301. Did You Know?: 
The one hundredth international match to be played at Wembley took place in March 1975 when Don Revie's new-look England team - in their new-look Admiral strip - faced the World Champions, West Germany, on a wet Wednesday night. The capacity one hundred thousand crowd, however, soon warmed up as Colin Bell, Kevin Keegan, Alan Hudson, Mick Channon and Malcolm MacDonald (left) tore into the Germans, producing countless chances and, eventually winning the game 2-0, thanks to goals by Bell and MacDonald. 
West Germany contained six of the side that had beaten the Netherlands in the World Cup final nine months earlier and, but for the presence of Beckenbauer, Maier and Vogts at the back, the score could have been a lot higher. They, like England, had a new-look up front, however. With Gerd Muller now gone from international football and Uli Hoesness injured, the Kickers Offenbach partnership of Manfred Ritschel and Erwin Kostedde both made their debuts for the national side. 
Kostedde (right), the son of an American GI, was the first black player to represent West Germany. He won just two international caps during a period when the racism to which he was frequently subjected was at its worst. In his two years at Borussia Dortmund he played fewer games than would be expected. This was because it proved impossible to play him in many home matches due mainly to the vile racial insults of some Dortmund's fans towards him.
302. Did You Know?:
Fulham fans of a certain age still recall the acute embarrassment they used to feel when, with the Cottagers going through a bad run, calls for the dismissal of their manager - Alan Dicks - essentially consisted of fans on the terraces chanting 'Dicks out.' They should think themselves lucky, at Newcastle we had Arthur Cox. Anyway ...
303. Did You Know?: In his book Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, David Winner tells a wonderful - if probably apocryphal - story about Wim van Hanegem..jpg)
During the summer of 1975 the influential Dutch midfielder was offered the opportunity to leave his beloved Feyenoord for pastures new at France's Olympique Marseille. Unable to decide what to do, he and his wife, Truus, his best friend (and international team-mate) Wim Jansen and Jansen's wife headed off for a picnic on a remote beech. Together, they debated the proposed transfer, its financial - as well as football - implications and whether it would make Wim and Truus happy to live in another country. At the end of the picnic, van Hanegem asked for a show of hands. Two votes to stay, two to go. He then, allegedly, turned to the family dog and said 'we can't decide it's up to you.' For several minutes the dog and van Hanegem stared at each other. 'Okay,' said van Hanegem eventually, 'he doesn't want to go. We're staying!'
304. Did You Know?: Uruguay's Alcides Ghiggia was just twenty three when he scored the winning goal against Brazil in the 1950 World Cup decider at Rio's Maracana Stadium. Years later, Ghiggia famously said: 'Only three people have ever silenced two hundred thousand people at the Maracana with a single gesture: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and me!'
305. Did You Know?:
Paolo Maldini's international career for Italy lasted over fourteen years and one hundred and twenty six games for his country. By the time of his last game for the Azzurri in 2002 he had played in four world cup finals tournaments. Remarkably, his career for AC Milan would go on for another seven years, Paolo finally retiring in 2009 a month before his forty first birthday.
306. Did You Know?:
On 30 May 1968 a largely experimental Scotland side faced the Netherlands in Amersterdam. The game ended goalless which was ironic considering the quality and flair contained in both sides. But, whilst Wim Jansen, Wim van Hanegem and Rob Rensenbrick would, six years later, be playing in a World Cup final for two of Scotland's most naturally gifted players - Chelsea's Charlie Cooke (right) and Aberdeen's Jimmy Smith (left) it would be the beginning of short and, many feel, frustratingly unfulfilled international careers. The dazzling Cooke, the darling of the King's Road and whose down-the-disco moustache was one of the genuine football icons of the early 1970s, was playing for the sixth time for Scotland that night. 
He would make just another ten appearances over the next seven years for his country a victim of both his own inconsistency and successive managers' impatience with wayward genius. For Smith it would be even worse. Transferred to Newcastle shortly afterwards, he found the pace of the First Division difficult to cope with and, although he eventually became a genuine cult figure on Tyneside in the same way that Cooke was in London, it would not be until late 1973 before he pulled on the blue shirt of Scotland again, in 1-1 draw with West Germany. T
wo further caps in 1974 seemed scant reward for a talent such as his. This was, of course, an era of many glorious, wild, enigmatic tanna-baal players in Scotland's midfield. Jimmy McCalliog, Willie Carr (see right), Alex Cropley, Jim Bone, Asa Hartford and George Graham all briefly flowered and then found themselves cast aside in the search of dependability at the expense of maverick individuality.
307. Did You Know?: Australia's first attempt to qualify for the World Cup finals was in 1965. The country hadn't played an international match since 1958 (a 2-2 draw with neighbours New Zealand). Drawn to play North Korea in a two-legged play-off the winner would take the final qualifying position in England the following year. The Australian preparation consisted of four weeks training in Cairns but only one practice match - against local side, Ingham. Johnny Warren described the culture shock faced by the Australians on their first visit to Asia. 'It was like landing on another planet.' The Australian squad contained seven Scots, five Englishmen and just six actual Australians. The coach was Tiko Jelisavcic from Yugoslavia who was player-coach at the Hakoah club in Sydney.
None of the players from overseas had established themselves at the highest level, though some had experience with good club sides - full back Stan Ackerley had once been on Manchester United's books, for instance. Both goalkeepers in the squad, John Roberts and Bill Rorke were Australians and Roberts would subsequently be the only one of that generation of Australian players to go the other way and establish himself in English football - with Blackburn Rovers, Chesterfield, Bradford City and Southend United. Les Scheinflug (see left), Geoff Sleight, Archie Blue and John Watkiss were also among the team. Scheinflug, who would become Rale Rasic's assistant manager during the successful 1974 World Cup qualifying campaign, was the captain. He scored in both matches against the Koreans but, perhaps inevitably, the amateur Aussies were beaten 6-1 and 3-1.
308. Did You Know?: In the first World Cup final, in 1930, due to a dispute - about God only knows what to be honest - a different ball was used in each half, one chosen by each team. Argentina's ball was used for the first half, and Uruguay's ball was used for the second half. After the game, both of the teams took their respective balls and, err, went home.
309. Did You Know?: One of the fiercest rivalries in world football exists between Barçalona and Real Madrid in an annual fixture known as El Clásico. The clubs are, of course, representatives of two rival regions in Spain - Catalonia and Castile - as well as of the two cities themselves.
The rivalry also projects what many regard as the political and other tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians. During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939–1975), all regional Spanish cultures - like the Catalans and the Basques - were openly suppressed and all of the languages spoken in Spanish territory, except Castilian itself, were officially banned. Symbolising the indigenous people's desires for freedom, Barça and the Neu Camp, became 'more than a club' for Catalans (and, indeed, for many Spaniards opposed to the right-wing Franco regime). According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the best way for the Catalans' to demonstrate their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement and allowed them to express their dissidence openly. 
By contrast, Real was widely seen as the embodiment of the sovereign oppressive centralism of the fascist regime (Santiago Bernabeu, the then-club president for whom the Merengues' stadium is named, undeniably did fight with the Los Nacionales during the Spanish Civil War). It must, however, be remembered that during the war itself, members of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. In Phil Ball's excellent 2001 book on the history of Spanish football, Morbo, the writer believes that 'Despite the claims of both supporters and opponents, Franco's role in Real Madrid's success has probably been exaggerated. The club are tiresomely referred to as "Franco's pet team", rather as if he was given to wearing a white shirt - rather than a black one - at weekends. Franco certainly benefitted from Real Madrid's success but the club only got a few tidbits in return.'
310. Did You Know?: Togo, after several rows about appearance money and the general dislike among the camp of their star player, Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal, exited their first World Cup finals - in 2006 - without a point and having scored only one goal. Mohamed Kader got it during their 2-1 defeat to South Korea.
311. Did You Know?: The first World Cup was the only one without any qualification groups. Every country affiliated to FIFA was invited to compete, and given a deadline of 28 February 1930 to accept.
