World Cup History

1930 URUGUAY

Final: July 30th, 1930: Uruguay 4 Argentina 2

Thirteen countries took part in the first World Cup finals which were held in Uruguay in recognition of their victories in the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games.

FIFA had planned to stage an international competition from the time it was founded, in 1904, and there was an idea to stage an inaugural world championship for 16 teams in Switzerland in 1906.

In reality, it was to be 26 years before the World Cup began and, when it did, it was rather with a whimper than a bang. Because of the long distances involved, only four European teams travelled to South America, and they sailed together on the same boat.

Belgium, France, Yugoslavia and Romania made the trip and Romania were there only because of the intervention of King Carol who asked companies, whose employees were chosen for the squad, to give them time off work.

FIFA president Jules Rimet and his fellow Frenchman Henri Delauney worked tirelessly to launch the competition and appropriately France played in the first World Cup match, beating Mexico 4-1 in Montevideo on July 13, 1930.

French striker Lucien Laurent scored the first World Cup goal 19 minutes into the match.

Although several matches were poorly supported, the final between neighbouring South American rivals Uruguay and Argentina on July 30th attracted a crowd of 93,000. Uruguay won 4-2.

1934 ITALY

Final: June 10th, 1934: Italy 2 Czechoslovakia 1 (after extra time)

FIFA decided at its October 1932 Congress to award the 1934 finals to Italy, then under the Facist regime of Benito Mussolini.

FIFA's membership had grown to more than 50 countries since 1930 and 32 teams entered the World Cup qualifying round chasing 16 places in the finals. Uruguay, however, became the only champions not to defend their crown. They refused to enter because they were aggrieved so many European countries ignored their tournament in 1930.

Half the countries involved played only one match because the 1934 finals were organised as a knockout competition. Mexico made the lengthy trip to Italy to play one match that was not even part of the competition proper.

They had to play an extra qualifying match against the United States, who entered late and missed the original qualifying competition. Mexico lost 4-2 to the United States in Rome, three days before the World Cup began on May 27 when the U.S. were promptly knocked out 7-1 by Italy.

The Italians continued with a 1-0 replay win over Spain in the second round, then beat Austria 1-0 in the semi-finals before winning the World Cup for the first time, beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the final in Rome on June 10, 1934.

1938 FRANCE

Final: June 19th, 1938: Italy 4 Hungary 2

The third World Cup was played with the growing threat of War over-shadowing the competition. Argentina had bid to stage it but FIFA awarded the finals to France because of the problems of travelling to South America.

As a result, Argentina stayed away.

The competition was played along knockout lines again, which is how the Dutch East Indies came to play their one and only match in the finals.

They were paired with Japan in a two-team qualifying group; Japan withdrew and the Dutch East Indies went through. They lost 6-0 to Hungary who went all the way to the final in Paris where they played champions Italy.

Italy had won the 1934 finals at home under the astute and innovative coach Vittorio Pozzo. He was in charge again as Italy beat Norway (2-1), hosts France (3-1) and Brazil (2-1) in the semi-finals to reach the final. Italy won a superb match 4-2 to become the first country to win the World Cup twice. Little did they know but they were to wait until 1982 for a third triumph.

1950 BRAZIL

Final: Juy 16th, 1950: Uruguay 2 Brazil 1

After 11 years, because of World War Two and its aftermath, World Cup football returned on June 2, 1949 when Sweden beat Ireland 3-1 in Stockholm in a qualifying round game for the 1950 finals in Brazil.

The Swedes qualified eventually and were among 13 countries who took part in a quirkily-organised tournament in the South American country the following year.

For the first time, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales entered but Scotland decided perversely not to take the place awarded to them after finishing second to England in the all-British qualifying group.

England, the home of soccer, had pompously refused to enter the competition before the war but beat Chile in their opening match and looked set to do well.

Badly-prepared and badly-organised, they were punished by falling victim to one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history when they were beaten 1-0 by the United States in Belo Horizonte.

A 1-0 defeat against Spain, in their next match, meant they were out. It was to be a long time before England made any impression in the tournament.

Hosts and strong favourites Brazil, flexing their muscles, made the last four along with Sweden, Spain and Uruguay.

