351. Did You Know?: 
Long before he became the potential saviour of England football, Fabio Capello was a tricky, dangerous wide-right midfielder with AS Roma and Juventus who had a habit of scoring goals at vital times. He was good enough to play on thirty two occasions for Italy during an era when they weren't short of quality midfield players - scoring eight goals. He is particularly well-remembered for the goal with which Italy beat England 1-0 at Wembley for the first time in their history in November 1973 which Capello, himself, regarded as the highlight of his playing career. He also scored in a 2-0 victory for Italy against England earlier in the same year, in Turin. Although he was clearly offside when he got that one. One of Italy's few successes during their disappointing 1974 World Cup campaign, he played his last match for the Azzurri two years later.
352. Did You Know?: Virtual open warfare broke out at the 2002 World Cup between FIFA and their own referees, fuelled by dark mutterings of conspiracy from the vanquished Italy and Spain. FIFA admitted that 'major refereeing mistakes' have been made and the president, that buffoon Sepp Blatter, infuriated match officials by publicly calling them 'a disgrace.' FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper was marginally more tactful, saying: 'There have been one or two major mistakes which are a cause for concern.
But referees are only human and errors can never be entirely discounted. Conspiracy theories crop up in all walks of life and in ninety nine per cent of the cases they are unfounded. This is one of the ninety nine per cent.' It was, however, that dickhead Blatter whom the referees saw as a publicity-hungry traitor after he publicly ridiculed them. Controversial decisions made in favour of co-hosts South Korea had brought the biggest outcry, with FIFA admitting that four hundred thousand 'hateful e-mails' were received from Italy - so great a number, indeed, that their computer crashed. Some were said to be death threats made against the Ecuadorian referee, Byron Moreno, who sent-off Francesco Totti for diving. 'If the Italians are talking about bribes, it's probably because they're accustomed to using them,' said Morena angrily. And, admittedly, quite accurately. Egyptian referee Gamal Ghandour was also heavily criticised by Spain after chalking off two - seemingly perfectly legal - goals. Angel Maria Villar, president of the Spanish football federation, said that he would resign from the referees' commission in protest. Which is all a bit 'we're taking our ball and going home,' for my liking. To be fair, both countries did have something valid to complain about but, then, so did England in 1986 with Maradona's handball and it's not as if we've spent the last twenty odd years going on, and on, and on ... oh. Hang on. We have.
353. Did You Know?: During England's victory in a friendly with Mexico at Wembley in 2010, BBC Radio 5 Live's Mike Ingham dismissed suggestions that England might have problems in the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa. 'Forget all this nonsense about playing at altitude,' he noted. 'Peter Crouch plays at altitude in every match!'
354. Did You Know?: Just hours after Algeria had beaten West Germany in the 1982 World Cup, as if one shock wasn't enough for the day, another followed immediately.
The hosts, Spain, played their opening game in Valenica, with King Juan Carlos watching from the stands, and were promptly held to a 1-1 draw by first-time qualifiers Honduras after the Central Americans had been in front for almost an hour. Héctor Zelaya gave Honduras a shock lead in the eighth minute with an angled shot following a one-two on the edge of the area. Julio Cesar Arzu, the Honduras goalkeeper, and their enormous centre half, Anthony Costly, both played superbly and it took a somewhat dubious penalty to get Spain back into the game - awarded, by the Argentine referee, after a challenge on a Spanish player not posing any immediate threat. López Ufarte took the spot kick, Arzu guessed the right way but couldn't quite reach it. ITV Panelist Jimmy Greaves commented after the game 'We knew the referee had to give it. In the end he would have given a penalty against the goalkeeper for handball!' Ah, Greavsie - with wit like that you could've had your own show. Oh, hang, you did. What happened to it?
355. Did You Know?:
Northern Ireland scored a famous victory over England at Wembley in the 1972 Home International Championship. Alf Ramsey had given Colin Todd and Tony Currie their debuts in a largely experimental side. One which, for the first time since 1966, didn't include any member of the World Cup winning team - although Martin Peters did appear as a second-half substitute. Terry Neill netted the only goal after thirty three minutes from Danny Hogan's corner to give Northern Ireland their first win against England since 1957.
356. Did You Know?: When Italy play Peru, it's usually a question of who is going to burst into tears first. When they met in a first round match in 1982, the Italians quickly took the lead - Bruno Conti losing his marker with a quick turn and picking his spot with a fine strike into the top corner. They then pulled the usual Italian trick of trying to hang onto a 1-0 lead. Oddly, for once, they failed. Having peppered Dino Zoff's goal for the majority of the second half - substitute Guillermo La Rosa, in particular, missing a sitter - the equaliser for Peru finally came seven minutes from time. The ball was laid from a free kick for Rubén Toribio Díaz to strike a low - and seemingly weak - effort at goal. The ball took a wicked deflection off Collovati and rolled into the net. Italy manager Enso Bearzot admitted afterwards that 'Peru deserved to win.' The highlight of the match, however, and one that still regularly crops up on all those never-ending Own Goals and Gaffs tapes was a comedic incident midway through the first half.
The tall and ungainly West German referee, Herr Eschweiler, collided with Peru's Jose Velásquez having, apparently, believed that the on-rushing Peruvian could run between his legs. He was knocked to the ground with his arse in the air - losing his cards in the process. The Spanish TV director, who was obviously a big fan of slapstick, deemed it worthy of an action replay. 'He's lost his cards, he's lost his composure and I think he's lost his sight' noted Alan Parry, commentating. The referee appeared to get his own back in the second half, turning down a cast-iron Peruvian penalty appeal when Oblitas appeared to have been tripped in the box.
357. Did You Know?:
The 2006 World Cup Silly Names Squad included - Torsten Frings (Germany), Mariusz Jop (Poland), Stern John (Trinidad & Tobago), Bakari Koné (Côte d'Ivoire), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (the Netherlands, see right), Albert Nad (Serbia and Montenegro), Jamba (Angola), Quim (Portugal), Razak Pimpong (Ghana), Massimo Oddo (Italy), Kaká (Brazil), Fred (Brazil), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan), Cho Won-Hee (South Korea), Raphaël Wicky (Switzerland), Mehdi Nafti (Tunisia) and Ruslan Rotan (Ukraine).
358. Did You Know?: Scotland's 2-0 defeat of Wales at Anfield in October 1977 secured their place in the World Cup finals the following year. Wales had made the mistake of moving their 'home' clash over the border to nearby Liverpool, hoping for a larger support than they'd get at Wrexham's much smaller Racecourse Ground. (They were currently banned from playing home matches at Cardiff.)
However, the Tartan Army had other ideas, and flooded down to Merseyside in their thousands. The Scots were awarded a controversial penalty on seventy eight minutes when Joe Jordan handled the ball in the area after a deep Lou Macari cross and the French referee, Robert Wurtz, inexplicably saw it as hand-ball by the Welsh defender David Jones. Don Masson converted the resulting spot-kick. Kenny Dalglish added a second shortly before full time. And, to be fair, if the Welsh had won and gone to Argentina instead, we'd have been denied so much world class comedy.
359. Did You Know?: The West Germany vs Netherlands clash in the second round in 1990 was, appropriately, held in Milan, with both sides featuring several notable players from the two Milanese clubs.
