World Cup historical moments!
The World Cup kickstarted in Qatar on a beautiful note on 20th November 2022. Since then, it has been an exciting experience to watch different countries battle for the coveted golden trophy.
Still in the spirit of the World Cup, here are some interesting world cup moments in the history of the entire competition;
1. Hand Of God (1986)
The term is used to describe a handling goal scored by Argentine footballer, Diego Maradona in a second-half game between Argentina and England during the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Due to Maradona’s use of hand, the goal was supposed to be disallowed instead it gave Argentina a 1-0 lead because the referee did not have a clear view of the play.
In his response to a question about whether he scored the goal legally, he responded that “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God” gave the goal its popular name to date.
Argentina won the match by a 2-1 score line, they also proceeded to claim the trophy that same year.
2. Rijkaard Spat On Voller (1990)
On 24th June 1990 in a match between former West Germany and Holland, Frank Rijkaard spat on West Germany’s Rudi Voeller twice. Angry at being shown a yellow card for a foul offence against Voller, Rijkaard responded by spitting into his opponent’s hair from behind who was also shown a yellow card as he was protesting being spat at.
In another tussle some minutes later, the duo got sent off after which Rijkaard spat on Voeller again while walking off the pitch. West Germany claimed the victory by a 2-1 scoreline, they also proceeded to clinch the trophy that same year.
3. Graham Poll Booked A Player Three Times (2006)
Contrary to the football rule of issuing a red card after a player’s second yellow card, an English referee, Graham Poll books Josip Simunic three times in a group F game between Croatia and Australia.
Poll failed to send the player off to the changing room after issuing the player his second yellow card. In an interview later, he explained that it was because he had documented the yellow card to the wrong name.
Graham Poll retired from refereeing international tournament final matches shortly afterwards, citing his error in the match as one of the reasons.
4. Battle Of Nuremberg (2006)
This is the nickname of a football match played in the round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Portugal and Netherlands in Nuremberg, Germany.
The referee, Valentin Ivanov, issued a total of 4 red and 16 yellow cards setting a FIFA world record for cards shown at any FIFA-administered international tournament.
Afterwards, FIFA announced that Ivanov would referee no further matches in the tournament. The match ended in favour of Portugal in a 1-0 scoreline, who later proceeded to reach the semi-finals.
5. Zidane Headbutts Materazzi (2006)
The 2006 FIFA World Cup match between France and Italy was a highly tense match that ended with a 1-1 scoreline after extra time. The French captain, Zinedine Zidane, slammed his head on the Italian defender’s ribcage in the 110th minute as a result of a comment passed by Materazzi which was said to be an abuse on Zidane’s sister/mother.
The incident led to an automatic red card for the French Legend after which Italy proceeded to win the match on penalties, Zidane retired from professional football following this event and confirmed that he would not go back on his decision.
It has also been said that a statue immortalizing Zidane’s headbutt will be reinstalled in Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA world cup following its removal 9 years earlier in the same country.
6. Suarez Bites Chiellini (2014)
In a group D game between Uruguay and Italy, Luiz Suarez bit his opponent Giorgio Chiellini in the 79th minute with a 0-0 scoreline at the time. Suarez resulted in biting which could have been blamed on a series of accumulated frustration in trying to break through the gallant Italian defender. That was his third time biting another player during his professional career.
Though Chiellini tried to report to the referee, Suarez was able to escape punishment during the game, though he was handed a 4-month ban by FIFA, which included 9 international matches.
The match ended in a 1-0 score line in favour of Uruguay. Years down the line, Chiellini mentioned that he admired Suarez’s cunning ability.
7. Germany Humiliates Brazil (2014)
On 8th July 2014, Germany thrashed Brazil in one of the semi-final matches with a 7-1 score line which marked several World Cup records. Germany’s win marked the largest margin of victory in a FIFA World Cup semi-final, Germany overtook Brazil as the highest-scoring team in World Cup history.
Brazil’s loss broke their 62-match unbeaten streak at home in competitive matches and equalled their biggest margin of defeat alongside a 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920, the game was also the worst loss by a host country in World Cup history.
Ultimately, the match was described as a national humiliation.
#Sports is a segment that brings you the latest news on what’s happening in the world of sports. This edition 7 Interesting Moments In The History Of The Quadrennial World Cup Tournament.
