Monday, December 19, 2022

13 World Cup Finals - Lucky Me!

The last World Cup final I missed was in 1970, when Brazil beat Italy by four goals to one - I was 10 years old. On the day of the final, our family attended what I remember as a Field Day or some kind of Garden Fete. I kept wondering what the score was - no smart phones to look it up in those days. In fact it was several days before I found out the result. By 1974 I was already a huge fan of football, and haven't missed a final since. Yesterday's final was the most exciting one so far.


Image source: Sportsnet.

I asked myself today what single memory do I have of each final, so here I go:

1974: Gerd Müller's winner (West Germany 2 - Netherlands 1)

1978: Mario Kempes raising his arms after scoring (Argentina 3 - Netherlands 1)

1982: THAT goal celebration by Marco Tardelli (Italy 3 - West Germany 1)

1986: Maradona's pass to Burruchaga for the winner (Argentina 3 - West Germany 2)

1990: Maradona in tears at the end of the game (West Germany 1 - Argentina 0)

1994: Roberto Baggio's miss in the penalty shoot out (Brazil 0 - Italy 0)

1998: Zidane scoring two goals (France 3 - Brazil 0)

2002: Ronaldo scoring two goals (Brazil 2 - Germany 0)

2006: THAT head butt by Zidane (Italy 1 - France 1)

2010: Iniesta's winner in Extra Time (Spain 1 - Netherlands 0)

2014: Mario Götze's winner in Extra Time (Germany 1 - Argentina  0)

2018: Kylian Mbappé announces himself to the world (France 4 - Croatia 2)

2022: Messi lifting the trophy - class (Argentina 3 - France 3)


Here's to the 2024 final (when Ireland win for the first time!)