The match - between two sides for whom love is seldom lost in most encounters - turned ugly after twenty two minutes when Rudi Völler and Frank Rijkaard clashed twice in just a few seconds and were dismissed - seemingly for general mutual hatred. As they walked off, Rijkaard hockled a lump of phlegm in Völler's hair. (Rijkaard, to be fair to him, did subsequently apologise for his 'inexcusable' actions.) Early in the second half, Jürgen Klinsmann - who had a magnificent game playing up front on his own in Völler's absence - put the West Germans ahead and Andy Brehme added a second with eight minutes left. A Ronald Koeman penalty for the Netherlands in the last minute narrowed the score to 2–1 but the Germans saw the game out to gain some revenge for their exit to the Dutch in the previous European Championship.
360. Did You Know?:
Senegal midfielder Khalilou Fadiga was placed under investigation in South Korea just before the 2002 World Cup on suspicion of stealing a gold necklace. He was not prosecuted however, despite admitting the theft. Police in Taegu, one of the World Cup venues in South Korea, said that Fadiga admitted to stealing the eighteen-carat gold necklace, worth around three hundred thousand won, during a visit to a jewellery store in the city. An official said: 'The amount involved in very small. And he's a foreigner.' So, there you go lads and lasses, next time you're thinking about smuggling any kif through The Golden Triangle, avoid Thailand and go through Korea. If you get caught, instead of twenty years in the Bangkok Hilton followed by hanging, you'll likely get a nice flight home. They might even let you keep your stash. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't use that as a defence should they decide to make matters further.
361. Did You Know?: The greatest manager that England never had, Brian Clough, played for Billingham Synthonia before his National Service between 1953 and 1955 in the RAF.
Following this, he became a prolific striker and goalscoring legend for his home town club, Middlesbrough, scoring a remarkable one hundred and ninety seven goals in just two hundred and thirteen league games for the Boro. He then signed for neighbours Sunderland and scored a further fifty four goals in sixty one games. On 26 December 1962, he injured his knee during a second division match against Bury after colliding with goalkeeper Chris Harker. It turned out to be a cruciate ligament injury and, although Clough spent the next two years valiantly trying to come back from the injury, he could only manage three more games before his knee gave out again and he was forced to retired. He played twice for the England national team - against Wales on 17 October 1959 and Sweden on 28 October 1959. Why he didn't go to the 1958 World Cup when he was the top scorer in the country during the 1957-58 season, only the morons who didn't select him will know. His subsequent managerial career - at Hartlepools, Derby County, Brighton and Hove Albion, (briefly) Leeds United and Nottingham Forest is the stuff of legends. So good, in fact, they made a film about it!
362. Did You Know?:
Hugo Sánchez Márquez, popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. He was also the focus of the Mexican national side for seventeen years and participated in the World Cups of 1978, 1986, and 1994. Had Mexico qualified in 1982 and 1990, he would probably have played in those too. His only World Cup finals goal was the winner in a 2-1 victory against Belgium at the Azteca in 1986. He also coached the national side between 2006 and 2008 but was subsequently dismissed after a run of poor performances.
363. Did You Know?: Possibly the highlight of the Netherlands 1974 World Cup campaign was a breathtakingly brilliant performance against Argentina in the second round. It was one that had the BBC's Barry Davies virtually creaming in his own pants in orgasmic delight as, for ninety minutes, Rinus Michels vision of total football stunned both the Argentine team and, indeed, the watching world.
The Oranj took the lead after ten minutes when a delicate Vim van Hanegem chip into the box allowed Johan Cruyff to round Daniel Carnevali and stroke the ball into the empty net from a wide angle (see right). With Carnevali apparently fond of going walkabout, the Oranj had three notable efforts (including one cleared off the line and another ruled out for offside) before Ruud Krol shot through a crowd of players following a corner. With torrential rain falling in the second half, Cruyff crossed from the left for Johnny Rep on the right to beat the keeper with a near-post header after seventy minutes. 'They seem able to up the tempo and score any time they feel like it. Like now!' said Barry, with immaculate timing. The fourth Netherlands goal was an audacious volley from Cruyff wide on the left after a fabulous one-two between van Hanegem and Wim Jensen had produced a shot saved by the keeper which then re-bounded into the path of Dutch captain.
364. Did You Know?: Emile Heskey once scored a goal in a World Cup final. It was against Denmark in 2002. The Danish defence have been hanging their heads in shame ever since.
365. Did You Know?: On 6 September 1989, while playing for England in a vital World Cup qualifier in Sweden, their captain Terry Butcher suffered a deep cut to his forehead early in the game.
Butcher had some impromptu stitches inserted by the England doctor at the side of the pitch and then, swathed in bandages, continued playing. His constant heading of the ball – unavoidable, of course, when playing in the centre of defence – soon disintegrated the bandages and reopened the cut to such an extent that his white England shirt was almost entirely red by the end of the game. Photographs of Butcher at the end of the game resemble something from a video nasty. Thanks to its gore-splattered nature, this match remains Butcher's defining moment as one of England's footballing heroes, especially as England got the draw they needed to qualify for the 1990 competition. 'At that stage, there was no such thing as image rights in football, which is a pity - because the photo of me at the end of that match would have made me a fortune! I was described as brave, but any real Englishman would have played on,' he said. It would never happen these days, of course. Due to the potential for the transference of blood-borne infections, FIFA now dictate that all blood injuries are properly dealt with before a player can return to a game.
366. Did You Know?:
Uruguay needed to beat Senegal in their final group match in 2002 to qualify for the second round. Despite goals from Richard Morales, Diego Forlan and Álvaro Recoba (see right), the best they could managed was a 3-3 draw (Papa Bouba Diop scoring twice for the Senegalese) and, so, they were on their way home.
367. Did You Know?: Football has been played in Micronesia informally, and at the school level, for over twenty years. However, its popularity beyond this was chiefly among expatriates living in the country. It wasn't until 1992 that a serious attempt was made to improve the level of organised matches in the country, especially among the indigenous populations of the various islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia - and yes, before you ask, it is a real country and not something from a Marx Brothers movie. In Pohnpei, a football league was started which culminated in periodic statewide tournaments.
In Yap, a club was formed with matches scheduled against teams from visiting ships. In spite of the many hurdles to further development, Micronesians became keenly passionate about the sport and, because of this, a team from Yap was invited to participate in the Micronesian Games which were held in the Republic of Palau in August 1998. Given that it was their first international event, and that the Yap team were mostly boys aged fourteen to twenty, they did remarkably well, winning two of their six games. In attendance at the Micronesian Games were two professional FIFA referees, sent to Palau from the Japan Football Association. They were impressed with the team and encouraged the Federated States of Micronesia to apply for FIFA accreditation. In 2006, the FSMFA was recognized as a possible future associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation.
368. Did You Know?:
Then playing for Norwich, and born in Manchester, Efan Ekoku nevertheless found himself in Nigeria's squad for the 1994 World Cup thanks to his African parents. Ultimately, he didn't get on the pitch in any of Nigeria's four matches but he did subsequently carve out an international career for himself over the next four years, playing twenty times for his adopted country and scoring six goals.