Plenty of interest was shown by nations in the Americas; Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and the United States all entered straight away. However, due to the costly trip across the Atlantic and the length of absence required for players, very few European teams were inclined to take part and no European entries were received before the February deadline. In an attempt to gain some European participation, the Uruguayan Football Association sent a letter of invitation to The Football Association, even though the Home Nations were not members of FIFA at the time. This was rejected by the FA Committee on 18 November 1929. FIFA president Jules Rimet intervened, and eventually four European teams made the trip by sea: Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The Romanians, managed by Costel Radulescu and coached by their captain Rudolf Wetzer and Octav Luchide, entered the competition following the intervention of the newly crowned King Carol II. He selected the squad personally, and negotiated with their employers to ensure that the players would still have jobs upon their return from South America.
312. Did You Know?:
Bobby Robson once claimed that if the World Cup had been played in 1961 rather than 1962, then England would have been World Champions rather than Brazil. On 15 April Scotland suffered the most humiliating defeat in their history against the auld enemy when England crushed them 9-3 at Wembley. Celtic's Frank Haffey, called in because of injuries to two other goalkeepers, had a nightmare, but this should not take away from the brilliance of the England performance. It was a strong Scottish side as well - including Denis Law, Dave Mackay and Ian St John - which came to Wembley for what was the decider in the Home International Championship. 
Jimmy Greaves had an outstanding game, scoring a hat-trick, whilst his future Spurs team-mate Bobby Smith got two. Robson himself and Bryan Douglas scored a goal apiece. And, Fulham's Johnny Haynes (right) tore the Scottish defence to shreds with his devastating passing and also scored twice. Greaves later declared: 'Johnny controlled the slaughter that day, pulling the Scottish defence apart with a procession of precision passes that created countless openings for his team-mates.'
313. Did You Know?: Pele's goal in the 1970 World Cup final against Italy was Brazil's one hundredth in the history of the competition.
314. Did You Know?: Stade de Reims' Just Fontaine, the legendary French striker scored thirteen goals in 1958, a World Cup record. He stands third on the all-time World Cup scoring list, despite having only appeared in one finals tournament.
France could only manage third place in 1958, after being thrashed 5-2 by Brazil in the semi-finals. Fontaine scored a hat-trick in France's first group game against Paraguay, twice against Yugoslavia and once against Scotland. He went on to score in every game France played in during the 1958 World Cup, twice more in the quarter-finals against Northern Ireland, once in the semi-final loss to Brazil and four times in the third-place victory against West Germany. Many of these were set up for him by the stunning ball skills of his former Reims team-mate, Raymond Kopa, by then playing for Real Madrid.
315. Did You Know?:
Before we get too carried away at the national tragedy that befell England in their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals, let's take a brief moment to reflect on some of the players used by Graham Taylor during the failed campaign. Those who would, most likely, have formed the basis for the squad in the event that they had qualified: Carlton Palmer, Keith Curle, Neil Webb, Ian Wright, Andy Sinton, Martin Keown, Alan Smith, Geoff Thomas, David Bardsley, Brian Deane, Nigel Winterburn, Chris Woods. I dunno about you, dear blog reader, but I'd quite like to thank Mssrs Koeman and Assenmacher. You did us - and the world - it would seem one hell of a favour.
316. Did You Know?: The first African nation to appear in the finals were Egypt, in 1934.
317. Did You Know?: In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, sixteen teams competed. Except in 1938, when Austria - who had qualified - was absorbed into Germany following the Anschluss, leaving the tournament with fifteen teams.
And, in 1950, when India, Scotland and Turkey all withdrew, leaving the tournament with only thirteen teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with only a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside the game's traditional power-bases to advance beyond of the first round were: USA, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970.
318. Did You Know?: George Robledo was born in Iquique, Chile to a Chilean father and an English mother. He emigrated with his family to Brampton, Yorkshire in 1932, at the age of five. George started his footballing career as a striker at Huddersfield, playing as an amateur whilst working as a miner.
He moved to second division Barnsley during World War II and then to Newcastle United in 1949 along with his younger brother, Ted. During his five years at St James Park he would win two FA Cup winners medals, scoring the only goal in the 1952 final against Arsenal. In all he scored ninety one goals in one hundred and sixty six appearances for the Magpies and formed a fearsome goalscoring partnership with Jackie Milburn and Bobby Mitchell. Chile recruited Robledo for the 1950 World Cup, even though he spoke virtually no Spanish. He made his debut in the opening group game against England (one of his opponents reputedly warned him after he'd hit the post 'steady, George, you're not playing for Newcastle now, you know!') and he scored in Chile's subsequent 5-2 victory over the USA.
319. Did You Know?:
The 1973 World Cup qualifier against a Czech team whose tactics brought chants of 'Animals' from the Hampden terraces is remembered mainly for the header by twenty one-year-old Joe Jordan that took Scotland to West Germany. But, at the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Ally Hunter (see left) had a disaster. There seemed little to worry about when Zdenek Nehoda tried his luck from thirty five yards, but Hunter somehow let it slip through his fingers and into the net. He never played for his country again.
320. Did You Know?: Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia was recognised by FIFA in 1992 when they entered the world rankings at a lowly one hundred and twenty fifth place. It didn't take them long to climb an awful lot higher. Goran Vlaovic scored the team's first goal at a major tournament, a late winner against Turkey at the City Ground during Euro '96.
After their opening victory, Croatia went on to beat the reigning champions Denmark 3–0, a match in which striker Davor Šuker (see right) scored with an exquisite lob over Peter Schmichael that put a smile on pretty much everyone's face. Except possibly Schmichael's. So, what else is new? Croatia reached the knockout stages, where they were beaten by eventual champions Germany in the quarter finals. Miroslav Blaževic remained as manager during Croatia's 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, which ended, successfully, with victory over Ukraine in the play-offs. In the group stage of the World Cup, Croatia beat Jamaica and Japan but lost to Argentina, before defeating Romania to reach a quarter final tie against the Germans. Though regarded as underdogs, Croatia promptly won 3–0, with goals from Robert Jarni, Goran Vlaovic and Šuker after Christian Wörns was sent-off. Croatia then faced the host nation, France, in the semi-final: after a goalless first-half, the Croats took the lead, only to concede two goals by Lilian Thuram. Šuker won the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in the tournament.
321. Did You Know?:
The worst moment of Lev Yashin's in a glittering career came in the 1962 World Cup finals. In a first round game against Colombia, which the Soviet Union were leading 4-1, Yashin let-in three soft goals, including one from Marcos Coll directly from a corner (the first and only instance of such a goal being scored in World Cup finals history). The game finished in a 4-4 draw, which led the French newspaper l'Equipe to predict the end of Yashin's career. But he would bounce back to win the Ballon d'Or the following year, and to lead the Soviet team to its best showing at the 1966 Wold Cup, a fourth place finish.
322. Did You Know?: For Dave Bowen's Wales, the 1970 World Cup qualifiers proved to be a - literally - pointless exercise, losing all four of their group games to Italy and East Germany.
Their best performance came against the Italians at Ninian Park in October 1968 where they lost narrowly to a late Gigi Riva goal. The Italian forwards had, for the most part, been kept quiet all night by Dave Powell and Ollie Burton whilst, at the other end Ron and Wyn The Leap Davies (no relation, see right) gave the meanest defence in Europe a torrid time. Sadly, the return game, in Rome thirteen months later, was to be a chastening experience for the Welsh, losing 4-1 as Riva and Sandro Mazzola tore them apart. Tottenham's Mike England scored the Welsh consolation goal.
323. Did You Know?: The national team of the People's Republic of China played their first international match in a friendly against Finland in August 1952.
For the majority of the next thirty years, the team played only friendly matches against those nations which recognised the PRC, such as Albania, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, North Korea, North Vietnam, and Sudan. China also played, once, in the World Cup qualifying rounds, in 1958. The national team began to make their way to national and international prominence in the late-80s through the mass introduction of televisions in Chinese households. During the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, China were on the verge of qualifying, but lost crucial matches at home, to Qatar and Iran. Under the direction of a new head coach, Bora Milutinovic, the nation finally advanced to the World Cup finals in 2002 to much rejoicing. Unfortunately, the team failed to score a single goal when they got there, losing all three group matches.
324. Did You Know?:
After Berti Vogts' Scotland drew 2-2 with the Faroe Islands in a 2002 European Championship qualifier one national radio phone-in show received a call from a chap who complained that this was the single most embarrassing night in the nation's history and that something must be done about it. 'The whole country feels it, we couldn't even beat the worst team in world football,' he concluded. The host wondered if that wasn't, perhaps, a bit of an over-statement. 'No,' replied the caller, 'if you can't beat Scotland then you know you really are in trouble. And everyone in the Faroes knows that.'
