World Cup: Favourite World Cup Goals!

koyvoo

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
17,244
16,982
1990 World Cup was better than 2002 in more than just atmosphere. I’d have rather have a defensive minded tournament than a completely corrupted one.
 

Corto

Faceless Man
Sep 28, 2005
15,991
942
Braavos
1990 World Cup was better than 2002 in more than just atmosphere. I’d have rather have a defensive minded tournament than a completely corrupted one.

Every WC has its share of awful ref decisions, and some game-deciding.
The same Italy that was brutalized by Moreno in 2002 against South Korea was fortunate to get a iffy (at best) call vs Australia in 2006.

Though, yes, South Korea vs Italy and South Korea vs Spain were almost hilarious to watch in all its refereeing awfulness.
 

koyvoo

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
17,244
16,982
Brazil vs Belgium from that World Cup was equally as bad. Wimots cleans goals called back. And Brazil vs Turkey was plain as day robbery as well.
 

Mount Suribachi

Registered User
Nov 15, 2013
4,247
1,052
England
I was 9. I watched it with my family, but I didn't really comprehend it.
EURO 92 was my first tournament where I started the football diet and watched every minute of every game, imitated players, idolized Flemming Povlsen (yes, out of all the players in the 92 EURO, Flemming Povlsen was my idol lol)...

But Italia '90 felt like a WC, even to a kid. It's not just about football, its about the complete circus following it.
Yes, the football was largely rubbish,but there was a buzz here with Italia 90, the culture and atmosphere were definitely there.
FIFA using the WC to "expand" and make money and appeal to non-traditional football countries can be portrayed as good or bad - but its a fact that the atmosphere in Japan and South Korea was definitely not up to par of Italia 90, France 98 or Germany 2006.

That's fair enough, but the thing about the football in Italia 90 was that it was far more than "rubbish". It was the peak professional foul era. If you've ever complained about yellow cards being handed out like confetti in the modern game - it's because of Italia 90. Argentina lived up to all their worst clichés as they dived, fouled and intimidated referees to the final. The Rudi Voller spitting incident was an entertaining diversion from the dross being served on the pitch.

Even as an Englishman, I should have fond memories of our run to the semis, but for all the hype and energy that it generated at home, it was a succession of terrible games if truth be told. 0-0 Holland, 1-1 Ireland, 1-0 Egypt, 1-0 Belgium, a lucky 3-2 against Cameroon. The only really decent game was the semi against Germany. Obviously Gazza was amazing despite how dire many of the games were.

Apart from Scotland losing to Costa Rica. That was hilarious.

But since this is the goal thread, here is Lothar Matthaus's incredible strike against Yugoslavia. The camera angle from behind the goal is almost as iconic for me as the Yzerman goal against St Louis in the '96 playoffs

 

Dr Pepper

Registered User
Dec 9, 2005
70,349
15,497
Sunny Etobicoke
Another one from an unlikely goalscorer. Cracking hit (vuvuzela warning)



Glad I searched through the thread first, was thinking this one as well.

I was watching this game at Wegz with a few buds, none of us are Dutch but we were pulling for them to win regardless.

"What's he doing, he'll never score from therrrrOOOOOOHHHHYEAAHHHHHHH!!" :laugh:

I'll never forget their reaction, nobody saw that coming.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

Registered User
May 3, 2007
16,385
3,412
38° N 77° W
The 90 World Cup was way ahead of the 2002 World Cup because, for one, people could actually watch the games at reasonable times.

But 80s football was in general sort of the 'dead puck era' of the game. I think the reality was that, if you look at 70s football, it's intelligent, it's creative, but it's also pretty slow. Plays took a long time to develop. By the 80s the athleticism had caught up with the skills. Teams cancelled each other out. Exhibits of great skill that seemed to transcend all that were rare. Nowadays you have weekends where there are several goals that would have been memorable in the 80s. The 1990 World Cup may have been the height of that era.

If you understand, you'll adjust your expectations and also see that the 90 World Cup had some great stories and an atmosphere that would be difficult to replicate today even in Europe. 1990 was the last World Cup that was fairly 'wild' and not entirely regulated/commercialized by FIFA. The sea of flags and the armies of fans at the games, man, that still gives me goosebumps today.
 