369. Did You Know?: Scotland's preparation for one of the most vital matches in their history was less than ideal; on the morning of their 1974 group match against Yugoslavia a letter arrived at Scotland's hotel, supposedly from the IRA which threatened to assassinate two - protestant - member of the Scotland team. The players had to be accompanied by armed guards and low-flying helicopters wherever they went.
It was a shit-or-bust situation for Willie Ormand's team who would, otherwise, have to rely on Zaire preventing Brazil from scoring three goals which would give the Brazilains a superior goal-difference. Nevertheless, the Scots (playing in all white) were confident that they would go through and Joe Jordan was presented with a great chance to give them a first half lead when a defender failed to deal with a ball into the box. Despite the humid conditions - very unusual in that particular competition - and the less than sporting tactics of the Slavs, Scotland were well on top for much of the game but, as they had done against Zaire and Brazil found scoring a major problem. Then, eight minutes from time, their chances appeared to have fallen through the floor when a fresh-off-the-bench Stanislav Karasi headed Yugoslavia into the lead. With Brazil thought to be still only 2-0 ahead against the Africans, Joe Jordan restored hope with an equaliser just seconds from the end following a fine cross by Tommy Hutchison. But, that hope was shattered at full time when the Frankfurt stadium's electronic scoreboard flashed up a result of Brazil 3, Zaire 0 to confirm that Scotland had become the first team in the history of the World Cup finals to exit without losing a match. Scuffles had broken out between rival supporters towards the end of the game which resulted in four arrests and twelve people being treated in hospital for minor injuries including a Yugoslavia fan who was stabbed in the chest with a broken bottle, but the behaviour of the Scottish support was, generally, noble in defeat. David Hay and Willie Morgan would never play for Scotland again, but - along with the rest of the squad - they were at least able to enjoy the consolation of a heroes welcome home back in Jockoland.
370. Did You Know?:
The 2002 World Cup Silly Names Squad included Ebbe Sand (Denmark), Papa Bouba Diop (Senegal), Francisco Arce (Paraguay), Vampeta (Brazil), Yang Pu (China), Mustafa Izzet (Turkey), Jacek Bak (Poland), Capucho (Portugal), Song Chong-Gug (South Korea), Jeff Agoos (USA), Joseph-Désiré Job (Cameroon, see right), Hans-Jörg Butt (Germany), Damien Duff (Ireland), Abdullah Al-Waked (Saudi Arabia), Nicky Butt (England), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Bart Goor (Belgium) and Shinji Ono (Japan).
371. Did You Know?: Everybody remembers every single moment of 1970's group three - the one with England and Brazil in - surely?
Except, perhaps, for Romania against Czechoslovakia, the 1970 World Cup game that time seems to have pretty much forgotten. Yer Keith Telly Topping doesn't know a single person who had ever seen so much as single goal from this game repeated on any of those World Cup Goals compilation TV shows! Although, as this proves, some of ITV's footage of the game (commentary by Hugh Johns) does exist. God bless You Tube. The match took place of Saturday 6 June in Guadalajara, twenty four hours before England's epic encounter with Brazil in the same stadium. Romania won 2-1, keeping alive their qualification hopes and eliminating the Czechs. Alexandru Neagu and Florea Dumitrache scored for the Romanians after Ladislav Petráš had opened the scoring with his second goal of the tournament.
372. Did You Know?: Sandwiched between a 2-0 defeat in Rome the previous October and a very unconvincing 5-0 victory over Luxembourg, England's first international match of 1977 was in February when they were caned 2-0 by a magnificent Dutch performance at Wembley.
This night was, possibly, the ultimate evocation of Johan Cruyff and the total football way of thinking. The Dutch, containing seven of their 1974 World Cup final side, didn't give England a kick all night, toying with them in exactly the same way that a cat plays with a mouse before killing it. In the end, the margin of victory could have so much wider than the mere two goals scored in nine first half minutes by AZ 67's Jan Peters. Trevor Francis made his debut for England.
373. Did You Know?:
Quality strikes from Roque Santa Cruz and Chiqui Arce had Paraguay dreaming of the second round when they played South Africa at Busan in 2002. But a last minute penalty, scored by Quinton Fortune, snatched a share of the points. Despite losing their next game, to Spain, the Paraguayans did qualify second in their group with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia.
374. Did You Know?: Junichi Inamoto swapped Arsenal's reserve team for World Cup glory for Japan in 2002. His goals in the first round against Belgium and Russia helped Japan, playing on home soil, qualify for the second stages of the tournament for the first time.
Japan's star player for more than a decade was Hideotshi Nakata - the Ginger Ninja - the first Japanese player to become a household name in the Serie A (with Perugia, Roma and Parma). He played at three World Cup finals, in 1998, 2002 and 2006, although he was, generally, a disappointment in all of them. As, indeed, he was when he played half-a-season for Bolton Wanderers. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came in May 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0-2, Nakata scored with a thirty-yard screamer past Edwin van der Sar. He then set up another goal when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who duly equalised.
375. Did You Know?: We've already looked on Keith Telly Topping's World Cup Trivia at the glorious wasteland that is England's official World Cup songs. But, what about their Scottish counterparts, I hear you ask, dear blog reader? 'Easy, Easy' (sample lyric; 'Yabba-dabba-doo, we're the boys in blue, and it's easy, easy') was a minor hit single in 1974 on the Polydor label.
That's all there is to say about it, really. Like Scotland's 1974 World Cup campaign itself, the song promised much upfront but rather fizzled out a bit by the climax. In 1978, on the back of much media hype, the unofficial work of alleged comedian Andy Cameron briefly lit up the singles charts, making the top ten. Released on the Klub label (with 'Ah Want Tae Be A Punk Rocker' on the b-side), the turgid 'Ally's Tartan Army' probably put a fair few neutrals right off the Caledonians before they'd even kicked a ball in Argentina. Oh, how we all laughed at the 'England cannae dee it, cos they didnae qualify' line. And, we continued laughing right through the Peru and Iran games. That year's official Scotland anthem was 'Ole Ola (Mulher Brasileira)'. Which, to be fair, was not one of Rod Stewart's finest moments - especially the decision to try and rhyme 'ole ola' with 'we're gonna bring the World Cup back from over ... thar.' Other sample lyrics include: 'Brazil, this time I don't think so. Holland without Cruyff just ain't the same. Germany, we feel, will be a challenge. The Italians can still play the game. But there's really only one team in it. We'll be singing as we all get off of the plane. We are bound for Buenos Aires, we don't care just what the fare is. Only wish we had Danny McGrain.' As, indeed, did Ally MacLeod. Since then the quality of Scotland World Cup songs has varied from the mildly amusing (1982's 'We Have a Dream', written by BA Robertson and sung by Gregory's Girl actor John Gordon Sinclair) to the vaguely pathetic and self-pitying (1998's 'Don't Come Back Too Soon' by Del Amitri). To nothing at all in 2010. Because, Andy, they didnae qualify. Feel like recording a song about that, pal?
376. Did You Know?: Like West Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 won the World Cup after having lost their third group game, in their case to a fine Roberto Bettega goal against Italy.
As with the Germans four years early, this ultimately proved to be the best thing that could have happened to the hosts. Finishing second in the group Argentina went into a slightly easily second round pool and, more importantly, got themselves out of Buenos Aires where, it was suggested, the pressure of expectation from massive crowds was inhibiting the players. In the Santa Fe city of Rosario, at the claustrophobic Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, local hero Mario Kempes greatly enjoyed the support of the fans and went on to become the tournament's top scorer.