325. Did You Know?: The Asia and Oceania qualifying groups were combined for the 1970 World Cup, meaning that over the course of two months in late 1969, Australia found themselves playing matches on four different continents.
Firsly they won a group containing South Korea and Japan with all of the matches played in Seoul during October. They then faced first-time participants Rhodesia over three gruelling games in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique in November. And, having eventually won that, after a replay, they faced a two-legged play-off with Israel, who had beaten New Zealand in another play-off, beginning just a week later. Israel won 1-0 in Tel-a-viv, whilst the game in Syndey was drawn meaning that, despite clocking up almost twenty five thousand air miles, the Aussies had missed out yet again.
326. Did You Know?: Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio. During his ninety two internationals, Brazil's record was sixty seven wins, fourteen draws and just eleven defeats.
327. Did You Know?:
Wembley 1971, England against Scotland. Martin Peters opened the scoring goal after a frenetic nine minutes despite the ball appearing not to cross the line. Scottish defender John Greig clearly handled prevent it hitting the back of the net but the officials awarded a goal anyway. Two minutes later Hughie Curran of Wolves equalised for Scotland after latching onto a weak back-header by Alan Ball. Jimmy Johnston then briefly threatened to terrorise the England defence with a series of mazy runs down the right wing. Martin Chivers (right) made it 2-1 firing in a shot after some clumsy Scottish defending. The big Tottenham centre forward then lobbed in a third after Alan Ball had robbed Tony Green (see left) in midfield. 
Chivers was denied a hat-trick after a second-half effort was ruled out for offside and Allan Clarke missed an open goal shortly after coming on as substitute. Scotland's manager Bobby Brown, as so often in the past, found his squad depleted by injuries and club demands but the punters were, for once, unsympathetic and the match ended with the Scotland fans in Wembley chanting 'Brown Must Go.' He did, soon afterwards. Alf Ramsey said 'This was not only one of the finest England performances of my time, but one of the best matches I have ever seen.'
328. Did You Know?: Due to the 'still-in-progress' nature of a particularly bloody Civil War, Spain withdrew from the 1938 World Cup qualifying competition.
329. Did You Know?:
Bobby Chalrton scored the deciding goal in the 1966 World Cup semi final against Portgual with a blistering first-time shot having been set-up by Geoff Hurst. The goal was so good that one of his Portuguese opponents decided to shake hands with him as they both trotted back to the centre circle. Ah, those were the days.
330. Did You Know?: Scotland's first appearance in a World Cup final, the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, would set a worrying trend, with the Aberdeen goalkeeper Fred Martin letting in seven goals (without reply) against Uruguay. 'Fred was a great player on his day, but this was not it,' recalled Tommy Docherty, who also played in that tie, in Basel. 'There was a song at the time entitled 'Careless Hands,' and we thought it had been written specially for him. If a bale of hay had blown towards our goalmouth, he would not have got a touch on it.' Martin conceded another seven at Wembley against England the following year.
331. Did You Know?:
Rangers' Stewart Kennedy was another Scottish goalkeeper who had a nightmare at Wembley. In 1975, the hapless Kennedy earned the fifth - and last - of his international caps when he seemed to spend the entire match with his arms wrapped around the goalposts for support, as England guffawed their way to a 5-1 victory. Gerry Francis scored with two thunderbolts, a Kevin Beattie header from a pinpoint Kevin Keegan cross memorably snuck in whilst Kennedy appeared to be trying to stick-the-nut on his post. Colin Bell and David Johnson got the others whilst Bruce Rioch converted a consolation penalty for the Scots. And, even he was English really.
332. Did You Know?: Bertie Mee said to Bill Shankly, 'Have you heard of the North Bank, Highbury?' Bill said 'No, I don't think so. But I've heard of the Gillingham boot boys.' And, that's a true story, kids.
333. Did You Know?: Wales reached the quarter finals of the 1976 European Championships, the only occasion since 1958 that they have been part of a major international finals competitons. Over twenty seven thousand fans packed into Wrexham's The Racecourse Ground in the driving rain to witness a poor match against Austria that clinched qualification. Arfon Griffiths, the thirty four-year-old Wrexham winger scored the winning goal. Having lost the first leg of the quarter final against Yugoslavia 2-0 in Zagreb, Wales began the second match well and might have reduced the arrears several times but they fell further behind after a controversial penalty was awarded against Malcolm Page for what appeared to be very little contact on Danilo Popivoda. Josip Katalinski converted the spot-kick to seemingly kill the tie off. Wales then hit the crossbar, though Brian Flynn was lucky not to receive a red card for retaliation before Ian Evans restored faint Welsh hopes after thirty eight minutes.
The afternoon reached boiling point on the hour when John Toshack appeared to have scored a second goal for Wales after an attempted overhead kick by John Mahoney. But Rudi Glöckner the East German referee disallowed it, presumably because he felt the overhead kick was dangerous. The Welsh fans were incensed, beer cans and other missiles were thrown onto the pitch and whilst Glöckner remonstrated with officials near the tunnel, two fans ran on and grappled with the Yugoslav player Dzemal Hadziabdic. After five minutes, the game restarted in a poisonous atmosphere to chants of 'Seig Heil' whilst a tannoy announcement suggested that the referee had threatened to abandon the game if the missiles continued. Toshack then had another goal disallowed, this time by the linesman. The Welsh won a fortunate late penalty when Maric, Yugoslavia's goalkeeper, brought down Toshack with his legs, but Terry Yorath's tepid kick was easily saved. As the players left the field, another Yugoslavia player was captured by a TV camera hitting a Welsh fan as he walked to the tunnel. Three weeks later, it was announced that UEFA had banned Wales from entering the European Championship until 1982. The Welsh FA appealed against the decision and were eventually successful in reducing the ban to not being allowed to play home matches in Cardiff.
334. Did You Know?: Only two men - Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer - have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager.
335. Did You Know?:
On 6 October 1973, Don Revie wrote in the Leeds United programme for their home game with Stoke City that the forthcoming World Cup could 'turn into a bloodbath' unless the referees 'get a firm grip on the players.' That's a bit rich coming for the manager of that particular 'if it moves kick it, if it doesn't move kick it just in case it tries' team.
336. Did You Know?: The official FIFA World Cup films were often curious affairs. Some are rather charming period pieces - notably 1966's Goal! and 1974's Heading For Glory. Others are just odd. Take 1970's The World At Their Feet.
The action, narrated by doomy-voiced Patrick Allen is, of course, tremendous but the hook of the film isn't so much the footie itself, but a completely pointless side-story about a precocious little brat (played by Everardo Rodriguez) who decides to run away from home to watch the World Cup at the Azteca. At the end, he's reunuited with his mother (Luz María Aguilar) and, instead of being given a thoroughly deserved pants-down hiding a lifetime, he gets a ticket to watch the bloody final. No justice.
337. Did You Know?:
Italian legend Giuseppe Meazza scored over fifty goals during his international career, his forty fifth coming against Brazil in the semi finals of the 1938 World Cup. Famously, Meazza was set to take a penalty against the South Americans when he heard the elastic holding up his shorts snap. Undaunted, Meazza merely held up his shorts with his left hand while scoring from the spot to give Italy a 2-0 lead.
338. Did You Know?: The music selected by the BBC and ITV for their 1974 World Cup coverage reflected the vibrant and jazzy side of the early seventies rather than the gloomy one. The BBC, frankly, went a little bit mental with 'Striker,' which was recorded by The Anthony King Orchestra. It's an extraordinary artefact if you ever get the chance to hear it - a piece of uptempo instrumental music featuring a jazz flute, thundering bongos, a throbbing funky bass-riff that seems to have come straight from the soundtrack of a porn film and a demented screaming guitar solo ripped from the very pages of the Alvin Lee Book of Guitar Histrionics.
ITV, meanwhile, went for a tune that would end up a staple of many people's Saturday afternoons for the next three decades. 'Lap Of Honour,' composed by the former Manfred Mann guitarist Mike Vickers and performed by The London Stadium Orchestra. For many years it was used by the Scottish football radio show Superscoreboard and also by London's Capital Gold radio station.