Bizarrely, there was no actual final in 1950 but, luckily for the organisers and future historians, the final group match was the one that would decide the group winner and, therefore, world champion.

The Uruguay-Brazil match, in front of a world record crowd of 199,854 in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro became a de facto final.

Uruguay won 2-1 to lift the Jules Rimet trophy for a second time. Brazil were stunned by the defeat. They had to wait eight years to become champions but Uruguay have never been champions again.

1954 SWITZERLAND

Final: July 4th, 1954: West Germany 3 Hungary 2

Sixteen teams took part in the fifth World Cup and there was limited television coverage. There was still a long way to go but the dawn of a modern age was approaching.

Although 16 teams were placed in four opening round groups, another chaotic seeding and qualifying system meant that, instead of playing three first round games, teams played only two matches and several had to resort to playoffs to get through to the quarter-finals.

But there were goals in abundance, 140 in 26 matches, and several remarkable results. These included Hungary 8, West Germany 3; Hungary 9, South Korea 0; and Austria 7, Switzerland 5, the highest-scoring match played in the finals.

Hungary went to Switzerland as odds-on favourites and it seemed inconceivable they would not be taking the Jules Rimet trophy back to Budapest.

The 'Magical Magyars' had not lost a match since 1950, were Olympic champions and had several of the greatest players in the world in their ranks including the absolute master: Ferenc Puskas. Yet the final in Berne on July 4th still defies logic.

Hungary, who crushed a largely reserve Germany team 8-3 in the first round, raced into a 2-0 lead with goals from Puskas and Zoltan Czibor. But Puskas had been injured and was below his best, Hungary relaxed and they allowed the Germans to play their way back into the game.

In the end, they were stunned as West Germany came back to create the biggest upset in a final by winning 3-2. Uwe Rahan scored twice and Max Morlock once. It was the only match Hungary lost between 1950 and 1956.

Captain Fritz Walter lifted the cup, a hugely significant event for West Germany, nine years after the end of World War Two.

1958 SWEDEN

Final: June 29th 1958: Brazil 5 Sweden 2

Four years previously, Hungary were the hottest-ever favourites to lift the World Cup, but they never had a chance to make amends for their failure in the 1954 final. Two years after that disappointment, the 1956 uprising against the Soviet Union meant their great team was scattered to the winds.

Instead, there were new kids on the block. Or, more specifically, one new kid on the block, a 17-year-old Brazilian called Pele who was about to transform the World Cup. His story is too well-known to repeat here. Suffice to say he made his World Cup debut in a 2-0 win against the Soviet Union in Gothenburg on June 15, 1958, and went on to become the undisputed master of world football.

Garrincha, 'the Little Bird' with the deformed legs and incredible dribbling ability, also made his first appearance in the same match and bamboozled the Soviets as Vava scored twice. Brazil had arrived.

West Germany, the champions, made it through to the semis where they lost 3-1 to the hosts in Gothenburg while Brazil saw off France 5-2 in the other semi-final, with Pele scoring a hat-trick.

The stage was set for the final in Stockholm on June 29 and, in front of King Gustav of Sweden, Pele and Brazil were crowned kings of the soccer world for the first time.

Sweden took the lead with a goal of individual brilliance from skipper Nils Liedholm but Brazil stormed back to win 5-2 with Pele scoring twice. It was the first time a team had won the World Cup outside its own hemisphere, a record that remained intact until Brazil equalled it themselves by winning in Asia in 2002.

1962 CHILE

Final: June 17th, 1962: Brazil 3 Czechoslovakia 1

Argentina, Chile and West Germany applied to stage the 1962 finals and for a while it looked as though Argentina would win FIFA's vote. But in May 1960 Chile was devastated by a series of earthquakes which cost thousands of lives.

Chilean FA president Carlos Dittborn famously pleaded to FIFA: "We have nothing, that is why we must have the World Cup."

FIFA agreed and Chile embarked on a massive building programme to stage the seventh finals in the southern hemisphere winter of 1962.

Unfortunately, Dittborn was not there to see them. Aged 41, he died of a heart attack a month before the tournament began.

This was a very different World Cup from the three staged in the 1950s.