377. Did You Know?: Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born in Malmö to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother who had emigrated to Sweden. Ibrahimovic grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities.
Having joined his local club as a teenager subsequent moves to Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale and Barcelona saw the big centre forward scoring goals in the toughest leagues in Europe. He also managed twenty two goals in sixty internationals for Sweden where he formed, for many years, a more-than-useful striking partnership with Henrik Larsson. Even though he was eligible to play for both Bosnia and Croatia through his parentage, Ibrahimovic chose to play for Sweden, his country of birth. He made his international debut in a 0–0 friendly against the Faroe Islands at the Värendsvallen on 31 January 2001. His first competitive match was a 2002 qualifier against Azerbaijan on 7 October. Ibrahimovic was part of Sweden's 2002 World Cup finals squad who were eliminated in the second round by Senegal and, four years later, where they again reached the second round before losing to Germany.
378. Did You Know?: Willie Ormond's first game in charge of Scotland was on 14 February 1973 in a friendly against England to celebrate the Scottish FA's Centenary. It turned into an unmitigated disaster as England inflicted a St Valentine's Day massacre on the auld enemy. On an ice-cold evening in front of fifty thousand frozen fans at Hampden Park, Bobby Moore won his one hundredth cap for England and received a silver salver before the game. The home crowd responded with the song 'Bobby Moore, superstar, walks like a woman and he wears a bra' throughout the match, and booed Moore every time he touched the ball.
England's captain, however, had the last laugh in a match which included three goals in the opening fifteen minutes. Peter Lorimer deflected Mick Channon's effort in to his own net, Channon set up Allan Clarke for the second and, a minute later, Channon scored a third with a half-volley. Martin Chivers saw a shot strike the woodwork before adding a fourth goal in the second half. And Clarke rounded off a miserable night for the Scots five minutes from the end. At 5-0, it was England's biggest win at Hampden since 1888 and the perfect response to the barrage of criticism they had received following the recent home draw with Wales in a World Cup qualifier. Incidentally, on the same night, West Germany lost a friendly to Argentina, their first defeat at home since England had beaten them in 1965.
379. Did You Know?: Jimmy Hogan, from Burnley, is counted among the great pioneers of the development of the game on the continent. Hogan enjoyed some success as a footballer, with Burley, Bolton and reaching an FA Cup semi-final with Fulham in 1908. But it was as a coach that his abilities found their true vocation. In Switzerland, he coached Young Boys of Berne. Partly responsible for the development of football in mainland Europe, Hogan later formed a great partnership with the legendary Hugo Meisl, coaching the Austrian national team - Das Wunderteam - to unprecedented success in the early 1930s. After a brief spell as Fulham boss, Hogan returned to Austria, where he got them to the 1936 Olympic final.
Aston Villa appointed Hogan as their manager in November 1936, then having just been relegated to the second division for the first time in their history. Within two seasons, Hogan had guided Villa back to the top flight. He has also coached the teams of FC Dordrecht in the Netherlands and Dresden. The outbreak of the second world war found him again coaching in Austria. On the day war was declared he was woken at dawn and thrown into a concentration camp. He remained an internee for the duration of the war but was allowed to go to Hungary where he worked with the MTK club who formed the basis of the subsequent Hungarian national team which would develop into the great side of the 1950s. However, when the war ended Hogan returned to England and was told that footballers who had suffered financially as a result of the war could claim two hundred pounds from the Football Association. He was almost destitute but when he went to London the FA secretary, Frederick Wall, opened a cupboard and offered him a pair of khaki socks: 'We sent these to the boys at the front and they were grateful.' The subtext was unsubtle: 'Traitor.' Hogan also had a short spell in the early 1950s as a coach at Celtic and then returned to Villa where he was in charge of their youth team for another decade. His ideas, which emphasized greater ball control, were often dismissed as unnecessarily elaborate within British football circles, although he did have a formative influence on the generation of managers who would emerge in the 1960s. He is also sometimes credited with the revolution in European football that saw Hungary thrash England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, ushering in a new football era. After the match, Sándor Barcs, the president of the Hungarian Football Federation, told the English press, 'Jimmy Hogan taught us everything we know about football.' Jimmy died in 1974 aged ninety one, a patriot and purist to the end, but one with cause to be bitter.
380. Did You Know?:
Despite his exploits at Euro '88, winning the European Football of the Yard award three times (1988, 1989 and 1992, the latter when he was also named World Football of the Year) and his astonishing goalscoring career with Ajax and AC Milan, Marco vas Basten never scored a single goal in a World Cup finals tournament. The Netherlands failed to qualify in 1986. Four years later despite playing in all four of their games van Basten couldn't find the net. And, by 1994, a troublesome ankle injury was on the verge of forcing his retirement from the game when, at twenty nine, he should have been leading the Dutch attack.
381. Did You Know?: Lionel Messi made his full international debut for Argentina in August 2005 against Hungary at the age of eighteen. He came on as a sixty third minute substitute but his debut lasted just three minutes before he was sent off when the referee, Markus Merk, spotted him head-butting defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt.
Messi returned to the team a month later for Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. On 28 March 2009, in a qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number ten shirt for the first time with Argentina. Significantly, this match was the first official game for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring goal.
382. Did You Know?: Having missed out on qualification for the 1974 World Cup, Sir Alf Ramsey was dismissed as England manager on 1 May 1974. Coventry City's manager, Joe Mercer, was placed in temporary charge of England for the forthcoming friendly at Wembley against Argentina and a subsequent three game tour of Eastern Europe. Argentina insisted that the referee at Wembley should be an Argentinean before they would agree to play the fixture - still, seemingly, feeling hard-done-by about 1966 and all that - and after allowing some bad tackles to go unpunished in the second half, Senor Ithurralde denied England a deserved victory by awarding Argentina a penalty in the dying minutes.
Mick Channon had scored opening goal just before half time. As the players left the field, Roberto Perfumo protested about the goal. Emlyn Hughes pushed the Argentina captain out of the way and was head-butted in the face by Rubén Glaría who, perhaps wisely, did not come out for the second half having been subbed. Although, to be fair, who hasn't idly wanted to stick the nut on Elmyn Hughes at some point in their lives? Frank Worthington scored a second from a Keith Weller pass after Colin Bell hit the underside of the crossbar following a corner. Three minutes later Mario Kempes reduced arrears and then the same player won a penalty, falling dramatically over the outstretched foot of Hughes. He took the kick himself to make it 2-2. 
A week later, England drew 1-1 in Leipzig against East Germany. Having hit the woodwork four times, England went behind to a Joachim Streich goal but Channon equalised. They then moved on to Bulgaria where they won 1-0 - Worthington scoring his second, and last, international goal. The England party arrived at Belgrade airport from Sofia on Sunday afternoon but, due to apparent confusion over the time difference their arrival was an hour earlier than expected and no Yugoslavian officials had turned up to greet them. The England players were reportedly in a jovial mood and were dressed in casual clothes. Worthington walked into a glass door which had his colleagues in hysterics and Alec Lindsay decided to lark about walking on the luggage conveyor belt. Angry immigration officials ordered the players to move to the correct area. Kevin Keegan, the slowest to move, was then pushed in the back - probably because of the perm, although it might have been 'looking at them in a funny way' - and, as he turned to complain, he was grabbed around the neck and hauled off to an office by some men in uniform. It was then alleged that a stewardess had claimed one of the passengers on the flight had 'goosed' her. Keegan, who had been asleep for the whole journey, was detained for half-an-hour and was said to have been struck in the face and stomach. 