339. Did You Know?: England started the 1986 World Cup tournament badly with a defeat to a defensive Portugal side and then a truly dreadful 0-0 draw against Morocco. Bobby Robson's plans appeared to be in tatters; his first-choice striking partnership of Gary Lineker and Mark Hateley was firing nothing but blanks and his captain, Bryan Robson - a dubious pick for the squad in the first place due to a season massively disrupted by injury - had fallen over his own feet during the Morocco game and dislocated his shoulder, putting his out of the tournament.
To make matters worse, vice captain Ray Wilkins got himself sent-off for an act of pointless petulance, throwing the ball in the vague direction of the referee in the same game. Needing a win in their final group match against Poland, England were in deep, deep trouble. Before the game, Poland's Zbigniew Boniek stirred the waters by claiming that England had only one world-class player - Robson - and that, without him, they didn't have a chance against the Poles. There is a famous bit of BBC News footage of Bobby Robson at England's hotel the day before the game, leaning over the balony seemingly with his head in his hand in abject despair - actually, he later claimed, he was merely relaxing listening to Frank Sinatra on his Sony Walkman! Forced to make changes, he brought in Steve Hodge, Peter Reid (and His Effing Monkey's Heed), Trevor Steven and, most significantly, Peter Beardsley (in place of the ineffective, lumbering Hateley). Having almost given away daft goals twice in the opening moments (which caused Barry Davies' to become stern and almost schoolmasterly, in his BBC commentary - suggesting that 'England cannot afford to make crass errors') suddenly England found themselves a team. 
After a swift four-man move down the left, Lineker got in front of his marker inside the six yard box to connect with a cross from Gary Stevens. Lineker's second goal was even better and came just five minutes later - Steve Hodge crossing from the left wing after a superb first-time flick from Beardsley and Lineker scored with a half-volley. He duly got his hat-trick before half time after a mistake by the Polish goalkeeper from a corner. A win over Paraguay in the next round took England to Mexico City to meet Maradonna. And his hand.
340. Did You Know?: In 1970, the - fantasically originally-titled - FIFA World Cup Trophy replaced the Jules Rimet Trophy as the ultimate prize in football.
FIFA evaluated a reportedly fifty three designs before finally opting for the work of Italian Silvio Gazzaniga. The trophy is thirty six centimeres high and made of eighteen carat gold. The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: 'The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory.' Or, as Fantasy Football League suggested, a chap's arm, covered in custard and holding a melon.
341. Did You Know?:
Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland lined-up with arguably the best player on the planet during the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. Moreover, George Best was handed a realistic opportunity of making the finals when his country were placed in a three team group with the Soviet Union. With Pat Jennings, Pat Rice, David Craig, Derek Dougan (left) and Terry Neill on hand, good things were expected of the Irish. But having brushed aside Turkey (then, one of the weakest nations in the European qualification round), they could only manage a goalless draw in the group's key match, against the USSR, in Belfast and went on to lose 2-0 in the return match in Moscow.
342. Did You Know?:
To date, seventy six nations have played in at least one World Cup finals. Of these, seven teams have won the cup - Brazil (five times), Italy (right, four times), Germany (three times), Argentina and Uruguay (twice) and France and England (once). The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Hungary have all been runners-up twice.
343. Did You Know?: Now here's an example of irony for you, dear blog reader. The glorious Brazilian side that won the 1970 World Cup did so under the repressive government of a military dictatorship, state imprisonment of radicals and heavy censorship of the press. There had been a military coup d'état in Brazil in 1964 and successive Junta leaders - most notably Generalissimo Emílio Garrastazú Médici (El Presidente from 1969 to 1974) - chose a tie themselves, closely, to the fortunes of the national football side. And, in some cases, even tried to interfere with team selection. It is alleged that shortly before the tournament Médici told then-coach João Saldanha that he wanted a couple of his own favourite players in the team.
Saldanha replied with splendid-but-sackable defiance that he, in turn, had some thoughts about whom El Presidente might like to appoint as ministers. Hence, Mario Zagallo got the gig at the last moment. It is genuinely ironic that the team of Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino and the rest of them, whilst beloved around the world, were blatantly - if unwittingly - used for propoganda purposes by a gang of right-wing thugs running their own country. They may, as Hugh McIlvaney wrote 'have represented the highest point of beauty and sophistication the game is destined to reach' and to have charmed the entire world but, back in their own country, they were distrusted and disliked on general principle by many academics, dissidents and other opponents of the regime, including Aldyr Garcia Schlee, the designer of the Brazilian national strip 'the little canary.'
344. Did You Know?: The 2007 South Pacific Games formed the first stage of the Oceania Football Confederation's qualification tournament for the 2010 World Cup. New Caledonia's captain, Pierre Wajoka scored a ninth minute penalty against Tahiti in the opening fixture of the games, earning him the distinction of being the scorer of the first goal of the 2010 World Cup qualification process. There remained some uncertainty as to what procedure would occur should Tuvalu advance - as they were not members of FIFA.
While no explicit ruling was communicated on this matter, comments in the press release for the OFC Second Stage draw referred to 'nine eligible nations,' suggesting that Tuvalu would not have advanced to the OFC Nations Cup regardless of their performance in the South Pacific Games. Had Tuvalu finished in a medal position, the fourth place team would presumably have qualified for the next round along with the two other medal winners and New Zealand. In the event, Tuvalu's early elimination from the competition put an end to any complications. This was the first time ever that a non-FIFA nation has competed in the World Cup. The closest situation in the past was the case of New Caledonia during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. However, they were at the time in the process of accession to the organisation, and were eliminated from contention for the finals just days before their admission to FIFA.
345. Did You Know?: Twenty four consecutive passes were made by Argentina before midfielder Esteban Cambiasso scored against Serbia and Montenegro during the first round of the 2006 World Cup.
346. Did You Know?:
The Irish FA asked FIFA to allow them entring into the 2010 World Cup as the tournament's thirty third team after Thierry Henry's infamous handball helped France to qualify for the competition at the expense of the Republic of Ireland. Their request was, of course, denied. And rightly so. That way lies anarchy and all sorts of daft malarkey. Mind you, I have to say, I know it may be herectical to voice such a view, but I've never really liked Monsieur Henry very much - not even when it was way-fashionable to do so. Great player, of course, no doubt whatsoever about that. But he always seems, to me anyway, to have a look on a face like he's just smelled shit nearby.
347. Did You Know?: The Great Peruvian Earthquake occurred on 31 May 1970. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru killing over seventy thousand people. On the same day, the World Cup finals were kicking off in Mexico.
Having qualified for their first World Cup since 1930, the Peru team were in León preparing for their opening game against Bulgaria two days later. There were reports that the young team had asked their management if they could go home at this time of national tragedy but that they had been told by their government to stay and play in a bid to boost public morale. Wearing black ribbons on their shirts to symbolise their grief and solidarity with their people, Peru slipped two goal in arrears early in the second half. But, driven on by Teófilo Cubillas, they turned the game around and won 3-2 enthralling the watching millions with their uninhibited and stylish attacking play. They would subsequently qualify for the quarter-final and take part in possibly the game of the tournament with Brazil, losing 4-2 in one of the finest games the World Cup has ever seen.
348. Did You Know?: A feature of many recent England vs Germany matches has been a few choruses of 'There's Only One Bomber Harris' from the skinheads.
This, of course, is a reference to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB, OBE, AFC (1892–1984) and his precision strike against Dresden during injury time of the Intercontinental Genocide Cup (second leg) in 1945. Cheap and vulgar though this sort of thing may be - and, it undoubtedly is - it's perhaps, briefly, worth reflecting on what a very different world of England vs Germany matches we might have known had the outcome of the Intercontinental Genocide Cup (second leg) been different. Sometimes, a bit of sick, dark humour is worthwhile in the name of freedom. Sometimes. And, sometimes it isn't.
349. Did You Know?:
Alf Ramsey's first game in charge of England was in October 1963, a 5-2 defeat by France at the Parc des Princes in a Nations Cup tie. After the game, Ramsey reportedly asked his captain, Jimmy Armfield, if the team always played as badly as this!
350. Did You Know?: In 1995 a study - using graphs and everything - conducted by the Engineering Department at Oxford University concluded that Geoff Hurst's controversial goal for England in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany did not cross the goal-line entirely.
Or, maybe it did. Perhaps we'll never care. Sorry, you guys, but don't you have anything more important to do with your time, talent and resoucres? I mean, remind me, what was the score again?
