4 hours ago
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The first six aliases 7 World Cups surely are not without their charms, but they are noticeably ray connected nan benignant of viscerally spectacular goals that we return for granted successful nan modern game. Hardly astonishing erstwhile you contemplate what teams of nan era had to endure: quagmire-like pitches, boots comprising 50% leather and 50% landfill, and balls truthful dense that they fundamentally constituted gym equipment.
Occasionally, however, a subordinate would transcend nan conditions to people a World Cup extremity for nan ages. For proof, caput to YouTube and activity Lefter Kücükandonyadis’s thunderbolt for Turkey against South Korea successful Geneva successful 1954, aliases Pelé’s creation past respective Mexicans successful Viña del Mar successful 1962. And Wales, connected their maiden World Cup voyage, had a corker up their sleeve too.
The attraction is usually connected John Charles whenever nan Wales squad of 1958 are written about, but he wasn’t their only threat. The likewise blond Ivor Allchurch of Swansea had already scored successful their 1-1 tie pinch Mexico, a disappointing consequence that forced them into a playoff pinch Hungary – wherever he scored 1 of nan all-time awesome Wales goals.
In Solna, watched by a mini crowd (including a fewer twelve black-clad Hungarians mourning nan execution of nan revolutionary leader Imre Nagy nan erstwhile day), nan remnants of 1954’s Magical Magyars took a first-half lead done Lajos Tichy. But early successful nan 2nd half, Charles instinctively flicked Derrick Sullivan’s walk precocious retired to nan left, wherever it dropped for Allchurch to meet it pinch a stunning volley that whizzed diagonally into nan apical corner. Later, a correction by nan goalkeeper Gyula Grosics talented Terry Medwin nan winner, sending Wales into a quarter-final against Brazil – but without nan colossus Charles, who’d been kicked beyond repair by Hungary’s hatchet men.
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Group 1 of España 82 is remembered chiefly for Italy’s struggle to grind retired nan 3 draws that enabled them to scrape into nan 2nd round, wherever they yet ignited against Argentina and Brazil. But Poland initially outdid them for impotence, first failing to onshore a mitt connected Italy, past fortunately surviving that rarest of things, an end-to-end goalless draw, against Cameroon.
At half-time against Peru successful A Coruña, pinch qualification successful nan balance, it was again 0-0 and Poland’s dressing room was an unhappy scene. They had deed nan woodwork 3 times successful nan first half, but their first extremity of nan tourney was still stuck successful transit. The manager, Antoni Piechniczek, told his players: “If we don’t triumph this, for maine it’ll beryllium nan extremity of nan escapade pinch nan nationalist team, but for astir of you too. The adjacent head mightiness not prime you.” The prima man Zbigniew Boniek past shook a fist and roared: “We must yet people this goal!”
The telephone to arms did nan instrumentality arsenic they blew Peru distant successful a one-sided 2nd half. After slow-motion defending allowed Wlodzimierz Smolarek, Grzegorz Lato and Boniek to people astatine their leisure, Poland conjured up 1 of nan champion squad goals of nan competition.
When Peru’s much-hyped playmaker Julio César Uribe cheaply mislaid nan shot extracurricular Poland’s box, Lato galloped downfield and Boniek dummied complete his diagonal pass, letting nan shot rotation done to nan small redhead Andrzej Buncol. Spotting Boniek’s tally retired wide, Buncol picked him out, and backmost came nan return via a delectable backheel. Buncol took a touch, past collapsed an emphatic decorativeness precocious past nan goalkeeper Ramón Quiroga. It ended 5-1, and abruptly Poland were a squad transformed.
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Austria’s Italia 90 run was a best-forgotten slog of ponderous play and crude challenges. Only erstwhile did they bring thing to nan party, and it came 50 minutes into their 3rd game, excessively precocious to alteration nan trajectory of their tournament.
Having mislaid 1-0 to some Italy and Czechoslovakia, Pepi Hickersberger’s squad went successful scoreless astatine half-time against USA’s assemblage boys successful Florence. Moreover, they had been reduced to 10 men, Peter Artner having been sent disconnected for going successful studs-up connected Peter Vermes. Some pizzazz was sorely needed, and Andreas Ogris injected it aft 50 minutes.
The flame-haired attacker reacted quickest erstwhile a USA area was cleared, knocking nan shot past Jimmy Banks successful his ain half and flooring nan accelerator for a 60-yard tally downfield astatine apical speed. He near Mike Windischmann successful his slipstream, past dinked nan shot complete nan USA keeper Tony Meola for an exhilarating goal. “I didn’t spot immoderate Americans,” Ogris said afterwards. “I did what a footballer should do: I conscionable ran away.”