He was eventually released 'under surveillance'. Charges of assaulting a stewardess, assaulting security guards, disturbing the peace and causing obstruction were all ultimately dropped. The one about 'having a really bad haircut' remains on file to this day. Many of the England players protested that they should get straight back on the plane and go home, but wiser counsel prevailed and they were eventually persuaded to stay and play the match. A crowd of eighty thousand saw Channon give England an early lead after Enver Maric had failed to hold on to a corner. Ilija Petkovic headed and equaliser and Yugoslavia then went ahead courtesy of a terrific strike from Branko Oblak. But Keegan had the final word, scoring with a diving header fifteen minutes from the end. Malcolm MacDonald could have won the match in the dying seconds when he was put clear with only the keeper to beat but he failed to find the net from a narrow angle.
383. Did You Know?: Of the FIFA World Rankings going into the 2010 World Cup finals nine of the top ten nations - Brazil, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England and France - qualified. Only Croatia had not. The lowest ranked team to qualify were North Korean, currently ranked one hundred and fifth of the two hundred and two FIFA nations.
384. Did You Know?: Danish pair Jesper Grønkjær and Stig Tøfting, had a handbags-at-five-paces wrestling match that all got a bit out of hand during training at the 2002 World Cup. Tøfting and Everton's Thomas Gravesen had decided to indugle in a bit of 'boys own British humour' by attempting to put some ice cubes down Grønkjær's shorts.
The Chelsea winger, needless to say, took exception to this under-five behaviour and struck out at Bolton's Tøfting who, as all bullies tend to, grabbed his mucker round the neck, blacked his eye and wrestled him to the ground. It was, in short, a right shite state of affairs. The pair had to be separated and there was talk in the Danish press that both (and, possibly, Gravesen, who appeared to have been the instigator of the assault) could be sent home in disgrace. In the end, they stayed and Denmark made the second round before losing to England. After returning home, the players held a celebration evening at the Café Ketchup in Copenhagen. During this, Tøfting head-butted the proprietor of the café. He stood trial for the incident in October 2002 and was convicted and sentenced to four months in jail. He announced his international retirement having played a total forty one international games for Denmark.
385. Did You Know?: T
he 1998 World Cup Silly Names Squad included Smahi Triki (Morocco), Roar Strand (Norway), Christian Dailly (Scotland), Arnold Wetl (Austria), Søren Colding (Denmark), Naughty Mokoena (South Africa), Kiko (Spain), Danny Boffin (Belgium), Phillip Cocu (Netherlands), Lee Dong-Gook (South Korea, see right), Christian Wörns (Germany), David Seaman (England), José Santa (Colombia), Ovidiu Stînga (Romania) and Donovan Ricketts (Jamaica).
386. Did You Know?: The match of the second round in the 1986 World Cup was the seven-goal thriller between Belgium and the Soviet Union at Leon, in which the Soviets' Igor Belanov scored a hat-trick and still ended up on the losing side.
The game was drawn 2–2 after ninety minutes, and in extra time Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen put Belgium 4–2 ahead. Belanov scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining, but neither he nor his team-mates could find a fourth goal for the USSR. This was one of the Soviets finest ever teams - the team of Rinat Dassayev, Anatoli Demyanenko, Oleg Kuznetsov, Vasyly Rats and Oleg Blokhin among others. But the hard-working Belgians (who would end the tournament in the semi-finals) had twice equalised Belanov's earlier goals - through Enzo Scifo and Jan Ceulemans (after a defence-splitting pass by Franky Vercayteren).
387. Did You Know?: England were confident heading to Rome for a 1997 World Cup qualifier after an impressive 2-0 win over Italy in Le Tournoi - a World Cup warm-up tournament in France. Still, Italy had never dropped a point at home in a World Cup qualifier before and were favourites to get the victory they needed to progress.
But England required just a point from the game and produced one of their best ever defensive performances to get a battling 0-0 draw. It could have been even better as Ian Wright went close to grabbing the winner in the dying seconds. The game lived up to its expectations although it was somewhat marred by Italy's aggressive approach, which resulted in the home side receiving five cautions and one player being sent off, and that of their riot police who, for once, genuinely did over-react to some rather mild behaviour by travelling England supporters with shields and batons. Glenn Hoddle's side comfortably held off Inzaghi, Zola, Vieri, Del Piero, Maldini and co. and, unlike four years earlier, qualified for the finals. As, after a play-off with Russia, did Italy, Pierluigi Casiraghi's goal in a 1-0 win in Rome proving decisive.
388. Did You Know?: Things got even worse for Scotland after the final whistle of their calamitous 3-1 defeat to Peru in 1978. Kenny Dalglish and West Brom winger Willie Johnston were selected for the obligatory doping tests after the game - Johnston had not, originally been one of those selected by had been picked when original choice Archie Gemmill proved too dehydrated to give a urine sample. Johnston says now that he knew there was going to be trouble when his pee looked a different colour to Dalglish's. Johnston's test returned positive. The stimulant Fencamfamin had been, Johnston claims, innocently taken as a constituent part of over-the-counter hay fever medicine Reactivan. Twenty four hours later, amid chaotic scenes in the Scottish camp and a press pack scenting blood, Johnston was ordered home in disgrace, never to don the dark blue jersey again.
Johnston always had something of a reputation for being a bit of a maverick, even from his early days as a teenage protégé at Rangers. By December 1970 he had been sent off five times and banned for a total of one hundred and five days during two lengthy suspensions. 'I would get my retaliation in first,' he later reasoned. 'People were kicking lumps out of us. They'd kick you to death. Off-the-ball, high tackles, attempts to break your leg.' One of those dismissals saw him sent off in a New York friendly against Fiorentina for not much more of a crime than being hacked down and apprearing angry about it. When Johnston refused to leave the pitch, Antonio Rattín-style, a US cop came on and drew a gun on the player. Johnston decided it would be a good time to quell his protests. Willie's antics at the Hawthorns are the stuff of legend. He once playfully kicked a referee up the arse. He took a swig from a fan's can of beer while waiting to take a corner. And over the course of two home matches, he successfully negotiated the purchase of a greenhouse from a supporter stationed near the touchline. But he was rarely in the sort of bother he found himself in up north. In addition, his form was such that by 1977, and with the World Cup finals looming, the Scotland manager, Willie Ormond, was prepared to give him an international recall. 'You're the best winger in England,' Ormond told Johnston. 'I want you in my team but the SFA doesn't want you. Prove them wrong.' Willie would do so and was selected to go to Argentina the following year under new manager, Ally McLeod. On his return to Britain, Johnston's life was made a living hell and he soon upped sticks for Vancouver, where he won the 1979 Soccer Bowl with the Whitecaps. He is also fondly remembered in the US for instigating a twenty-man brawl against the New York Cosmos, after a clash with the notoriously hot-headed Giorgio Chinaglia; his Vancouver team-mate Alan Ball sat it out in the centre-circle alongside Cosmos defender Franz Beckenbauer whilst everybody else on the field got on with it.