Evilo

Registered User
Mar 17, 2002
61,958
8,526
France
Disagree with 80s football. Socrates, Platini, Maradona, Zico, so many creative players.
It's in the 90s that football went full catenaccio and boring.
 

cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
59,988
19,060
w/ Renly's Peach
Disagree with 80s football. Socrates, Platini, Maradona, Zico, so many creative players.
It's in the 90s that football went full catenaccio and boring.

By that same token the success we had at the euros in the early 80s was exclusively through merciless anti-football intercut with sporadic moments of brilliance from Breitner & Rummenigge. There were certainly some beautiful artists in the 80s, but that doesn't mean the football of the era was beautiful.
 
Last edited:

Evilo

Registered User
Mar 17, 2002
61,958
8,526
France
Maybe I'm a romantic, but that 82-86 France was beautiful football.
Can't remember many 90s teams playing nice football.
 

cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
59,988
19,060
w/ Renly's Peach
Maybe I'm a romantic, but that 82-86 France was beautiful football.
Can't remember many 90s teams playing nice football.

Romania was fun around Hagi, the dutch of the late 90s were genuinely beautiful, and the late 90s croats were attractive to :dunno:

Granted the late 70s to mid 90s all sorta blurs into a single era that saw a lot of ugly football between the end of the total football golden age in Germany & the netherlands, and (around) the bosman ruling/the backpass change/the new offsides rules that started the cycle which eventually brought us to the Guardiola-revolution, for me.

So I am talking out of my ass a bit on this topic lol
 
Last edited:

Live in the Now

Registered User
Dec 17, 2005
53,030
7,489
LA
Can't remember many 90s teams playing nice football.

Romania in 1994 when practically nobody expected it. Sweden weren't bad either.

Portugal in 1996 even though they got booted super fast.

Netherlands and Mexico in 1998. That's pretty much it. Those teams couldn't win playing that way.
 

koyvoo

Registered User
Nov 8, 2014
17,244
16,982
Late 90s things started to turn around again. France 98 was better than both Italia 90 and USA 94 generally.

It was a contrast watching those Dutch stars play in the National vs watching them under that Sacchi-Milan juggernaut.
 

Evilo

Registered User
Mar 17, 2002
61,958
8,526
France
Yeah the two WC in terms of exciting play were 90 and 94. Right in the middle of the catanaccio era.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

Registered User
May 3, 2007
16,385
3,412
38° N 77° W
You talk about Maradona in the 80s, but of course that Argentine team overall played a 'professional' and brutish style. Of course, there were some very skilled players in the 80s but that wasn't the overall style. Even the Dutch had their fair share of utter brutes in that generation.

I'd say football turned the corner around Euro 96, which the Germans won mostly on steel and typical opportunistic results football but already saw some pretty nifty football from among others the Czechs. Heck, that England team was often a fun to watch team, probably the most electric of my lifetime anyway.

I feel like the emphasis shifted then toward skill and creativity everywhere and by the mid 2000s the tactics shifted as well. Otto Rehhagel's Greeks in 2004 may have been the last old school team to make an appearance on the big stage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cgf

Evilo

Registered User
Mar 17, 2002
61,958
8,526
France
Well let's say some teams played exciting football in the 80s, some in the 90s, but there were more creative all time players in the 80s.
I agree it turned around in the 00s.
 

Stray Wasp

Registered User
May 5, 2009
4,561
1,503
South east London
1990 was the last WC where the back pass to the GK was allowed was it not? Unbelievable the amount of time that was wasted with that crap.

Yup, and the last WC before the rules about foul tackles from behind were changed, and the last WC before level with the last defender became onside rather than off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Suiteness

Power Man

Grrrr
Sep 30, 2008
31,074
3,088
221B Baker Street
Eder's game winner vs USSR in 1982 ...daaaaamn

Most 82 Brazil's goals for that matter lol

Maradona 1986 vs England
Brazil 1986 vs France
Maradona 1986 vs Italy
Both Josimar's goals for Brazil in 85


Baggio's solo goal in 1990

Brazil's 4th goal vs Italy in 70, that build up

Algeria's 1st goal vs Germany in 1982 vs West Germany , counter attack 101

Algeria's 2nd goal in the aforementioned game, right after Germany tied the game, 8 passes and boom

France's 3rd goal vs West Germany in 82, nice patience by Didier Six
 
  • Like
Reactions: Elliman

Troubadour

Registered User
Feb 23, 2018
1,157
842
I liked this one from an 18-year-old Owen.



He just came on off the bench and started a teenage riot.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->