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The FIFA World Cup has for decades fascinated a lot of people. It is the sole sporting event that has the ability to bring together millions of individuals across the globe regardless of them being football fans or not.
As most world often describe it, it is like a celebration of world sports or better still, the birthday of sport in general.
So powerful it is that some countries even declare public holidays on days that their national teams engage in very tension-filled matches.
It is a period when friends get to take a few moments of breaks to become rivals. Clubmates face each other as they defend their respective countries and once united fans split into different camps for love of their favorite national teams, players, or, as it often turns out to be continents.
It is a time when different sports-related businesses such as online sports betting thrive. At a higher level, the FIFA world cup is in itself a highly memorable event in the world of sports.
Almost every world cup session is an irreplaceable historic event wherein is found several others that hardly get off the minds of fans. In the list that follows, we shall take a look at some of those unforgettable moments in world cup history.
“Hand of God Goal” and “Goal of the century”, 1986
The story of legendary football “deity” Diego Maradona is well known across the globe. According to popular rankings, Diego Maradona is the G.O.A.T when it comes to football.
He is highly viewed as the symbol of Argentinian football and an inspiration to hundreds of football enthusiasts worldwide.
He represented his country in consecutive World Cup sessions, that is, 1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994. Of all his memorable performances, 1986 was the most unique so to speak.
It was during this session that two of the most memorable phrases in world cup history were coined, all, in one match. Argentina and England were battling in the quarter-finals.
Maradona’s first goal (Hand of God goal) was clearly scored with a hand. However, since the referee didn’t see it, it was recorded.
Today, people continue to wonder how this actually happened. Unfortunately for England, the mischief was irreversible. Maradona will go on again to print another spectacular goal that left the fans completely startled, “the goal of the century.”
It took Maradona about 11 seconds after picking the ball in his half and beating every England player on his path, including goalkeeper Shilton to net his second goal which is now remembered as the goal of the century.
The unbelievable upset, 1950
It was an amazing moment in football history when fans watched Mighty England being tormented by an underdog that even acknowledged before the game that they had no chance.
After the second world war, England’s national team was widely considered one of the strongest in the world. If there was any potential threat to the squad regarding the 1950 world cup, it certainly would not have been the US.
However, it turns out Bill Jeffery’s men were indeed the real thorn that was going to cause England so much pain.
England found themselves struggling against the US squad throughout the match. And to the amazement of all, England went goalless all through as the USA won 1 to nil.
Cancel this goal now, 1982
Perhaps, nothing can be more confusing to players than a field full of whistles. Actually, it appears to have been but one unfortunate whistle, coming in exactly at a time when stakes were just too high too to be ignored.
Kuwait vs France, world cup 1982, Spain. That was the match. Kuwait has made it that far just to land in the hands of a merciless French squad.
The scores were 3-1 in The Blues’ favor during the second half. At 78’ another French goal was added. Unfortunately, a whistle had been blown before the goal, causing Kuwait players to stop while the ball progressed.
They thought it was from the referee when instead, it had come from the crowd. Thus, a protest was automatically launched against the goal. Kuwait’s Prince opted to pull out if the goal was not canceled.
Surprisingly, the referee fell for it and canceled the goal. The match went on to end in a 4 to 1 defeat for Kuwait while referee Stupar was rewarded a ban.
Generally, world cup history is filled with lots of fascinating memories. These only constitute but the tip of the iceberg.
Other interesting moments such as the 1958 brace of Pele, the 1970 ‘save of the century’, and several others make up the rich/fascinating historical pages of the World Cup. Most, if not all World Cup events including FIFA betting, always come with a package of surprises.
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