389. Did You Know?: The 1990 World Cup is generally considered by connoisseurs of the Beautiful Game as more of a table vintage.
Yet, ironically, because England did so well in the tournament (reaching the semi finals) Italia '90 in often cited as the point at which a sport that had been withering throughout the 1980s suddenly reminded people that it was still alive and kicking. The drama of England's extra-time victories over Belgium and Cameroon and, their participation in that heart-stoppingly tense semi-final with West Germany which ended on penalties has tended, for many, to airbrush over the mind-numbing tedium of some of Italia '90's low spots. The fact that Scotland also provided us with a comedy defeat to Costa Rica and Big Jack Chartlon's Irish side making the quarter-finals (again, via the drama of a penalty shoot-out) helped, somewhat, to banish memories of some really tedious games. Italy vs Austria, Uruguay vs Spain, the United Arab Emirates vs Colombia and every match - including the final - involving a horrid, negative, defensive and downright nasty Argentina team.
390. Did You Know?: Australia coach Pim Verbeek criticised his players Vince Grella and Tim Cahill for reckless tackles after his side snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over rivals New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up game in 2010.
Verbeek said the experienced pair would have been red-carded if it had been in a competitive match for their tackles which forced Kiwi Leo Bertos to be stretchered off with a shin injury. The Australians won a fiercely contested friendly with a goal from substitute Brett Holman in the final seconds. But Dutchman Verbeek didn't hold back on the ugly tackles dished out by the two Premier League stars, saying that they were unacceptable, and praising New Zealand's composure in not seeking retribution. 'In the World Cup that's probably two red cards. So it's a good lesson because I cannot accept this and the players also know that this is not the way they should play the game,' Verbeek said. New Zealand, playing Australia for the first time in five years, took the lead at Melbourne Cricket Ground through Middlesbrough's Chris Killen. Australia equalised with a goal by Dario Vidosic before Holman's late intervention.
391. Did You Know?: In 1993 Ruud Gullit and Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat began what was to be a long running dispute which ultimately ended Gullit's international career.
Advocaat's decision to play Gullit on the right-side of midfield, in a qualifying game against England at Wembley, rather than his usual central position upset Gullit and this was exacerbated by his substitution for Marc Overmars midway through the second half. Gullit refused to play for the national team following this but he later changed his mind and agreed to return, facing Scotland in a friendly in May 1994. Shortly before the 1994 World Cup, however, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again. The Dutch often pull this sort of stunt, of course, going right back Gerrie Mühren in 1974 and taking in Cruyff and van Hanegem's no-shown in Argentina, right up to Edgar Davids getting sent home from Euro '96 for criticising Guus Hiddink in a radio interview. Like Spain imploding and Italy 'starting slowly but getting stronger', it's become one of the clichés of all major tournaments. Whenever twenty two or twenty three are gathered together - and they're Dutch - one of them will take the huff about something.
392. Did You Know?: England made up for their defeat against Romania four days earlier to turn the tables on Colombia at the World Cup in 1998. Michael Owen and David Beckham started the game, both having come on as substitutes in the previous match. Good old Sicknote himself, Darren Anderton opened the scoring before, inevitably, ending up limping and being replaced by Rob Lee. Becks doubled the scored with one of his trademark free-kicks.
It was the one hundred and eleventh, and final, international appearance for Colombia of Carlos Valderrama who, before the game, had made some very unwise comments about how nobody liked the English and what Colombia intended to do to them, being quoted in the Observer as saying 'Once we have run the English into the ground with "chase the ball," then we will go for the throat and they will be on their way home tomorrow morning.' No danger of you replacing Mystic Meg then, Carlos? The game was also notable for Chris Waddle on the BBC referring to the Colombian goalkeeper, Mondragon as 'Mogadon.'
393. Did You Know?:
With fifty one goals for the Danish national team - including four in four game at the 2002 World Cup - Jon Dahl Tomasson is second only to Poul Tist Nielsen, as Denmark's all-time top goalscorer. I do realise that this will be difficult for any Newcastle fans who saw Tomasson suffer a torrid, unhappy season at St James' Park in the late 1990s when it appeared he'd have difficulty hitting a barn door from three feet. But, as his subsequent success at Feyenoord and AC Milan proved, he was actually a decent player when he put his mind to it.
394. Did You Know?: The 1960s is generally considered to have been the Golden Age for Azerbaijani football - it produced several great players including Anatoliy Banishevskiy and Alakbar Mammadov who both played for the Soviet Union national side.
395. Did You Know?: P
oland's Wlodzimierz Lubanski made his international debut at the age of sixteen years and one hundred and eighty eight days, becoming the youngest player ever to appear for Poland. A tricky, skillful forward, he led his country to the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Tragically, he missed the 1974 World Cup after a Roy McFarland tackle during the Poland vs England qualifier in Chorzow damaged his cruciate ligament and put him out of football for two years. Lubanski had scored the Poles decisive second goal after robbing Bobby Moore of possession. He did return to play Belgian side KSC Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen and appeared in five of Poland's six games at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, but he never reached his previous levels of pace and deadly finishing.
396. Did You Know?:
In the opening game of the 1970 tournament, hosts Mexico faced the USSR in what proved to be one of the most dull and boring 0-0 draws in the history of the World Cup. Before the match, the Soviets had flatly refused to send out their starting eleven to stand around in the broiling heat for over thirty minutes whilst the opening ceremonies took place and the team were introduced to dignitaries. Instead, the sent out all of the non-playing members of their squad.
397. Did You Know?: Three players have scored after coming on as a substitute in a World Cup final - Dick Nanninga in 1978, Alessandro Altobelli in 1982 and Rudi Völler in 1986 for the Netherlands, Italy and West Germany respectively. Only Altobelli ended up on the winning side.
398. Did You Know?:
Panathinaikos's Nigerian-born striker Emmanuel Olisadebe was controversially granted Polish citizenship by presidential decree in 2001 reportedly after former international Zbigniew Boniek persuaded the country's president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, to hurry-up Olisadebe's application for citizenship. He become a major star virtually overnight via eight goals in the 2002 World Cup qualification tournament. Poland topped their group which included Ukraine, Norway and Belarus and Wales. At the finals tournament, however, Olisedebe was a big disappointment, as indeed were Poland generally, although he did score his country's opening goal in a 3-1 consolation victory over the USA in their final match.
399. Did You Know?:
Cha Bum-Kun was South Korea's finest ever player. Nicknamed Tscha Bum in Germany because thunderous shooting, his accomplishments in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen made him a national hero back in Korea. For the national team, he appeared one hundred and twenty one times, scoring fifty five goals and playing in their first World Cup campaign in 1986. In January 1997, he became the Korean national team coach and led the nation to the 1998 World Cup. However, a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in South Korea's second group game got Cha fired. He later blamed the Korea Football Association for the bad performance, citing lack of bonuses and alleging football games in Korea were fixed. The KFA promptly slapped a five-year ban on him and he soon left the country with his wife.