Defences were tighter, growing professionalism had changed the attitude of many players and the overall goal tally dropped from a carefree high of 140 in 1954 to a meagre 89 in 1962. But Brazil were still imperious.

After winning the World Cup in Europe in 1958, they now had the easier task of winning again closer to home. Pele and Garrincha were four years older, more experienced and even more difficult to play against. Brazil again began as the tournament favourites.

Chile, taking advantage of being hosts, also had a good World Cup, as did Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union, who had won the first European Championship in 1962, had the incomparable Lev Yashin in goal and were also expected to do well. But they went out to Chile in the quarter-finals.

Brazil won a titanic semi-final against Chile 4-2 but were without the injured Pele, who also missed the final, while the Czechs saw off Yugoslavia in the other semi.

Josef Masopust put Czechoslovakia ahead against Brazil early in the final in Santiago but Brazil stormed back to win with goals from Amarildo, Vava, who became the first player to score in two finals, and Zito.

They were already being widely tipped to win the World Cup for the third successive tournament in 1966.

1966 ENGLAND

Final: July 30th 1966: England 4 West Germany 2 (aet)

Alf Ramsey did a brave thing in 1963 when he was appointed England manager, saying his team would win the World Cup in 1966. He was, of course, proved right but, after an opening 0-0 draw with Uruguay, there were many who doubted him.

The eighth World Cup was the first to be televised live to most of the world and, again, consisted of 16 teams in four first round groups. But there was a scare for the organisers four months before the tournament began when the World Cup trophy was stolen from an exhibition in central London.

It was found a week later in a south London suburb by a dog named Pickles.

Brazil were perceived as the biggest threat to England's hopes even though they were showing signs of age, while the North Koreans arrived as total unknowns but left an indelible mark behind. They beat Italy 1-0 in an opening round match, the greatest upset since England had lost to the United States 16 years previously.

Brazil, with Pele hacked out of the competition by unscrupulous opponents, did not survive the opening phase after defeats by Hungary and Portugal.

Ramsey's prediction that England would become world champions looked hollow after a 0-0 draw with defensive Uruguay in the opening match but the hosts improved to reach the final against West Germany after conceded only one goal. That was against Portugal in a semi-final which England won 2-1. Portugal survived a scare in the quarter-finals when they trailed 3-0 to the North Koreans before Eusebio scored four times in a remarkable 5-3 victory.

West Germany, with 20-year-old Franz Beckenbauer attracting notice, reached the semis with wins over Switzerland (5-0) and Spain (2-1), in their group, and then a thumping 4-0 victory against Uruguay in the quarter-finals. They were too good for the Soviet Union in the semi-finals, Beckenbauer firing the winner past Yashin in a 2-1 victory.

There were still strong anti-German feelings in Britain in the mid-1960s, following the Second World War, and that added to the drama in the final at Wembley. Germany led through Helmut Haller before England equalised with a Geoff Hurst header and then went 2-1 ahead 12 minutes from time through Martin Peters.

Germany forced the match into extra-time with a goal in the dying seconds from Wolfgang Weber before England went 3-2 ahead in the 100th minute after the most controversial incident in World Cup history.

The debate over whether the ball crossed the line for Hurst's second goal will continue for as long as the game is played. There was no doubt about the winner, brilliantly executed by Hurst with the last kick of the finals. It confirmed England's win and made him the only player to score a hat-trick in a final.

For England, the moment has never been bettered. For the Germans, it was a stumble on a path to future successes.

1970 MEXICO

Final: June 21st, 1970: Brazil 4 Italy 1

The first World Cup finals to be televised live in colour to a global audience have a special place in the sport's history. It is regarded as the best tournament of all.

Despite the high altitude at which most matches were played, and despite many noon kick-offs in the searing heat of the day to suit European TV schedules, many of the games were of the highest quality.

Brazil fielded the greatest side the world has ever seen and not one player from any of the 16 teams was sent off in the entire competition.

Champions England and favourites Brazil were drawn to play in the same opening round group and produced a classic match in Guadalajara.

Brazil won 1-0 with a goal from Jairzinho, who scored in every match his side played. Pele was denied a certain goal when Gordon Banks made what is regarded as the best save of all time when he dived full length across his goal to turn a downward header up and over his bar.