The one hundredth international match to be played at Wembley took place in March 1975 when Don Revie's new-look England team - in their new-look Admiral strip - faced the World Champions, West Germany, on a wet Wednesday night. The capacity one hundred thousand crowd, however, soon warmed up as Colin Bell, Kevin Keegan, Alan Hudson, Mick Channon and Malcolm MacDonald (left) tore into the Germans, producing countless chances and, eventually winning the game 2-0, thanks to goals by Bell and MacDonald. 
West Germany contained six of the side that had beaten the Netherlands in the World Cup final nine months earlier and, but for the presence of Beckenbauer, Maier and Vogts at the back, the score could have been a lot higher. They, like England, had a new-look up front, however. With Gerd Muller now gone from international football and Uli Hoesness injured, the Kickers Offenbach partnership of Manfred Ritschel and Erwin Kostedde both made their debuts for the national side. 
Kostedde (right), the son of an American GI, was the first black player to represent West Germany. He won just two international caps during a period when the racism to which he was frequently subjected was at its worst. In his two years at Borussia Dortmund he played fewer games than would be expected. This was because it proved impossible to play him in many home matches due mainly to the vile racial insults of some Dortmund's fans towards him.302. Did You Know?:
Fulham fans of a certain age still recall the acute embarrassment they used to feel when, with the Cottagers going through a bad run, calls for the dismissal of their manager - Alan Dicks - essentially consisted of fans on the terraces chanting 'Dicks out.' They should think themselves lucky, at Newcastle we had Arthur Cox. Anyway ...303. Did You Know?: In his book Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, David Winner tells a wonderful - if probably apocryphal - story about Wim van Hanegem.
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During the summer of 1975 the influential Dutch midfielder was offered the opportunity to leave his beloved Feyenoord for pastures new at France's Olympique Marseille. Unable to decide what to do, he and his wife, Truus, his best friend (and international team-mate) Wim Jansen and Jansen's wife headed off for a picnic on a remote beech. Together, they debated the proposed transfer, its financial - as well as football - implications and whether it would make Wim and Truus happy to live in another country. At the end of the picnic, van Hanegem asked for a show of hands. Two votes to stay, two to go. He then, allegedly, turned to the family dog and said 'we can't decide it's up to you.' For several minutes the dog and van Hanegem stared at each other. 'Okay,' said van Hanegem eventually, 'he doesn't want to go. We're staying!'304. Did You Know?: Uruguay's Alcides Ghiggia was just twenty three when he scored the winning goal against Brazil in the 1950 World Cup decider at Rio's Maracana Stadium. Years later, Ghiggia famously said: 'Only three people have ever silenced two hundred thousand people at the Maracana with a single gesture: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and me!'
305. Did You Know?:
Paolo Maldini's international career for Italy lasted over fourteen years and one hundred and twenty six games for his country. By the time of his last game for the Azzurri in 2002 he had played in four world cup finals tournaments. Remarkably, his career for AC Milan would go on for another seven years, Paolo finally retiring in 2009 a month before his forty first birthday.306. Did You Know?:
On 30 May 1968 a largely experimental Scotland side faced the Netherlands in Amersterdam. The game ended goalless which was ironic considering the quality and flair contained in both sides. But, whilst Wim Jansen, Wim van Hanegem and Rob Rensenbrick would, six years later, be playing in a World Cup final for two of Scotland's most naturally gifted players - Chelsea's Charlie Cooke (right) and Aberdeen's Jimmy Smith (left) it would be the beginning of short and, many feel, frustratingly unfulfilled international careers. The dazzling Cooke, the darling of the King's Road and whose down-the-disco moustache was one of the genuine football icons of the early 1970s, was playing for the sixth time for Scotland that night. 
He would make just another ten appearances over the next seven years for his country a victim of both his own inconsistency and successive managers' impatience with wayward genius. For Smith it would be even worse. Transferred to Newcastle shortly afterwards, he found the pace of the First Division difficult to cope with and, although he eventually became a genuine cult figure on Tyneside in the same way that Cooke was in London, it would not be until late 1973 before he pulled on the blue shirt of Scotland again, in 1-1 draw with West Germany. T
wo further caps in 1974 seemed scant reward for a talent such as his. This was, of course, an era of many glorious, wild, enigmatic tanna-baal players in Scotland's midfield. Jimmy McCalliog, Willie Carr (see right), Alex Cropley, Jim Bone, Asa Hartford and George Graham all briefly flowered and then found themselves cast aside in the search of dependability at the expense of maverick individuality.307. Did You Know?: Australia's first attempt to qualify for the World Cup finals was in 1965. The country hadn't played an international match since 1958 (a 2-2 draw with neighbours New Zealand). Drawn to play North Korea in a two-legged play-off the winner would take the final qualifying position in England the following year. The Australian preparation consisted of four weeks training in Cairns but only one practice match - against local side, Ingham. Johnny Warren described the culture shock faced by the Australians on their first visit to Asia. 'It was like landing on another planet.' The Australian squad contained seven Scots, five Englishmen and just six actual Australians. The coach was Tiko Jelisavcic from Yugoslavia who was player-coach at the Hakoah club in Sydney.
None of the players from overseas had established themselves at the highest level, though some had experience with good club sides - full back Stan Ackerley had once been on Manchester United's books, for instance. Both goalkeepers in the squad, John Roberts and Bill Rorke were Australians and Roberts would subsequently be the only one of that generation of Australian players to go the other way and establish himself in English football - with Blackburn Rovers, Chesterfield, Bradford City and Southend United. Les Scheinflug (see left), Geoff Sleight, Archie Blue and John Watkiss were also among the team. Scheinflug, who would become Rale Rasic's assistant manager during the successful 1974 World Cup qualifying campaign, was the captain. He scored in both matches against the Koreans but, perhaps inevitably, the amateur Aussies were beaten 6-1 and 3-1.308. Did You Know?: In the first World Cup final, in 1930, due to a dispute - about God only knows what to be honest - a different ball was used in each half, one chosen by each team. Argentina's ball was used for the first half, and Uruguay's ball was used for the second half. After the game, both of the teams took their respective balls and, err, went home.
309. Did You Know?: One of the fiercest rivalries in world football exists between Barçalona and Real Madrid in an annual fixture known as El Clásico. The clubs are, of course, representatives of two rival regions in Spain - Catalonia and Castile - as well as of the two cities themselves.
The rivalry also projects what many regard as the political and other tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians. During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939–1975), all regional Spanish cultures - like the Catalans and the Basques - were openly suppressed and all of the languages spoken in Spanish territory, except Castilian itself, were officially banned. Symbolising the indigenous people's desires for freedom, Barça and the Neu Camp, became 'more than a club' for Catalans (and, indeed, for many Spaniards opposed to the right-wing Franco regime). According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the best way for the Catalans' to demonstrate their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement and allowed them to express their dissidence openly. 
By contrast, Real was widely seen as the embodiment of the sovereign oppressive centralism of the fascist regime (Santiago Bernabeu, the then-club president for whom the Merengues' stadium is named, undeniably did fight with the Los Nacionales during the Spanish Civil War). It must, however, be remembered that during the war itself, members of both clubs like Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra suffered at the hands of Franco supporters. In Phil Ball's excellent 2001 book on the history of Spanish football, Morbo, the writer believes that 'Despite the claims of both supporters and opponents, Franco's role in Real Madrid's success has probably been exaggerated. The club are tiresomely referred to as "Franco's pet team", rather as if he was given to wearing a white shirt - rather than a black one - at weekends. Franco certainly benefitted from Real Madrid's success but the club only got a few tidbits in return.'310. Did You Know?: Togo, after several rows about appearance money and the general dislike among the camp of their star player, Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal, exited their first World Cup finals - in 2006 - without a point and having scored only one goal. Mohamed Kader got it during their 2-1 defeat to South Korea.
311. Did You Know?: The first World Cup was the only one without any qualification groups. Every country affiliated to FIFA was invited to compete, and given a deadline of 28 February 1930 to accept.