400. Did You Know?: South Africa was one of four African nations to attend FIFA's 1953 congress, at which the four won representation on the FIFA executive committee. These four nations - South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan - founded the Confederation of African Football in 1956. It soon became clear however that South Africa's constitution prohibited racially mixed teams from competitive sport and so they could only send either an all-black side or an all-white side to the planned 1957 African Cup of Nations. This was unacceptable to the other members of the Confederation and South Africa were disqualified from the competition, although some sources say that they withdrew voluntarily. At the second CAF conference in 1958 South Africa were formally expelled. They were admitted to FIFA in the same year, but in August 1960 the South African Football Association was given an ultimatum of one year to fall in line with the non-discriminatory regulations of FIFA. On 26 September 1961 they were formally suspended from FIFA. Sir Stanley Rous, a champion of South Africa's FIFA membership, was elected FIFA President a few days later. Rous was adamant that sport, and FIFA in particular, should not embroil itself in political matters and against fierce opposition he continued to resist attempts to expel South Africa from FIFA.
The suspension was lifted in January 1963 after a visit to South Africa by Rous. He declared that if the suspension were not lifted, football there would be discontinued, possibly to the point of no recovery. The next annual conference of FIFA in October 1964 took place in Tokyo and was attended by a larger contingent of representatives from African and Asian associations and here the suspension of South Africa's membership was re-imposed. In 1976, after the Soweto uprising, they were formally expelled from FIFA. In 1991, with the apartheid system beginning to be demolished, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was formed, and was admitted, virtually straight away, to FIFA. On 7 July 1992, the South African national team played their first game in two decades, beating Cameroon 1-0. South Africa made the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but failed to qualify past the group stage both times. They hosted (and won) the 1996 African Nations Cup and will host the 2010 World Cup, the first African nation to do so.
Long before he became the potential saviour of England football, Fabio Capello was a tricky, dangerous wide-right midfielder with AS Roma and Juventus who had a habit of scoring goals at vital times. He was good enough to play on thirty two occasions for Italy during an era when they weren't short of quality midfield players - scoring eight goals. He is particularly well-remembered for the goal with which Italy beat England 1-0 at Wembley for the first time in their history in November 1973 which Capello, himself, regarded as the highlight of his playing career. He also scored in a 2-0 victory for Italy against England earlier in the same year, in Turin. Although he was clearly offside when he got that one. One of Italy's few successes during their disappointing 1974 World Cup campaign, he played his last match for the Azzurri two years later.352. Did You Know?: Virtual open warfare broke out at the 2002 World Cup between FIFA and their own referees, fuelled by dark mutterings of conspiracy from the vanquished Italy and Spain. FIFA admitted that 'major refereeing mistakes' have been made and the president, that buffoon Sepp Blatter, infuriated match officials by publicly calling them 'a disgrace.' FIFA spokesman Keith Cooper was marginally more tactful, saying: 'There have been one or two major mistakes which are a cause for concern.
But referees are only human and errors can never be entirely discounted. Conspiracy theories crop up in all walks of life and in ninety nine per cent of the cases they are unfounded. This is one of the ninety nine per cent.' It was, however, that dickhead Blatter whom the referees saw as a publicity-hungry traitor after he publicly ridiculed them. Controversial decisions made in favour of co-hosts South Korea had brought the biggest outcry, with FIFA admitting that four hundred thousand 'hateful e-mails' were received from Italy - so great a number, indeed, that their computer crashed. Some were said to be death threats made against the Ecuadorian referee, Byron Moreno, who sent-off Francesco Totti for diving. 'If the Italians are talking about bribes, it's probably because they're accustomed to using them,' said Morena angrily. And, admittedly, quite accurately. Egyptian referee Gamal Ghandour was also heavily criticised by Spain after chalking off two - seemingly perfectly legal - goals. Angel Maria Villar, president of the Spanish football federation, said that he would resign from the referees' commission in protest. Which is all a bit 'we're taking our ball and going home,' for my liking. To be fair, both countries did have something valid to complain about but, then, so did England in 1986 with Maradona's handball and it's not as if we've spent the last twenty odd years going on, and on, and on ... oh. Hang on. We have.353. Did You Know?: During England's victory in a friendly with Mexico at Wembley in 2010, BBC Radio 5 Live's Mike Ingham dismissed suggestions that England might have problems in the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa. 'Forget all this nonsense about playing at altitude,' he noted. 'Peter Crouch plays at altitude in every match!'
354. Did You Know?: Just hours after Algeria had beaten West Germany in the 1982 World Cup, as if one shock wasn't enough for the day, another followed immediately.
The hosts, Spain, played their opening game in Valenica, with King Juan Carlos watching from the stands, and were promptly held to a 1-1 draw by first-time qualifiers Honduras after the Central Americans had been in front for almost an hour. Héctor Zelaya gave Honduras a shock lead in the eighth minute with an angled shot following a one-two on the edge of the area. Julio Cesar Arzu, the Honduras goalkeeper, and their enormous centre half, Anthony Costly, both played superbly and it took a somewhat dubious penalty to get Spain back into the game - awarded, by the Argentine referee, after a challenge on a Spanish player not posing any immediate threat. López Ufarte took the spot kick, Arzu guessed the right way but couldn't quite reach it. ITV Panelist Jimmy Greaves commented after the game 'We knew the referee had to give it. In the end he would have given a penalty against the goalkeeper for handball!' Ah, Greavsie - with wit like that you could've had your own show. Oh, hang, you did. What happened to it?355. Did You Know?:
Northern Ireland scored a famous victory over England at Wembley in the 1972 Home International Championship. Alf Ramsey had given Colin Todd and Tony Currie their debuts in a largely experimental side. One which, for the first time since 1966, didn't include any member of the World Cup winning team - although Martin Peters did appear as a second-half substitute. Terry Neill netted the only goal after thirty three minutes from Danny Hogan's corner to give Northern Ireland their first win against England since 1957.356. Did You Know?: When Italy play Peru, it's usually a question of who is going to burst into tears first. When they met in a first round match in 1982, the Italians quickly took the lead - Bruno Conti losing his marker with a quick turn and picking his spot with a fine strike into the top corner. They then pulled the usual Italian trick of trying to hang onto a 1-0 lead. Oddly, for once, they failed. Having peppered Dino Zoff's goal for the majority of the second half - substitute Guillermo La Rosa, in particular, missing a sitter - the equaliser for Peru finally came seven minutes from time. The ball was laid from a free kick for Rubén Toribio Díaz to strike a low - and seemingly weak - effort at goal. The ball took a wicked deflection off Collovati and rolled into the net. Italy manager Enso Bearzot admitted afterwards that 'Peru deserved to win.' The highlight of the match, however, and one that still regularly crops up on all those never-ending Own Goals and Gaffs tapes was a comedic incident midway through the first half.