Many expected the teams to meet again in the final as England had a better side than the one which won the World Cup in 1966. Brazil, with Pele at the peak of his powers, were simply awesome.

But England were derailed in the quarter-finals by West Germany, who gained revenge for their final defeat at Wembley. They beat England 3-2, missing sick goalkeeper Banks, after trailing 2-0 earlier in the match.

Hosts Mexico also went out in the quarter-finals, They were beaten by Italy, who went on to meet Brazil in the final after a classic 4-3 win over West Germany in their semi.

As both Brazil and Italy had won the World Cup twice before, the winners were sure to take permanent possession of the Jules Rimet trophy. Goals from Pele, Gerson, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto meant the trophy returned to Rio, where it was later stolen and never recovered.

1974 WEST GERMANY

Final: July 7th, 1974: West Germany 2 Holland 1

Pele had retired, aged only 31, and Brazil's great team had broken up by the time West Germany hosted the 10th World Cup. Unlike the heat of Mexico, most of the matches were played in cold, wet conditions, even though the organisers had used a computer to forecast the period for the best weather.

But more than the weather had changed since Mexico. FIFA had a new president, Brazilian Joao Havelange, who was to oversee massive changes in the game during his 28-year tenure.

The Jules Rimet trophy was also replaced by a new trophy. There were new teams as well.

Holland, having shaken off their amateur game in the early 1960s, were back for the first time since 1938 and had developed a new pattern of tactical play under coach Rinus Michels dubbed Total Football.

It was a system that demanded every player, bar the goalkeeper, have the ability to play in any position at any time. Johan Cruyff was the focal point of the team, one of the greatest players in history, and he led the Dutch all the way to the final.

There they met West Germany, European champions and a side skippered by their own all-time great Franz Beckenbauer. The Germans also had Gerd Muller, one of the finest goalscorers of all time, and Sepp Maier, an outstanding goalkeeper. All three were Bayern Munich team mates, who that year assumed Ajax Amsterdam's mantle as European champions.

They also triumphed over the Dutch in the World Cup final, winning 2-1 at Munich's futuristic Olympic Stadium after falling behind to a first minute penalty, scored by Johan Neeskens, before a German player had even touched the ball.

Paul Breitner equalised with a penalty and then Muller, who had scored 10 goals in 1970, scored his fourth of the tournament to seal victory. It was his 14th goal in the finals, an all-time World Cup scoring record he still holds going into the 2006 finals.

1978 ARGENTINA

Final: June 25th, 1978: Argentina 3 Holland 1 (aet)

Agentina had been bidding to stage the World Cup since the 1930s but when the tournament was finally held there the country was under the control of a military junta. As a result, the finals were played in a tense atmosphere.

Several European countries considered boycotting the event or trying to get it moved but FIFA insisted it went ahead as planned. The two biggest names of 1974 were missing, Beckenbauer was playing in the United States and Cruyff, citing security worries, was out of the Dutch side.

But new talents were emerging.

Brazil were still in the doldrums and the world had a first glimpse of France's rising talent Michel Platini, destined to become one of the game's greats.

Argentina, coached by the chain-smoking Cesar Luis Menotti, had a fine team which included the iconic striker Mario Kempes and brilliant midfielder Osvaldo Ardiles.

They strode powerfully, bar a defeat by Italy, through to the final, even if a 6-0 win over Peru in the second phase match which guaranteed their place in the final was seen later to be something of a 'manufactured result' between the two South American nations.

As in 1974, a superb Dutch team battled through to face the hosts in the World Cup final, and again they gained scant reward for their popularity, enterprise and brilliant play. Argentina won 3-1 in extra-time with Kempes scoring twice.

1982 SPAIN

Final: July 11th, 1982: Italy 3 West Germany 1

An expanded World Cup of 24 teams included an increase in the number of finalists from Asia, Africa and the Concacaf region of North and Central America but it was the Europeans who dominated the competition.

However, the format left much to be desired.

After the teams were split into six groups of four, the top two in each advanced to a second round of 12 with four groups of three. The four group winners advanced to the semi-finals and in the event Italy, Poland, West Germany and France battled through.

