Hungary with a 3-2 victory.
It was generally assumed that Hungary would see off the Germans to win the competition. Reigning Olympic Champions, winners of the Central European International Cup teams, and undefeated in 32 consecutive matches, Gusztáv Sebes’ side were one of the strongest countries in the world at the time. Add to that the fact they had …

The four digits, 1-9-6-6, bring overwhelming joy to the face of a whole nation. I am sure a lot of other events ensued that year, but for England fans, it will always be known as the year England won the World Cup. And the match will forever be remembered for one man: Geoff Hurst.
For the most part of the summer, it seemed as if the untouchable partnership of Jimmy Greaves and Roger Hunt would be the one to possibly bring home the trophy. It wasn’t until the knock-out stages that …

Despite many World Cup finals producing a well worthy winner, many of the contests to conclude the prestigious tournament have often been a let down with the better matches seeming to occur in the previous knock out rounds.
The 2002 final will certainly not go down as a classic. However, the match between Brazil and Germany represents several pinnacle moments in football history.
A brace from a revived Ronaldo banished the memories of his atrocious performance in the 1998 final. Cafu became the first player in history to appear in three successive World Cup finals. Brazil’s …

The destination was France, where 15 teams lined up for the 3rd FIFA World Cup. The decision to hold the tournament in Europe, for the second time in succession, angered Argentina and Uruguay, hence neither took part in the finals. The original line up also included Austria, but a late withdrawal gave Sweden a walkover in the first round.
With three comfortable wins, the most impressive being a 5-1 victory over Sweden, Hungary found themselves as favourites against defending champions Italy, who needed a 94th minute strike from star forward Silvio …

Welcome to 1946. World War Two has forced the cancellation of this year’s and the previous World Cup and the majority of Europe is still basking in the turmoil and ruins. FIFA is keen to get the World Cup up and running again, especially with it being the 25th anniversary of Jules Rimet’s presidency. Many governments aren’t keen on the idea of a joint good natured sporting event, can you blame them?
Step forward Brazil. The probable host of the 1942 tournament puts forward a similar bid at the 1946 FIFA …

The 1958 World Cup was hosted by Sweden; Brazil went into the tournament as clear favourites even though no team had ever won the trophy in a continent different to their own.
The hosts and the tournament favourites contested the final and they produced a high scoring game to excite 50,000 fans in Solna’s Rasunda Stadium. To get to the final Brazil had beaten free scoring France 5-2 and hosts Sweden had beaten the reigning World Champions West Germany 3-1.
 
So the stage was set, after 24 hours of rain before the …

The 1994 World Cup Finals is probably the most eventful in living memory, featuring drugs scandals, murders and political debates.
On the field, however, The USA-hosted tournament began and ended in perfect symmetry – with a missed penalty kick.
Firstly, in June, music legend Diana Ross was invited to shoot from the penalty spot in the tournament’s opening ceremony. She subsequently missed.
Exactly a month later, a penalty kick from Roberto Baggio suffered a similar fate. Unfortunately for the Italian legend, however, the miss was much more costly – coming in the World …

The 1930 World Cup Final was contested between Uruguay and Argentina. It was no real surprise for the rest of the footballing world as both these teams played against each other in the Olympics Final of 1928. This tournament and the final itself was a real ground-breaking achievement and no wonder the World Cup football tournament is one of, if not, the biggest tournament in the world today.
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1930 World Cup Venue – Uruguay
Uruguay was chosen to host the World …

“Football is played to win. Shows are for the cinema, for the theatre. Being second is failure.”
To many footballers, and to many managers, legacy is everything. Most people can correctly identify Uruguay as the first FIFA World Cup winners, but not as many can remember the runners-up on that day: Argentina. And statistics like this most probably caused Carlos Billardo, the Argentinian coach at the 1990 World Cup, to say things like the above quotation. Billardo wanted to win, at all costs. Ability, skill, sportsmanship and panache meant nothing to …

A mouthwatering prospect for football fans worldwide. Brazil, previous world champions, lining up against the host nation France. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos versus Zidane, Petit, Lizarazu. A true ‘clash of the titans’ if ever there was one.
The build up to the game, however, was focused on one player and one player only. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997 and currently on top form, was mysteriously submitted, then reinstated, from the teamsheet less than two hours before kick off. Rumours circulating like flies to …