Though Gerhard Rodax past made it 2-0, Austria’s hopes of endurance took a large dent erstwhile Bruce Murray scored a farcical consolation extremity adjacent nan end. “Ten players achieved a 2-1: now nan quaking begins,” nan Viennese insubstantial Kurier observed, arsenic a drafting of tons pinch Scotland loomed. But 2 days later, Daniel Fonseca’s injury-time winner for Uruguay against South Korea rendered it academic. Austria were out, and cipher would miss them.
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Most TV viewers could person been forgiven for tuning retired agelong earlier nan extremity of Cameroon’s unsightly 1-1 tie pinch Austria successful Toulouse astatine France 98. Cameroon spent astir of nan evening gleefully clobbering and clattering their opponents, abetted by nan indulgent refereeing of Epifanio González Chávez. A pity, because they could play erstwhile nan temper took them.
The extremity that put them up was a gem amid nan dirt. Pierre Njanka, a 23-year-old full-back from Olympique Mvolyé, embarked connected a agelong tally down Cameroon’s near flank pinch 13 minutes left, gliding distant from Dietmar Kühbauer pinch a abrupt alteration of pace. “I was looking to pass,” Njanka recalled, “but everyone was marked. So I conscionable kept going.”
Wolfgang Feiersinger, diving successful connected him excessively soon, was near kicking astatine bladed air; and erstwhile large Peter Schöttel tried to cover, Njanka foxed him pinch a clever turn, past cocked backmost his correct ft and cracked a sublime changeable crossed nan goalkeeper Michael Konsel.
It almost spoils nan communicative to mention that Austria ripped 2 of nan 3 points retired of Cameroon’s hands astatine nan death, arsenic their warhorse Toni Polster smashed a close-range equaliser successful disconnected nan barroom aft being near unmarked astatine a corner. “I wish it could person sewage america much than a draw,” Njanka said of his goal, “but it’s a beautiful memory.”
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That Slovakia’s 3-2 conclusion of Italy successful Johannesburg is regarded arsenic 1 of nan champion games of South Africa 2010 says overmuch astir nan mostly dire value of that tournament. Not until nan 73rd minute, erstwhile Robert Vittek put Slovakia 2-0 up, did nan lucifer assistance itself retired of one-paced mediocrity. But erstwhile it did…
Italy, a moribund squad of past-its and never-weres, needed astatine slightest a tie to support their title defence alive. But nan manager, Marcello Lippi, unaccountably waited until half-time to propulsion connected Fabio Quagliarella for his first (and last) sensation of nan tournament. The human item reel carried Italy passim nan 2nd half, driving them guardant and mounting up galore chances.
When he precocious connected extremity to beryllium thwarted by nan keeper Jan Mucha, Antonio Di Natale tucked distant nan rebound for 2-1. Quagliarella past had a extremity disallowed for offside – but successful nan 89th infinitesimal Slovakia sprang for Italy’s pharynx again, arsenic Kamil Kopunek dashed done to cushion an angled lob complete nan goalkeeper Federico Marchetti.
Game over, surely, but cipher told Quagliarella, who dragged Italy backmost into it pinch 1 of nan astir exquisite finishes witnessed successful immoderate World Cup. When nan shot collapsed to him 25 yards out, he looked up, leaned backmost and caressed a gleaming spot complete Mucha, who was adjacent to his goalline and had done thing wrong. But astatine nan death, Simone Pepe miscued miserably wide, sealing Italy’s fate. Quagliarella wept arsenic he near nan field, and, alternatively of becoming a nationalist hero, his stellar capacity slid down nan corporate representation hole.
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The columnist Declan Lynch erstwhile noted sagely that “you should ne'er not watch a match”. While your beingness wellness would astir apt suffer if you took this attack to its logical conclusion, anyone who took clip to drawback nan unenticing meeting of Algeria and South Korea successful Porto Alegre successful 2014 must person been gladsome they did. World Cups person a pleasing wont of throwing up enjoyable ding-dongs betwixt also-rans (think Colombia-Tunisia 1998, USA-Slovenia 2010 aliases Serbia-Cameroon 2022), and this was another.
By nan 38th minute, Algeria were 3-0 up acknowledgment to South Korea’s inability to woody pinch precocious balls. And though Son Heung-min pulled 1 backmost early successful nan 2nd half, South Korea were vanished disconnected by a awesome latticework Algeria move done midfield connected 62 minutes.
Yacine Brahimi, awesome throughout, crowned a delightful eight-pass series by marauding done connected nan left, playing a give-and-go pinch Sofiane Feghouli and sliding nan return shot nether nan goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong. It made Algeria nan first African broadside to people 4 goals successful a World Cup lucifer – and it earned Brahimi a lucrative move to Porto, wherever he flourished for respective seasons.
Jonathan O’Brien is nan writer of Glittering Prize: The Story of nan World Cup Vols 1-3, retired now done Pitch Publishing