Hosts Spain were eliminated in the second phase after losing 2-1 to West Germany and drawing 0-0 with England, who also went out despite being undefeated in their five matches.

Champions Argentina went out in the second phase, too, losing to Italy (2-1) and Brazil (3-1), when Diego Maradona was sent off. His day, though, was to come. Italy battled through to the last four after starting the tournament poorly with three draws in their opening group matches against Poland (0-0), Peru (1-1) and Cameroon (1-1).

But they came to life in the second phase, following up a 2-1 win over Argentina with a 3-2 victory over Brazil in one of the best World Cup matches of all time.

Paolo Rossi, who only returned to the side a few weeks earlier at the end of a suspension for his alleged role in a match-fixing scandal, which he has always strenuously denied, scored a hat-trick against Brazil and then two more against Poland in the semi-finals as Italy reached their first final since 1970.

The Germans arrived after their epic victory over France in the semis in Seville when they battled back from trailing Michel Platini's side 3-1 in extra-time to force a 3-3 draw and then win on penalties. But they went into the final with their best player, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge not fully fit. He went off soon after Italy took a 2-0 lead in the 68th minute of a game which they eventually won 3-1 to become world champions for the third time.

Rossi maintained his scoring form with the opening goal early in the second half while Marco Tardelli and Alessandro Altobelli added the others. Paul Breitner's late consolation meant he became only the third player, after Brazilians Vava and Pele, to score in two finals following his penalty in 1974.

1986 MEXICO

Final: June 29th, 1986: Argentina 3 West Germany 2

Colombia were due to host the 1986 World Cup but pulled out three years earlier saying the cost was prohibitive and their infrastructure could not support it. FIFA awarded the tournament to Mexico, who became the first country to host it twice.

The heat and altitude that affected players in 1970 did so again but players were fitter and better prepared than 16 years earlier. The tournament consisted of 24 teams again but FIFA introduced a knockout second round of 16 nations rather than the second round groups of 1982.

Champions Italy made it as far as the second round where they lost 2-0 to France, while favourites Argentina, hosts Mexico, England, Brazil and West Germany were among those who reached the last eight.

The outstanding match brought together England and Argentina for the first time since their armed conflict over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands in 1982.

Argentina emerged the victors on June 22 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico where Diego Maradona won the match with his infamous "Hand of God" goal and his utterly brilliant second when he dribbled from inside his own half, took on and beat half the England defence before rounding goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score.

Argentina beat Belgium in the semis, when Maradona scored another dazzling solo goal, to reach the final, while West Germany, as they had done in 1982, beat France in the semis.

The South Americans were the better team for much of a thrilling final at the Azteca and built a 2-0 lead after 56 minutes with goals from Jose Luis Brown and Jorge Valdano.

Rummenigge and Rudi Voeller pulled Germany level with eight minutes to go before a dinked pass from Maradona set Jorge Burruchaga away and he made no mistake with an 85th-minute winner.

1990 ITALY

Final: July 8th, 1990: West Germany 1 Argentina 0

The 1990 finals in Italy were a curious mixture of good and bad games, the final fitting into the second category. There were also several wonderful surprises and days of woeful refereeing.

Penalty shootouts began to decide more matches and, although the fans in soccer-mad Italy were passionate about it all, the event left behind bitter-sweet memories.

Italy's failure to reach the final and the disappointing quality of that showpiece occasion were two of the main reasons. Italy became the first European country to stage the World Cup twice after hosting and winning the 1934 finals and expectations were high they could triumph again. In the end, those ambitions proved too great and they fell at the semi-final stage.

They started with wins over Austria (1-0), the United States (1-0) and Czechoslovakia (2-0) in the group stage and then saw off Uruguay (2-0) and Ireland (1-0) to reach the last four. Salvatore "Toto" Schillaci, who had only played twice for Italy before the finals, emerged as the competition's top scorer with six goals and became an instant national hero.

Argentina arrived in Italy looking to defend their title with skipper Maradona enjoying an extra incentive to do well because he played in Italy for Napoli. Argentina were stunned in the opening match when they lost 1-0 to Cameroon and although they recovered to reach the final, that defeat underlined their vulnerability.

