FIFA World Cup Final Matches That We Will Remember Forever
We are less than six months away from the next soccer World Cup – and we for one cannot wait.
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This year the World Cup is being held in Qatar and in anticipation of the competition, today, we want to take a look back at some of the greatest Finals from previous tournaments.
Here are our 5 favorite games.
#5 – 1966 – England vs West Germany
This is a match that English football fans are still talking about nearly 60 years later. Until 2021 Euros, there had been no sign that their team might ever repeat this achievement.
What makes this a particularly special final is that it featured the first and only hat trick to be scored in a final. A hat trick is three goals scored by the same player in one match. Said hat trick was scored by Sir Geoff Hurst – although the last goal was somewhat controversial in the eyes of the West German team.
This hat trick helped England to win the game 4-2.
This game was watched by over 32.3 million people in the UK – it is still the most watched television event in the history of British television.
#4 – 1970 – Brazil vs Italy
Four years later, we were treated to another spectacular final – Brazil vs Italy.
This was Brazil’s third World Cup win in four competitions and they would go on to win two more over the next 20 years.
The match ended 4-1 to Brazil and the first goal was scored by Bazil’s superstar Pele. This was Pele’s third World Cup victory – he was the first player to achieve this – and he went on to retire from international football later that year.
During this game, Brazil scored a goal that involved all of their players on the pitch apart from two. This is often voted as one of the coolest World Cup goals of all time.
Italy’s only goal was scored by Boninsegna.
#3 – 1994 – Brazil vs Italy
While the early World Cup finals tended to be quite high scoring, as time has gone on the differences between the teams have gotten smaller and smaller.
This final was not a high scoring one, but it was full of tension and ended with one of the most exciting penalty shootouts the World Cup has ever seen.
This match was billed as a grudge match and a replay of the 1970s final. It was highly anticipated and the world was watching. Brazil hadn’t lost a game on their way to the finals and had only conceded two goals.
The match remained scoreless through regular and overtime. It went to penalties and Brazil won 3-2. The winning goal was scored by Dunga.
#2 – 2006 – Italy vs France
We could see a repeat of this lineup at this year’s World Cup.
This was another Italian final that went to penalties. But this time they won.
This World Cup final took place at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. The first goal was scored by Materazzi at 19 minutes. Zidane later scored a penalty bringing it to one all. It carried on like this until the end of extra time.
The game went to penalties, and Italy went on to win 5-3. They didn’t miss a single shot.
However, this match will probably be remembered for the red card that was handed out during the extra time. Italian goal-scored Materazzi said something to French goal scorer Zidane and the Frenchman turned around and headbutted him in the chest.
The Italian was knocked to the ground. Zidane was given a straight red card and he retired soon after.
Three British newspapers said that Materazzi called Zidane the son of a terrorist, but they later retracted this claim and lost in court again the Italian.
#1 – 1950 – Uruguay vs Brazil
It is reported that this match was watched in the stadium by over 200,000 people – making it the biggest football crowd ever.
This match was nail-biting. Brazil scored first, in the 47th minute. Then Uruguay leveled the scores at 66 minutes. The match went on like this until Uraguay scored again in the 79th minute.
Brazil was predicted to win this match, and until Brazil 7-1 lost to Germany in 2014, this was considered the biggest ever upset in the world of football.
Many claim that this loss caused a Brazilian identity crisis.