Plenty of interest was shown by nations in the Americas; Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and the United States all entered straight away. However, due to the costly trip across the Atlantic and the length of absence required for players, very few European teams were inclined to take part and no European entries were received before the February deadline. In an attempt to gain some European participation, the Uruguayan Football Association sent a letter of invitation to The Football Association, even though the Home Nations were not members of FIFA at the time. This was rejected by the FA Committee on 18 November 1929. FIFA president Jules Rimet intervened, and eventually four European teams made the trip by sea: Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia. The Romanians, managed by Costel Radulescu and coached by their captain Rudolf Wetzer and Octav Luchide, entered the competition following the intervention of the newly crowned King Carol II. He selected the squad personally, and negotiated with their employers to ensure that the players would still have jobs upon their return from South America.312. Did You Know?:
Bobby Robson once claimed that if the World Cup had been played in 1961 rather than 1962, then England would have been World Champions rather than Brazil. On 15 April Scotland suffered the most humiliating defeat in their history against the auld enemy when England crushed them 9-3 at Wembley. Celtic's Frank Haffey, called in because of injuries to two other goalkeepers, had a nightmare, but this should not take away from the brilliance of the England performance. It was a strong Scottish side as well - including Denis Law, Dave Mackay and Ian St John - which came to Wembley for what was the decider in the Home International Championship. 
Jimmy Greaves had an outstanding game, scoring a hat-trick, whilst his future Spurs team-mate Bobby Smith got two. Robson himself and Bryan Douglas scored a goal apiece. And, Fulham's Johnny Haynes (right) tore the Scottish defence to shreds with his devastating passing and also scored twice. Greaves later declared: 'Johnny controlled the slaughter that day, pulling the Scottish defence apart with a procession of precision passes that created countless openings for his team-mates.'313. Did You Know?: Pele's goal in the 1970 World Cup final against Italy was Brazil's one hundredth in the history of the competition.
314. Did You Know?: Stade de Reims' Just Fontaine, the legendary French striker scored thirteen goals in 1958, a World Cup record. He stands third on the all-time World Cup scoring list, despite having only appeared in one finals tournament.
France could only manage third place in 1958, after being thrashed 5-2 by Brazil in the semi-finals. Fontaine scored a hat-trick in France's first group game against Paraguay, twice against Yugoslavia and once against Scotland. He went on to score in every game France played in during the 1958 World Cup, twice more in the quarter-finals against Northern Ireland, once in the semi-final loss to Brazil and four times in the third-place victory against West Germany. Many of these were set up for him by the stunning ball skills of his former Reims team-mate, Raymond Kopa, by then playing for Real Madrid.315. Did You Know?:
Before we get too carried away at the national tragedy that befell England in their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals, let's take a brief moment to reflect on some of the players used by Graham Taylor during the failed campaign. Those who would, most likely, have formed the basis for the squad in the event that they had qualified: Carlton Palmer, Keith Curle, Neil Webb, Ian Wright, Andy Sinton, Martin Keown, Alan Smith, Geoff Thomas, David Bardsley, Brian Deane, Nigel Winterburn, Chris Woods. I dunno about you, dear blog reader, but I'd quite like to thank Mssrs Koeman and Assenmacher. You did us - and the world - it would seem one hell of a favour.316. Did You Know?: The first African nation to appear in the finals were Egypt, in 1934.
317. Did You Know?: In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, sixteen teams competed. Except in 1938, when Austria - who had qualified - was absorbed into Germany following the Anschluss, leaving the tournament with fifteen teams.
And, in 1950, when India, Scotland and Turkey all withdrew, leaving the tournament with only thirteen teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with only a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside the game's traditional power-bases to advance beyond of the first round were: USA, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; North Korea, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970.318. Did You Know?: George Robledo was born in Iquique, Chile to a Chilean father and an English mother. He emigrated with his family to Brampton, Yorkshire in 1932, at the age of five. George started his footballing career as a striker at Huddersfield, playing as an amateur whilst working as a miner.
He moved to second division Barnsley during World War II and then to Newcastle United in 1949 along with his younger brother, Ted. During his five years at St James Park he would win two FA Cup winners medals, scoring the only goal in the 1952 final against Arsenal. In all he scored ninety one goals in one hundred and sixty six appearances for the Magpies and formed a fearsome goalscoring partnership with Jackie Milburn and Bobby Mitchell. Chile recruited Robledo for the 1950 World Cup, even though he spoke virtually no Spanish. He made his debut in the opening group game against England (one of his opponents reputedly warned him after he'd hit the post 'steady, George, you're not playing for Newcastle now, you know!') and he scored in Chile's subsequent 5-2 victory over the USA.319. Did You Know?:
The 1973 World Cup qualifier against a Czech team whose tactics brought chants of 'Animals' from the Hampden terraces is remembered mainly for the header by twenty one-year-old Joe Jordan that took Scotland to West Germany. But, at the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Ally Hunter (see left) had a disaster. There seemed little to worry about when Zdenek Nehoda tried his luck from thirty five yards, but Hunter somehow let it slip through his fingers and into the net. He never played for his country again.320. Did You Know?: Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia was recognised by FIFA in 1992 when they entered the world rankings at a lowly one hundred and twenty fifth place. It didn't take them long to climb an awful lot higher. Goran Vlaovic scored the team's first goal at a major tournament, a late winner against Turkey at the City Ground during Euro '96.
After their opening victory, Croatia went on to beat the reigning champions Denmark 3–0, a match in which striker Davor Šuker (see right) scored with an exquisite lob over Peter Schmichael that put a smile on pretty much everyone's face. Except possibly Schmichael's. So, what else is new? Croatia reached the knockout stages, where they were beaten by eventual champions Germany in the quarter finals. Miroslav Blaževic remained as manager during Croatia's 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, which ended, successfully, with victory over Ukraine in the play-offs. In the group stage of the World Cup, Croatia beat Jamaica and Japan but lost to Argentina, before defeating Romania to reach a quarter final tie against the Germans. Though regarded as underdogs, Croatia promptly won 3–0, with goals from Robert Jarni, Goran Vlaovic and Šuker after Christian Wörns was sent-off. Croatia then faced the host nation, France, in the semi-final: after a goalless first-half, the Croats took the lead, only to concede two goals by Lilian Thuram. Šuker won the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in the tournament.321. Did You Know?:
The worst moment of Lev Yashin's in a glittering career came in the 1962 World Cup finals. In a first round game against Colombia, which the Soviet Union were leading 4-1, Yashin let-in three soft goals, including one from Marcos Coll directly from a corner (the first and only instance of such a goal being scored in World Cup finals history). The game finished in a 4-4 draw, which led the French newspaper l'Equipe to predict the end of Yashin's career. But he would bounce back to win the Ballon d'Or the following year, and to lead the Soviet team to its best showing at the 1966 Wold Cup, a fourth place finish.322. Did You Know?: For Dave Bowen's Wales, the 1970 World Cup qualifiers proved to be a - literally - pointless exercise, losing all four of their group games to Italy and East Germany.
Their best performance came against the Italians at Ninian Park in October 1968 where they lost narrowly to a late Gigi Riva goal. The Italian forwards had, for the most part, been kept quiet all night by Dave Powell and Ollie Burton whilst, at the other end Ron and Wyn The Leap Davies (no relation, see right) gave the meanest defence in Europe a torrid time. Sadly, the return game, in Rome thirteen months later, was to be a chastening experience for the Welsh, losing 4-1 as Riva and Sandro Mazzola tore them apart. Tottenham's Mike England scored the Welsh consolation goal.323. Did You Know?: The national team of the People's Republic of China played their first international match in a friendly against Finland in August 1952.
For the majority of the next thirty years, the team played only friendly matches against those nations which recognised the PRC, such as Albania, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, North Korea, North Vietnam, and Sudan. China also played, once, in the World Cup qualifying rounds, in 1958. The national team began to make their way to national and international prominence in the late-80s through the mass introduction of televisions in Chinese households. During the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, China were on the verge of qualifying, but lost crucial matches at home, to Qatar and Iran. Under the direction of a new head coach, Bora Milutinovic, the nation finally advanced to the World Cup finals in 2002 to much rejoicing. Unfortunately, the team failed to score a single goal when they got there, losing all three group matches.324. Did You Know?:
After Berti Vogts' Scotland drew 2-2 with the Faroe Islands in a 2002 European Championship qualifier one national radio phone-in show received a call from a chap who complained that this was the single most embarrassing night in the nation's history and that something must be done about it. 'The whole country feels it, we couldn't even beat the worst team in world football,' he concluded. The host wondered if that wasn't, perhaps, a bit of an over-statement. 'No,' replied the caller, 'if you can't beat Scotland then you know you really are in trouble. And everyone in the Faroes knows that.'325. Did You Know?: The Asia and Oceania qualifying groups were combined for the 1970 World Cup, meaning that over the course of two months in late 1969, Australia found themselves playing matches on four different continents.