Cameroon sparkled and took England to extra-time in the quarter-finals before losing 3-2. That set up England for another match against old rivals West Germany. The Germans eventually won 4-3 on penalties after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw.

The other semi-final between Italy and Argentina in Maradona's adopted home town of Naples also went to penalties, with Argentina also winning 4-3 after a 1-1 draw.

Italy went on to beat England 2-1 in the third-fourth place match which was scant reward for the hosts.

For England, although they lost out on a place in the final, this World Cup signalled something of a rebirth. The game had been blighted in its birthplace because of England's failures to reach the finals of 1974 and 1978 and then by hooliganism and the Heysel Stadium, Hillsborough and Bradford City disasters in the 1980s.

The tears shed by Paul Gascoigne in the semi-final defeat, plus the inspirational soundtrack, used on British TV, of Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti singing 'Nessun Dorma' touched a nerve. Football was suddenly cool again and the impact from that time has yet to wear off.

Luckily, the memory of the worst final of all has been forgotten. The Germans won 1-0 with a late penalty from Andreas Brehme and Argentina finished the match with nine men, the first team to have a player, or even two, dismissed in the final. Franz Beckenbauer became the first man to captain and later coach a side to World Cup success.

1994 UNITED STATES

Final: July 17th, 1994: Brazil 0 Italy 0 (Brazil won 3-2 on penalties)

FIFA's decision to stage the finals in the United States was a brave one, even though it ultimately failed to realise the goal of establishing soccer as a major sport there. It did, though, produce a fine World Cup, marred only by a 0-0 draw in the final between Brazil and Italy.

In a sense it was a World Cup held in a bubble. Around the stadiums, or in the cities where matches were played, there was a level of local interest and the competition did produce the biggest total attendance figures in World Cup history.

But millions of Americans had no idea the World Cup was happening in their country and, if they did, they were not in the least bit interested. Still, those who did turn up seemed to enjoy themselves, even if they tended to think that a long goal-kick or a powerful throw-in deserved applause every time. This was football in America but not football as they knew it.

The champions were now playing as a unified German team and were expected to do well. So, too, were Brazil and Italy. Nigeria, the African champions, also arrived as potential contenders for the later stages.

It was an open World Cup and it produced surprises.

Romania, with Gheorghe Hagi in his pomp, and Bulgaria, with Hristo Stoichkov pulling the strings, flew the flag for the newly-liberated eastern European nations.

They had their best-ever tournament while Italy, Mexico and Holland all travelled with high hopes.

The tournament followed the same pattern as 1990 with 24 teams moving into a knockout stage which is where Argentina, the United States and the Nigerians went out.

The United States did well to reach the last 16 following a 2-1 win over Colombia in Pasadena on June 22. But it was a match that made history for all the wrong reasons because it cost the innocent Colombian defender Andres Escobar his life.

He put through his own net in the first half to give the United States the lead and was murdered when he went home the following week because Colombia's subsequent defeat cost heavy gamblers big money losses.

Argentina, whose skipper Diego Maradona was suspended after testing positive for doping, lost 3-2 to Romania in the second round while Nigeria's World Cup came to a halt when they lost 2-1 to Italy.

Nigeria had looked set to go through but Roberto Baggio equalised with two minutes to go and then scored an extra-time penalty that saw the Italians through to the quarter-finals.

Brazil and Italy eventually battled through to the final in Pasadena and for the first time in history the World Cup was decided on a penalty shootout after a goalless draw in the blistering sun.

Brazil won it 3-2 after the "Divine Ponytail" Baggio, who had been Italy's hero with six goals, blasted his penalty high over the bar.

1998 FRANCE

Final: July 12th, 1998: France 3 Brazil 0

When Joao Havelange was bidding to become FIFA president in 1974, he promised that if he was elected Asian and African countries would get more opportunities to compete on the world stage. The process began in 1982 when the World Cup was increased to 24 nations and was completed in 1998 when the first 32-team tournament was staged.

Japan, South Africa and Jamaica were among the debutants at France 98 which began with champions Brazil beating Scotland 2-1 in Paris on June 10th. Brazil were again expected to do well but France were expected to do even better.

