Epic World Cup Moments in History

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is already underway and has had a few surprises and awesome moments already. In this article, we look at the epic World Cup moments in history and what they consisted of. Is it likely that we are going to see any awesome moments in Qatar? Time will tell. Until then, we look at the moments that have happened in World Cups gone by.

Epic World Cup Moments in History

To start our journey, we must look at the World Cup in its long and rich history. The World Cup has been played ever since 1930, when the host nation, Uruguay, won the tournament. In only eight more years, the World Cup will host one hundred years of World Cup history.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup is one of the most controversial of all-time. It is played in the wintertime which is a first. Additionally, there are many questions about human right, freedom of speech and LGBTQ concerns. But never mind all of that, we are here for football. It is assumed that this World Cup will also feature some epic moments, as history tells us, each World Cup has a few surprises, tears and joy.

According to online sportsbooks in Qatar, Brazil are tipped to win the tournament. They are closely followed by Argentina, France and England. Although it is never an easy thing to predict which team will win the tournament, the Qatar World Cup looks set to be one of the most epic competitions in history. Hopefully, we will see some subliminal moments to complement the controversial side of the tournament.

Below, we take a look at epic World Cup moments in history. Rather than going in chronological order, we will instead choose these moments based on how exciting they are. World Cup history is full of many passages of play and controversial decisions. The best way to look at them all is to give you random bits of goalkeeping excellence, smashing goals, best games and horrible officiating. That way, you can make your own mind up about which bits in history you have enjoyed the most reading about.

The Maradona Goal of the Century and “Hand of God” Game

To begin our journey, we travel back in time to the 1986 Mexico World Cup. Interestingly, that World Cup saw the introduction of the Mexican wave, a popular animation that both sets of fans participate in. In the quarterfinals of the competition, England were playing against Argentina, led by their star player, Diego Maradona.

Within the first ten minutes, Argentina were in front thanks to a goal scored by the forward. As Maradona chased down a loose ball, he managed to jump above the keepers’ arms and put the ball in the back of the net. The whole world looked at this goal as an amazing achievement for the striker, given his short stature.

However, on second replay, it is clear to see that although Maradona jumped and made a motion of looping the ball over the keeper using his head, he actually used his hand. The Argentine striker used a first to punch the ball over the goalkeeper, but this was never actually reverted. Instead, Argentina led 1-0 courtesy of the sportsmanship behavior.

The second half of the match showed another side to Maradona. It is the only game that we have got to see both the best and worst of the forward. Deep in his own half, Maradona picked up the ball and managed to dribble past multiple English defenders. His skills included rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home into an empty net. This has been referred to as ‘the goal of the century’.

Gordan Banks’ “Save of the Century”

In the 1970 Mexico World Cup, England played against Brazil in the group stage. The Brazilian team were tipped as favourites to win and eventually won their third World Cup. It featured the all-time World Cup record holder, Pelé.

At the peak of his powers, Pelé had the chance to put the Brazilian team up as he was left unmarked on the back post. The striker jumped up to meet a cross and direct it down to the bottom corner of the goal. In a moment of magic, Gordon Banks, the English goalkeeper, managed to dive down low and claw the ball away from goal. The save has gone down in history and even Pelé himself has regarded it as the “save of the century”.

The moment from Banks goes down as one of the epic World Cup moments in history. Although Brazil went on to win the match 1-0, following a Jairzinho goal, the English team showed great character and resilience to avoid a hammering. Banks and Pelé have since commented on the moment. Pelé said, “I thought that was a goal”, to which Banks replied, “You and me both”.

The Famous USA Victory over England

One of the most noteworthy matches in World Cup history was played between England and the United States of America. In 1950, both teams played against each other in Brazil. Every single person on the planet thought that England would win, given the United States are not known for their “soccer” talents.

However, in one of the biggest upsets in history, the USA managed to beat England 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Joe Gaetjens in the 58^th minute of the match. It is still known as one of the greatest moments in World Cup history, particularly for the USA.

Before the match was played, the USA coach admitted that his team will not win. Bill Jeffery, the USA head coach, said, “We have no chance”. After the match, he said that his team pulled off “a miracle on grass”. To this date, England have never beaten the United States at the World Cup. They were drawn in the same group in 2010 and ended a 1-1 draw. In Qatar, both teams played against each other in a nil-nil bore draw.

Pelé Becomes First Teenager to Score in a Final

An epic World Cup moment in history that lit up the competition for the next five tournaments was in the 1958 Sweden World Cup. Pelé, only a teenager at the time, scored two goals in the final against the host nation, Sweden. His incredible burst onto the scene saw the 17-year-old perform an incredible display to win Brazil their first ever World Cup.

For his first goal, Pelé chested the ball down, flicked it over the defender and smashed the ball past the goalkeeper. The incredible bit of play showed the world the massive talent that was on hand. The 5-2 victory over the Swedish national team is still an incredible achievement for Brazil and was the first World Cup won by Pelé. He went on to win two more claiming an unmatched three World Cup trophies. The only other teenager to ever score in a World Cup final was Kylian Mbappé, when he scored against Croatia in the 4-2 win in 2018.

The Prince of Kuwait Storming the Pitch

In the 1982 World Cup, Kuwait were facing France in the group stage. The Kuwait team were losing 3-1 in the 78^th minute, before Alain Giresse, a French midfielder, scored a fourth for Les Bleus. Leading up to the goal, the Kuwait players froze as they had supposedly heard a whistle blow. However, the whistle was blown from the crowd and not from referee Miroslav Stupar. Although the team froze and did not play, the goal was counted for France and the score became 4-1.

Following the incident, the Kuwaiti players surrounded the referee and felt that they had been served an injustice. The President of Kuwait’s National Football Association, who also happened to be the Prince of Kuwait, stormed the pitch to shout at the referee.

Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who is easily known as Prince Fahad, made his opinion known to the referee. He was so animated against the referee that Stupar actually reverted the goal. This caused a lot of frustration in the French team.

However, only ten minutes later, the French did eventually score their fourth goal. The goal scorer, Maxime Bossis, slotted home to finally make the score 4-1. There was no protest this time. Kuwait were eliminated from the group stage by England after a 1-0 loss. Miroslav Stupar was banned from ever officiating a game after the match.

The Headbutt Watched Around the World

The 2006 World Cup was held in Germany and had an epic final where France were facing Italy. Zinedine Zidane was the captain of the French team and looking to win his second World Cup. He had put Les Bleus in front with a stylish ‘panenka’ penalty. However, the Italian team managed to score through Marco Materazzi.

As the tie went into extra-time, Zidane and Materazzi were again key figures to shape up the final. Zinedine Zidane infamously headbutted Materazzi in the 110^th minute of the game. He was penalized for his action and sent off with a straight red card.

The Italian national team went on to beat the French team on penalties and win their fourth World Cup. Zidane has come out and said that Materazzi was talking about his younger sister and his intentions with her. Either way, the conversation leading up to the World Cup was not a nice one. But it still doesn’t account for the headbutt either. If Zidane was on the pitch to take a penalty, he might have won his second World Cup after all.

Introduction of the Cruyff Turn

One of the silkiest skill moves in football is the “Cruyff turn”. It was introduced by Johan Cruyff, a Dutch attacker that is known for developing the concept of “Total Football”. In the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, the Netherlands were playing against Sweden in the group-stage. Cruyff had control of the ball in the 24^th minute and produced a magical passage of play.

Upon receiving the ball, Cruyff was in an attacking position but was facing his own goal. He had to turn around and advance towards the opponent’s goal. In a fancy bit of play, Cruyff feinted a to his teammate but instead used his trick to get past Swedish defender Jan Olsson. The trick was produced by turning 180 degrees on his standing leg and accelerating past the defender. The move was incredibly swift and simply yet so effective.

This was the introduction of the Cruyff turn and a revolutionary skill that has been used by players ever since. Cruyff was not actually the first player to do this turn but the one that made it popular. Perhaps the reason behind that is that he did it on the biggest stage. The Netherlands advanced to the final but did not win. They were also runners-up in the following World Cup in 1978.

Cameroon Shock the World at 1990 World Cup

In the 1990 Italy World Cup, the group stage match between Cameroon and Argentina was heavily tipped to result in a walkover for the South American side. The Argentinian team were led out by Diego Maradona, a two-time World Cup winner.

Cameroon put on an incredible display and defeated the defending champions in a shocking 1-0 win. The 67^th minute winner was scored by Francois Omam-Biyik and elevated Africa to a global stage. The team had a lot of pride in the victory, and it was one of the most epic World Cup moments in history.

Towards the end of the match, Cameroon finished the game with only nine players on the pitch. Both Andre Kana-Biyik and Benjamin Massing saw red cards. The match was full of heavy tackles and reckless behaviour. The good news for Cameroon is that they managed to hold on and win the match.

Uruguay Become the Killer of African Dreams

One of the most controversial World Cup football matches ever was played at the quarterfinals in the 2010 South Africa World Cup. The match between Ghana and Uruguay was full of excitement, tackles, challenges and controversy. It was also the chance for an African team to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time.

The match ended a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes thanks to goals from Sulley Muntari and Diego Forlan. Both of the goals were screamers that were scored outside of the box. Heading into extra-time, both teams defended resiliently and compactly. The last bit of drama occurred in the 120^th minute of the game.

After a pinball of challenges in the box, the ball was pushed towards the Uruguayan goal and had the keeper beat. However, with two Uruguayan players on the line, one of them manages to direct the ball away from the goal. That player was Luis Suarez.

Suarez used his hand to push the ball away. This has been known as another instance where “the hand of god” has come into play. Suarez was sent off for his actions but instead of a goal, Ghana were awarded with a spot kick. Asamoah Gyan had the chance to put the Ghanaian national team in front and advance to the semifinals. Unfortunately, he smashed the ball onto the bar and the tie went to penalties.

On penalties, Ghana lost to Uruguay. They were so close but failed to become the first African national to make it to the semis. Luis Suarez was seen celebrated the penalty miss in a show of unsportsmanship. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Ghana have the chance to take their revenge as they are drawn in the same group as Uruguay. If you want to know more about our predictions for that game, have a look at our Ultimate World Cup Betting Guide.

The Pelé Feint Seen Around the World

To close off on our review of the epic World Cup moments in history, our final touch is the 1970 Mexico World Cup. In the semifinals, Brazil faced Uruguay in a bid to beat them and secure a spot in the final. The match finished in a 3-1 win to Brazil, who went on to win the tournament. They beat Italy in the final 4-1.

Pelé, at the peak of his powers, was pivotal to Brazil’s success in 1970. He scored in the final and also in the semifinal. One of the most memorable moments in the tournament was not celebrating a Pelé goal but a Pelé miss.

The forward was put through on goal courtesy of a Tostão pass. Instead of touching the ball, Pelé let it run past the goalkeeper and went around him the other way. This left the goal empty and Pelé with the task of slotting the ball in the back of the net. Surprisingly, Pelé missed the target completely. The moment is one of the best bits in World Cup history, displaying the magical side of Pelé but showing that even he is capable of making a mistake.

To Sum Up On Epic World Cup Moments in History

To conclude on this topic, we hope that you have enjoyed reading about the epic World Cup moments in history that have shocked the world. The 2022 Qatar World Cup will need some taking to make its way into this list of awesome passages of play. It remains to be seen whether we will see anything like the above in Qatar.

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