Not all the world champions enjoyed a pleasant journey to the World Cup. Actually, many of them did not have a comfortable classification as can be seen in the three teams that we show below:
Argentina – Mexico 1986
The one that was the best team in the world at that time was about to qualify for the play-off until the last game. The Argentines faced the Peruvian team on the last day, in which winning or drawing was enough to get directly into the World Cup in Mexico. They were losing throughout the game and it was not until the last moments of the match that Gareca tied the contest, qualifying Argentina for the World Cup that they would later win. Considered one of the best World Cups in the history of football.
Germany – Italy 1990
At that time there were many European teams that qualified directly for the World Cup, and that is because a series of regulations regarding second and third places prevented the selection of Völler, Matthäus and Klinsmann from having to go to the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup. 1990. They finished the group stage behind the Netherlands, but their good amount of points collected allowed them to finally qualify directly.
Brazil – Korea and Japan 2002
The Argentine team sealed its pass to the world championship with great solvency and prior to the rest of the South American teams. At that time there was already the current format of a group of 10 teams in which all the South American national teams face each other, allowing the first four to qualify directly for the World Cup. The fifth is relegated to a play-off. In this case, it was not until the last game that it was decided that Brazil and Paraguay would go to the World Cup, Uruguay to the play-offs and Colombia would be eliminated. A defeat for the Brazilians on the last day would have sent them home.
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