What are your 5 best Football World Cup Finals ever?

[Monzanator 4,503]

1 minute ago, heywoodu said:

 

If they did, they might have had some serious safety issues trying to get out...we think the Qatar World Cup is an atrocity, but often forget that there was already a World Cup final played a couple hundred meters from where people were being tortured and killed.

 

Rob Rensenbrink, who passed away in January, had that trophy basically in his hands in the dying seconds  

 

I know, Netherlands dominated the 2nd half like crazy and they were without Cruyff which is even more amazing.

 

Probably the biggest heartbreak in Dutch football history?

 

[kungshamra71 892]

To me the favorite one was the 2010 final between Spain vs Netherlands 

 

(contrary to probably all portuguese, i always loved Spain - have some family there - so I was chearing and celebrating for Spain, not knowing that one day I would move to The Netherlands haha)

 

I also liked the 1998 between Brazil vs France, probably because it was the first big football competition I watched.

[Monzanator 4,503]

Plenty of group games are largely forgotten over the years, Spain played a lot of these forgotten classics:

 

How was Luis Arconada their best keeper in the 80s is still beyond me. One major blunder vs NI in 1982 here but of course he is more remembered from his howler vs France at 1984 Euros.

 

I love how over the top the ref were in the 80s while bradishing a yellow or red card. Mal Donaghy was sent off here, probably one of the silliest RC ever, but Maradona had even more stupid one vs Brazil IIRC later that tournament.

 

 

South Korea played their best WC football in 1994, this was their best showing when they went out in group stage. If only they beaten Bolivia!

 

Miguel Nadal was sent off in 26th minute, he was a Barcelona player back then, me as a Barca fan remember that well.

 

 

Spain bombed out in 1998 group stage, Nigeria and Paraguay qualified from the group, I believe Paraguay beat Nigeria in the final match, a draw would have send Spain through IIRC. Another Spain GK howler, this time from the otherwise very reliable Zubizarreta.

 

 

 

[Griff88 1,952]

1 hour ago, heywoodu said:

2018 is definitely up there, six goals in a World Cup final  2014 and especially 2010 were top-notch snoozefests, 2010 only stayed interesting for me because of the teams in it   I don't remember 2006 being interesting apart from Zidane being a pathetic little moron and 2002 and before that were too early for me to have watched  

 

Haha yeah I hate 2010 and 2014 because I stayed late but it's only 1-0. BOTH goals happened after I decided to sleep (can't stay awake anymore, besides it is also the first day in school semester in both occasion)

 

2002 rooting for Germany (6 year old me was impressed with 8-0 win against Saudi, because never seen such scoreline before), ended up disappointed

 

2006 hoping for France to be the avenger for Germany, disappointed again

 

2018 is definitely the best one I've ever watched, but yeah the winner is not the team I wanted.

[MHSN 3,621]

I watched lots of recorded matches from WCs but they never leave a memony, so I limit myself only to those I watched live. (which means from 1994) and I think the word "best" is relative. this is the list of my memorable WC matches and not finals

 

1. 2006 Italy vs Germany

2. 1994 Bulgaria vs Germany

3. 1998 Argentina vs England

4. 2010 Germany vs Argentina

5. 1994 Italy vs Spain

[phelps 7,677]

the title of this thread is about the WC "Finals"...

 

so, first of all, I'm going with those games only ranking...

 

1 - 1954, West Germany vs Hungary...most likely, the best 45 minutes in the history of the game dramatically overturned and followed by the most amazing comeback in WC history...not to be forgotten, all the arguments that followed that games for years and years...

 

2 - 1982, Italy vs West Germany...probably, the highest point in the Italian football history...no Italian National team has ever played such a good and dominant football like our team did in the last 4 games of that championship (after having gone through one of the worst group stage exhibition, with that still nowadays discussed 3rd match vs Cameroon)...

 

3 - 1958, Brazil vs Sweden...the first magical appearance on the world scene of the most dominant football team that ever played the game, Pele's Brazil...

 

4 - 1986, Argentina vs West Germany...the celebration of another magician in the history of the game through a very entertaining match...

 

5 - 1974, West Germany vs the Netherlands...a true heartbreaker for all the fans of that Oranje team that did show the world a new exciting way to play football...

 

special mention also to 1990, West Germany vs Argentina...the worst final game ever (with one of the worst referees ever, too)...

 

 

but since someone started to include also games of the early stages, here some of my highlights outside the Gold Medal matches...

 

1 - 1982, Italy vs Brazil (2nd round, group stage)...one of the most amazing games in our football history and one of the major uspets in the WC history...

 

2 - 1994, Brazil vs the Netherlands (QF)...one of the most exciting games I can remember (among those I watched live at the time)...

 

3 - 1982, France vs West Germany (SF)...another amazing match, even if it's also remember for one of the most shameful episodes ever happened on a football field ("Toni" Schumacher's foul on Patrick Battiston)...

 

4 - 2002, not a single game, but a triple-header...South Korea vs Portugal (group stage), South Korea vs Italy (Eightfinals) and South Korea vs Spain (QF)...no need to say why?

basically, the death of football...the worst corruption scandal ever in WC history (even more than the ghost goal in the 1966 final between ENG and GER)...

 

5 - all the other very entertaining games played in the history of the WC...and there are so many (also among those basically irrelevant for the outcome of the tournaments) that I just can't mention them all...

Edited April 7, 2020 by phelps

[heywoodu 15,145]

3 hours ago, thepharoah said:

 

i chose Italy vs. France out of the 5 finals i saw because always having penalties in the final match of WC is something really interesting and it wasn't anyhow boring match at least better than this 2010 final which i can only remember this Iniesta's Goal and those 2 big chances missed by Robben  

 

I mostly specifically remember Casillas very clearly touching a ball that crossed the line and so should have been a corner kick (somewhere at the end of the match or even in extra time? Not sure), but the referee missed this rather crucial moment and awarded Spain a goal kick. Plus the winning goal being made by someone who should already have had a red card for some judo move earlier on.

 

Spoiler

And Nigel de Jong being in the game way too long after he should absolutely have had a red card too in I believe the first half  

 

[heywoodu 15,145]

3 hours ago, Monzanator said:

 

I know, Netherlands dominated the 2nd half like crazy and they were without Cruyff which is even more amazing.

 

Probably the biggest heartbreak in Dutch football history?

 

 

I'd say so, although many of the people who watched that had this bad stuff all wiped out in 1988 with the European championships semi-final win over West-Germany in West-Germany, that was 1000 times bigger and more important than winning the final there  (and yes, 'only' ECh but trust me, nobody gave a damn that it was 'only' that  )

[heywoodu 15,145]

3 hours ago, kungshamra71 said:

 

(contrary to probably all portuguese, i always loved Spain - have some family there - so I was chearing and celebrating for Spain, not knowing that one day I would move to The Netherlands haha)

 

 

Reminds me of the same World Cup, but the QF between the Netherlands and Brazil. My Brazilian ex was here and went to another city to watch the match with some other Brazilians. Came back after the match and I've never seen anyone in my life so pissed as that day, as if Satan himself had taken control. 

[Griff88 1,952]

13 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

 

Reminds me of the same World Cup, but the QF between the Netherlands and Brazil. My Brazilian ex was here and went to another city to watch the match with some other Brazilians. Came back after the match and I've never seen anyone in my life so pissed as that day, as if Satan himself had taken control. 

 

I can't help but smile since I just read an article about Danish phrases which includes "Fanden tag mig". And now I see this