The hosts had improved steadily over the previous decade and were reaping the benefits of a far-sighted national youth training programme. By the time of the 1998 World Cup, the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry were young, established and ready to take on the world and win, which is exactly what they did.

France 98 is remembered as a fine World Cup with memorable matches in the latter stages. Too many of the games in the opening round were tedious with teams clearly just happy to be there with the intention of avoiding a big defeat.

The competition began in earnest when it was reduced to the last 16, still probably the ideal number. The most memorable game of the first knockout round was Argentina's penalty shootout win over England in St Etienne on June 30th. This game saw Michael Owen score one of the best goals in World Cup history, Javier Zanetti one of the cutest, David Beckham sent off and Argentina go through 4-3 on penalties after a gripping 2-2 draw.

France, debutants Croatia, Brazil and Holland made it through to the last four. Brazil beat the Dutch on penalties in one semi-final and France edged Croatia 2-1 in the other to set up a first final between the hosts and the champions.

In the end, France won their first World Cup with even more ease than the 3-0 result suggests. Ronaldo had a seizure during the night and was clearly unfit to play...but he did. Brazil had no answer to the brilliance of Zidane who ran the match and scored twice. Emmanuel Petit added the coup de grace in the last minute with the third goal.

The scenes on the Champs Elysees on the night of the final will never be forgotten by those lucky enough to be there. The World Cup, invented by the Frenchman Jules Rimet, had finally come home.

2002 SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN

Final: June 30th, 2002: Brazil 2 Germany 0

The decision to stage the first World Cup in Asia in South Korea and Japan was one of the most profound FIFA have made. Decades of animosity between the two countries had created a situation that would have resulted in national shame for whichever nation lost the vote to host the tournament.

Their shared and difficult history was something that even FIFA could not solve and, in July 1996, FIFA did the most pragmatic and sensible thing by making them joint hosts. This created a curious but thrilling event with the two countries embracing the tournament in different ways.

It seemed the entire Korean nation were swept along with the idea and that every man, woman and child in every hamlet donned a red tee-shirt for a month.

The Japanese were rather more reserved but added their own special brand of individualism to the occasion. Never before have so many Japanese David Beckham look-alikes walked the streets of Tokyo, Sapporo or Niigata.

The competition threw up surprise after surprise, beginning with the biggest of all, in the opening match in Seoul when debutants Senegal beat champions France 1-0. This, clearly, had the makings of a World Cup with a difference.

But that was just the start. France, also European champions, failed to score against Uruguay in a 0-0 draw in their next game and after losing 2-0 to Denmark in their third match, went home.

Argentina also departed early. Grouped with old rivals England again, Nigeria and Sweden, Argentina began well enough with a 1-0 win over Nigeria but a 1-0 defeat to England and a 1-1 draw with Sweden saw them eliminated.

The co-hosts, swept along on a tide of passionate support, exceeded expectations as South Korea reached the semis and Japan the second round, where they lost to a good Turkish side.

Brazil avoided the errors the other fancied nations were committing. They won all three group matches against Turkey (2-1), China (4-0) and Costa Rica (5-2) before beating Belgium 2-0 in the second round.

That set them up with a quarter-final against a strong England side who somehow lost their way after being a goal ahead against 10 men, after Ronaldinho was sent off. Before leaving, Ronaldinho had scored with a free kick that flew over David Seaman's outstretched arm from 40 metres. It secured Brazil's 2-1 victory.

Germany, South Korea and Turkey also made it through to the last four. Brazil beat Turkey 1-0 and Germany beat South Korea 1-0 to reach the final.

Despite having reached the deciding match of the previous 16 World Cups 12 times between them, Brazil and Germany had never previously met in a World Cup game.

Brazil were the hot favourites, Germany were difficult to beat and it was not until the 67th minute that Brazil broke through, Ronaldo scoring the first of his two goals.

The second arrived 12 minutes later and he finished the tournament top scorer with eight goals, the best tally since Gerd Muller's 10 in 1970.

Ronaldo, who has scored 12 World Cup goals, heads to Germany 2006 hoping to break Muller's all-time record of 14 while Brazil hope to win the World Cup for a sixth time. But, as the 17 previous finals have proved, nothing can be taken for granted.