Firsly they won a group containing South Korea and Japan with all of the matches played in Seoul during October. They then faced first-time participants Rhodesia over three gruelling games in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique in November. And, having eventually won that, after a replay, they faced a two-legged play-off with Israel, who had beaten New Zealand in another play-off, beginning just a week later. Israel won 1-0 in Tel-a-viv, whilst the game in Syndey was drawn meaning that, despite clocking up almost twenty five thousand air miles, the Aussies had missed out yet again.326. Did You Know?: Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio. During his ninety two internationals, Brazil's record was sixty seven wins, fourteen draws and just eleven defeats.
327. Did You Know?:
Wembley 1971, England against Scotland. Martin Peters opened the scoring goal after a frenetic nine minutes despite the ball appearing not to cross the line. Scottish defender John Greig clearly handled prevent it hitting the back of the net but the officials awarded a goal anyway. Two minutes later Hughie Curran of Wolves equalised for Scotland after latching onto a weak back-header by Alan Ball. Jimmy Johnston then briefly threatened to terrorise the England defence with a series of mazy runs down the right wing. Martin Chivers (right) made it 2-1 firing in a shot after some clumsy Scottish defending. The big Tottenham centre forward then lobbed in a third after Alan Ball had robbed Tony Green (see left) in midfield. 
Chivers was denied a hat-trick after a second-half effort was ruled out for offside and Allan Clarke missed an open goal shortly after coming on as substitute. Scotland's manager Bobby Brown, as so often in the past, found his squad depleted by injuries and club demands but the punters were, for once, unsympathetic and the match ended with the Scotland fans in Wembley chanting 'Brown Must Go.' He did, soon afterwards. Alf Ramsey said 'This was not only one of the finest England performances of my time, but one of the best matches I have ever seen.'328. Did You Know?: Due to the 'still-in-progress' nature of a particularly bloody Civil War, Spain withdrew from the 1938 World Cup qualifying competition.
329. Did You Know?:
Bobby Chalrton scored the deciding goal in the 1966 World Cup semi final against Portgual with a blistering first-time shot having been set-up by Geoff Hurst. The goal was so good that one of his Portuguese opponents decided to shake hands with him as they both trotted back to the centre circle. Ah, those were the days.330. Did You Know?: Scotland's first appearance in a World Cup final, the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, would set a worrying trend, with the Aberdeen goalkeeper Fred Martin letting in seven goals (without reply) against Uruguay. 'Fred was a great player on his day, but this was not it,' recalled Tommy Docherty, who also played in that tie, in Basel. 'There was a song at the time entitled 'Careless Hands,' and we thought it had been written specially for him. If a bale of hay had blown towards our goalmouth, he would not have got a touch on it.' Martin conceded another seven at Wembley against England the following year.
331. Did You Know?:
Rangers' Stewart Kennedy was another Scottish goalkeeper who had a nightmare at Wembley. In 1975, the hapless Kennedy earned the fifth - and last - of his international caps when he seemed to spend the entire match with his arms wrapped around the goalposts for support, as England guffawed their way to a 5-1 victory. Gerry Francis scored with two thunderbolts, a Kevin Beattie header from a pinpoint Kevin Keegan cross memorably snuck in whilst Kennedy appeared to be trying to stick-the-nut on his post. Colin Bell and David Johnson got the others whilst Bruce Rioch converted a consolation penalty for the Scots. And, even he was English really.332. Did You Know?: Bertie Mee said to Bill Shankly, 'Have you heard of the North Bank, Highbury?' Bill said 'No, I don't think so. But I've heard of the Gillingham boot boys.' And, that's a true story, kids.
333. Did You Know?: Wales reached the quarter finals of the 1976 European Championships, the only occasion since 1958 that they have been part of a major international finals competitons. Over twenty seven thousand fans packed into Wrexham's The Racecourse Ground in the driving rain to witness a poor match against Austria that clinched qualification. Arfon Griffiths, the thirty four-year-old Wrexham winger scored the winning goal. Having lost the first leg of the quarter final against Yugoslavia 2-0 in Zagreb, Wales began the second match well and might have reduced the arrears several times but they fell further behind after a controversial penalty was awarded against Malcolm Page for what appeared to be very little contact on Danilo Popivoda. Josip Katalinski converted the spot-kick to seemingly kill the tie off. Wales then hit the crossbar, though Brian Flynn was lucky not to receive a red card for retaliation before Ian Evans restored faint Welsh hopes after thirty eight minutes.
The afternoon reached boiling point on the hour when John Toshack appeared to have scored a second goal for Wales after an attempted overhead kick by John Mahoney. But Rudi Glöckner the East German referee disallowed it, presumably because he felt the overhead kick was dangerous. The Welsh fans were incensed, beer cans and other missiles were thrown onto the pitch and whilst Glöckner remonstrated with officials near the tunnel, two fans ran on and grappled with the Yugoslav player Dzemal Hadziabdic. After five minutes, the game restarted in a poisonous atmosphere to chants of 'Seig Heil' whilst a tannoy announcement suggested that the referee had threatened to abandon the game if the missiles continued. Toshack then had another goal disallowed, this time by the linesman. The Welsh won a fortunate late penalty when Maric, Yugoslavia's goalkeeper, brought down Toshack with his legs, but Terry Yorath's tepid kick was easily saved. As the players left the field, another Yugoslavia player was captured by a TV camera hitting a Welsh fan as he walked to the tunnel. Three weeks later, it was announced that UEFA had banned Wales from entering the European Championship until 1982. The Welsh FA appealed against the decision and were eventually successful in reducing the ban to not being allowed to play home matches in Cardiff.334. Did You Know?: Only two men - Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer - have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager.
335. Did You Know?:
On 6 October 1973, Don Revie wrote in the Leeds United programme for their home game with Stoke City that the forthcoming World Cup could 'turn into a bloodbath' unless the referees 'get a firm grip on the players.' That's a bit rich coming for the manager of that particular 'if it moves kick it, if it doesn't move kick it just in case it tries' team.336. Did You Know?: The official FIFA World Cup films were often curious affairs. Some are rather charming period pieces - notably 1966's Goal! and 1974's Heading For Glory. Others are just odd. Take 1970's The World At Their Feet.
The action, narrated by doomy-voiced Patrick Allen is, of course, tremendous but the hook of the film isn't so much the footie itself, but a completely pointless side-story about a precocious little brat (played by Everardo Rodriguez) who decides to run away from home to watch the World Cup at the Azteca. At the end, he's reunuited with his mother (Luz María Aguilar) and, instead of being given a thoroughly deserved pants-down hiding a lifetime, he gets a ticket to watch the bloody final. No justice.337. Did You Know?:
Italian legend Giuseppe Meazza scored over fifty goals during his international career, his forty fifth coming against Brazil in the semi finals of the 1938 World Cup. Famously, Meazza was set to take a penalty against the South Americans when he heard the elastic holding up his shorts snap. Undaunted, Meazza merely held up his shorts with his left hand while scoring from the spot to give Italy a 2-0 lead.338. Did You Know?: The music selected by the BBC and ITV for their 1974 World Cup coverage reflected the vibrant and jazzy side of the early seventies rather than the gloomy one. The BBC, frankly, went a little bit mental with 'Striker,' which was recorded by The Anthony King Orchestra. It's an extraordinary artefact if you ever get the chance to hear it - a piece of uptempo instrumental music featuring a jazz flute, thundering bongos, a throbbing funky bass-riff that seems to have come straight from the soundtrack of a porn film and a demented screaming guitar solo ripped from the very pages of the Alvin Lee Book of Guitar Histrionics.
ITV, meanwhile, went for a tune that would end up a staple of many people's Saturday afternoons for the next three decades. 'Lap Of Honour,' composed by the former Manfred Mann guitarist Mike Vickers and performed by The London Stadium Orchestra. For many years it was used by the Scottish football radio show Superscoreboard and also by London's Capital Gold radio station.339. Did You Know?: England started the 1986 World Cup tournament badly with a defeat to a defensive Portugal side and then a truly dreadful 0-0 draw against Morocco. Bobby Robson's plans appeared to be in tatters; his first-choice striking partnership of Gary Lineker and Mark Hateley was firing nothing but blanks and his captain, Bryan Robson - a dubious pick for the squad in the first place due to a season massively disrupted by injury - had fallen over his own feet during the Morocco game and dislocated his shoulder, putting his out of the tournament.
To make matters worse, vice captain Ray Wilkins got himself sent-off for an act of pointless petulance, throwing the ball in the vague direction of the referee in the same game. Needing a win in their final group match against Poland, England were in deep, deep trouble. Before the game, Poland's Zbigniew Boniek stirred the waters by claiming that England had only one world-class player - Robson - and that, without him, they didn't have a chance against the Poles. There is a famous bit of BBC News footage of Bobby Robson at England's hotel the day before the game, leaning over the balony seemingly with his head in his hand in abject despair - actually, he later claimed, he was merely relaxing listening to Frank Sinatra on his Sony Walkman! Forced to make changes, he brought in Steve Hodge, Peter Reid (and His Effing Monkey's Heed), Trevor Steven and, most significantly, Peter Beardsley (in place of the ineffective, lumbering Hateley). Having almost given away daft goals twice in the opening moments (which caused Barry Davies' to become stern and almost schoolmasterly, in his BBC commentary - suggesting that 'England cannot afford to make crass errors') suddenly England found themselves a team. 
After a swift four-man move down the left, Lineker got in front of his marker inside the six yard box to connect with a cross from Gary Stevens. Lineker's second goal was even better and came just five minutes later - Steve Hodge crossing from the left wing after a superb first-time flick from Beardsley and Lineker scored with a half-volley. He duly got his hat-trick before half time after a mistake by the Polish goalkeeper from a corner. A win over Paraguay in the next round took England to Mexico City to meet Maradonna. And his hand.340. Did You Know?: In 1970, the - fantasically originally-titled - FIFA World Cup Trophy replaced the Jules Rimet Trophy as the ultimate prize in football.
FIFA evaluated a reportedly fifty three designs before finally opting for the work of Italian Silvio Gazzaniga. The trophy is thirty six centimeres high and made of eighteen carat gold. The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: 'The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory.' Or, as Fantasy Football League suggested, a chap's arm, covered in custard and holding a melon.341. Did You Know?:
Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland lined-up with arguably the best player on the planet during the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. Moreover, George Best was handed a realistic opportunity of making the finals when his country were placed in a three team group with the Soviet Union. With Pat Jennings, Pat Rice, David Craig, Derek Dougan (left) and Terry Neill on hand, good things were expected of the Irish. But having brushed aside Turkey (then, one of the weakest nations in the European qualification round), they could only manage a goalless draw in the group's key match, against the USSR, in Belfast and went on to lose 2-0 in the return match in Moscow.342. Did You Know?:
To date, seventy six nations have played in at least one World Cup finals. Of these, seven teams have won the cup - Brazil (five times), Italy (right, four times), Germany (three times), Argentina and Uruguay (twice) and France and England (once). The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and Hungary have all been runners-up twice.343. Did You Know?: Now here's an example of irony for you, dear blog reader. The glorious Brazilian side that won the 1970 World Cup did so under the repressive government of a military dictatorship, state imprisonment of radicals and heavy censorship of the press. There had been a military coup d'état in Brazil in 1964 and successive Junta leaders - most notably Generalissimo Emílio Garrastazú Médici (El Presidente from 1969 to 1974) - chose a tie themselves, closely, to the fortunes of the national football side. And, in some cases, even tried to interfere with team selection. It is alleged that shortly before the tournament Médici told then-coach João Saldanha that he wanted a couple of his own favourite players in the team.
Saldanha replied with splendid-but-sackable defiance that he, in turn, had some thoughts about whom El Presidente might like to appoint as ministers. Hence, Mario Zagallo got the gig at the last moment. It is genuinely ironic that the team of Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino and the rest of them, whilst beloved around the world, were blatantly - if unwittingly - used for propoganda purposes by a gang of right-wing thugs running their own country. They may, as Hugh McIlvaney wrote 'have represented the highest point of beauty and sophistication the game is destined to reach' and to have charmed the entire world but, back in their own country, they were distrusted and disliked on general principle by many academics, dissidents and other opponents of the regime, including Aldyr Garcia Schlee, the designer of the Brazilian national strip 'the little canary.'344. Did You Know?: The 2007 South Pacific Games formed the first stage of the Oceania Football Confederation's qualification tournament for the 2010 World Cup. New Caledonia's captain, Pierre Wajoka scored a ninth minute penalty against Tahiti in the opening fixture of the games, earning him the distinction of being the scorer of the first goal of the 2010 World Cup qualification process. There remained some uncertainty as to what procedure would occur should Tuvalu advance - as they were not members of FIFA.
While no explicit ruling was communicated on this matter, comments in the press release for the OFC Second Stage draw referred to 'nine eligible nations,' suggesting that Tuvalu would not have advanced to the OFC Nations Cup regardless of their performance in the South Pacific Games. Had Tuvalu finished in a medal position, the fourth place team would presumably have qualified for the next round along with the two other medal winners and New Zealand. In the event, Tuvalu's early elimination from the competition put an end to any complications. This was the first time ever that a non-FIFA nation has competed in the World Cup. The closest situation in the past was the case of New Caledonia during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. However, they were at the time in the process of accession to the organisation, and were eliminated from contention for the finals just days before their admission to FIFA.345. Did You Know?: Twenty four consecutive passes were made by Argentina before midfielder Esteban Cambiasso scored against Serbia and Montenegro during the first round of the 2006 World Cup.
346. Did You Know?:
The Irish FA asked FIFA to allow them entring into the 2010 World Cup as the tournament's thirty third team after Thierry Henry's infamous handball helped France to qualify for the competition at the expense of the Republic of Ireland. Their request was, of course, denied. And rightly so. That way lies anarchy and all sorts of daft malarkey. Mind you, I have to say, I know it may be herectical to voice such a view, but I've never really liked Monsieur Henry very much - not even when it was way-fashionable to do so. Great player, of course, no doubt whatsoever about that. But he always seems, to me anyway, to have a look on a face like he's just smelled shit nearby.347. Did You Know?: The Great Peruvian Earthquake occurred on 31 May 1970. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru killing over seventy thousand people. On the same day, the World Cup finals were kicking off in Mexico.
Having qualified for their first World Cup since 1930, the Peru team were in León preparing for their opening game against Bulgaria two days later. There were reports that the young team had asked their management if they could go home at this time of national tragedy but that they had been told by their government to stay and play in a bid to boost public morale. Wearing black ribbons on their shirts to symbolise their grief and solidarity with their people, Peru slipped two goal in arrears early in the second half. But, driven on by Teófilo Cubillas, they turned the game around and won 3-2 enthralling the watching millions with their uninhibited and stylish attacking play. They would subsequently qualify for the quarter-final and take part in possibly the game of the tournament with Brazil, losing 4-2 in one of the finest games the World Cup has ever seen.348. Did You Know?: A feature of many recent England vs Germany matches has been a few choruses of 'There's Only One Bomber Harris' from the skinheads.
This, of course, is a reference to Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB, OBE, AFC (1892–1984) and his precision strike against Dresden during injury time of the Intercontinental Genocide Cup (second leg) in 1945. Cheap and vulgar though this sort of thing may be - and, it undoubtedly is - it's perhaps, briefly, worth reflecting on what a very different world of England vs Germany matches we might have known had the outcome of the Intercontinental Genocide Cup (second leg) been different. Sometimes, a bit of sick, dark humour is worthwhile in the name of freedom. Sometimes. And, sometimes it isn't.349. Did You Know?:
Alf Ramsey's first game in charge of England was in October 1963, a 5-2 defeat by France at the Parc des Princes in a Nations Cup tie. After the game, Ramsey reportedly asked his captain, Jimmy Armfield, if the team always played as badly as this!350. Did You Know?: In 1995 a study - using graphs and everything - conducted by the Engineering Department at Oxford University concluded that Geoff Hurst's controversial goal for England in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany did not cross the goal-line entirely.
Or, maybe it did. Perhaps we'll never care. Sorry, you guys, but don't you have anything more important to do with your time, talent and resoucres? I mean, remind me, what was the score again?