The tall and ungainly West German referee, Herr Eschweiler, collided with Peru's Jose Velásquez having, apparently, believed that the on-rushing Peruvian could run between his legs. He was knocked to the ground with his arse in the air - losing his cards in the process. The Spanish TV director, who was obviously a big fan of slapstick, deemed it worthy of an action replay. 'He's lost his cards, he's lost his composure and I think he's lost his sight' noted Alan Parry, commentating. The referee appeared to get his own back in the second half, turning down a cast-iron Peruvian penalty appeal when Oblitas appeared to have been tripped in the box.357. Did You Know?:
The 2006 World Cup Silly Names Squad included - Torsten Frings (Germany), Mariusz Jop (Poland), Stern John (Trinidad & Tobago), Bakari Koné (Côte d'Ivoire), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (the Netherlands, see right), Albert Nad (Serbia and Montenegro), Jamba (Angola), Quim (Portugal), Razak Pimpong (Ghana), Massimo Oddo (Italy), Kaká (Brazil), Fred (Brazil), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan), Cho Won-Hee (South Korea), Raphaël Wicky (Switzerland), Mehdi Nafti (Tunisia) and Ruslan Rotan (Ukraine).358. Did You Know?: Scotland's 2-0 defeat of Wales at Anfield in October 1977 secured their place in the World Cup finals the following year. Wales had made the mistake of moving their 'home' clash over the border to nearby Liverpool, hoping for a larger support than they'd get at Wrexham's much smaller Racecourse Ground. (They were currently banned from playing home matches at Cardiff.)
However, the Tartan Army had other ideas, and flooded down to Merseyside in their thousands. The Scots were awarded a controversial penalty on seventy eight minutes when Joe Jordan handled the ball in the area after a deep Lou Macari cross and the French referee, Robert Wurtz, inexplicably saw it as hand-ball by the Welsh defender David Jones. Don Masson converted the resulting spot-kick. Kenny Dalglish added a second shortly before full time. And, to be fair, if the Welsh had won and gone to Argentina instead, we'd have been denied so much world class comedy.359. Did You Know?: The West Germany vs Netherlands clash in the second round in 1990 was, appropriately, held in Milan, with both sides featuring several notable players from the two Milanese clubs.
The match - between two sides for whom love is seldom lost in most encounters - turned ugly after twenty two minutes when Rudi Völler and Frank Rijkaard clashed twice in just a few seconds and were dismissed - seemingly for general mutual hatred. As they walked off, Rijkaard hockled a lump of phlegm in Völler's hair. (Rijkaard, to be fair to him, did subsequently apologise for his 'inexcusable' actions.) Early in the second half, Jürgen Klinsmann - who had a magnificent game playing up front on his own in Völler's absence - put the West Germans ahead and Andy Brehme added a second with eight minutes left. A Ronald Koeman penalty for the Netherlands in the last minute narrowed the score to 2–1 but the Germans saw the game out to gain some revenge for their exit to the Dutch in the previous European Championship.360. Did You Know?:
Senegal midfielder Khalilou Fadiga was placed under investigation in South Korea just before the 2002 World Cup on suspicion of stealing a gold necklace. He was not prosecuted however, despite admitting the theft. Police in Taegu, one of the World Cup venues in South Korea, said that Fadiga admitted to stealing the eighteen-carat gold necklace, worth around three hundred thousand won, during a visit to a jewellery store in the city. An official said: 'The amount involved in very small. And he's a foreigner.' So, there you go lads and lasses, next time you're thinking about smuggling any kif through The Golden Triangle, avoid Thailand and go through Korea. If you get caught, instead of twenty years in the Bangkok Hilton followed by hanging, you'll likely get a nice flight home. They might even let you keep your stash. Although, to be honest, I wouldn't use that as a defence should they decide to make matters further.361. Did You Know?: The greatest manager that England never had, Brian Clough, played for Billingham Synthonia before his National Service between 1953 and 1955 in the RAF.
Following this, he became a prolific striker and goalscoring legend for his home town club, Middlesbrough, scoring a remarkable one hundred and ninety seven goals in just two hundred and thirteen league games for the Boro. He then signed for neighbours Sunderland and scored a further fifty four goals in sixty one games. On 26 December 1962, he injured his knee during a second division match against Bury after colliding with goalkeeper Chris Harker. It turned out to be a cruciate ligament injury and, although Clough spent the next two years valiantly trying to come back from the injury, he could only manage three more games before his knee gave out again and he was forced to retired. He played twice for the England national team - against Wales on 17 October 1959 and Sweden on 28 October 1959. Why he didn't go to the 1958 World Cup when he was the top scorer in the country during the 1957-58 season, only the morons who didn't select him will know. His subsequent managerial career - at Hartlepools, Derby County, Brighton and Hove Albion, (briefly) Leeds United and Nottingham Forest is the stuff of legends. So good, in fact, they made a film about it!362. Did You Know?:
Hugo Sánchez Márquez, popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. He was also the focus of the Mexican national side for seventeen years and participated in the World Cups of 1978, 1986, and 1994. Had Mexico qualified in 1982 and 1990, he would probably have played in those too. His only World Cup finals goal was the winner in a 2-1 victory against Belgium at the Azteca in 1986. He also coached the national side between 2006 and 2008 but was subsequently dismissed after a run of poor performances.363. Did You Know?: Possibly the highlight of the Netherlands 1974 World Cup campaign was a breathtakingly brilliant performance against Argentina in the second round. It was one that had the BBC's Barry Davies virtually creaming in his own pants in orgasmic delight as, for ninety minutes, Rinus Michels vision of total football stunned both the Argentine team and, indeed, the watching world.
The Oranj took the lead after ten minutes when a delicate Vim van Hanegem chip into the box allowed Johan Cruyff to round Daniel Carnevali and stroke the ball into the empty net from a wide angle (see right). With Carnevali apparently fond of going walkabout, the Oranj had three notable efforts (including one cleared off the line and another ruled out for offside) before Ruud Krol shot through a crowd of players following a corner. With torrential rain falling in the second half, Cruyff crossed from the left for Johnny Rep on the right to beat the keeper with a near-post header after seventy minutes. 'They seem able to up the tempo and score any time they feel like it. Like now!' said Barry, with immaculate timing. The fourth Netherlands goal was an audacious volley from Cruyff wide on the left after a fabulous one-two between van Hanegem and Wim Jensen had produced a shot saved by the keeper which then re-bounded into the path of Dutch captain.364. Did You Know?: Emile Heskey once scored a goal in a World Cup final. It was against Denmark in 2002. The Danish defence have been hanging their heads in shame ever since.
365. Did You Know?: On 6 September 1989, while playing for England in a vital World Cup qualifier in Sweden, their captain Terry Butcher suffered a deep cut to his forehead early in the game.
Butcher had some impromptu stitches inserted by the England doctor at the side of the pitch and then, swathed in bandages, continued playing. His constant heading of the ball – unavoidable, of course, when playing in the centre of defence – soon disintegrated the bandages and reopened the cut to such an extent that his white England shirt was almost entirely red by the end of the game. Photographs of Butcher at the end of the game resemble something from a video nasty. Thanks to its gore-splattered nature, this match remains Butcher's defining moment as one of England's footballing heroes, especially as England got the draw they needed to qualify for the 1990 competition. 'At that stage, there was no such thing as image rights in football, which is a pity - because the photo of me at the end of that match would have made me a fortune! I was described as brave, but any real Englishman would have played on,' he said. It would never happen these days, of course. Due to the potential for the transference of blood-borne infections, FIFA now dictate that all blood injuries are properly dealt with before a player can return to a game.366. Did You Know?:
Uruguay needed to beat Senegal in their final group match in 2002 to qualify for the second round. Despite goals from Richard Morales, Diego Forlan and Álvaro Recoba (see right), the best they could managed was a 3-3 draw (Papa Bouba Diop scoring twice for the Senegalese) and, so, they were on their way home.367. Did You Know?: Football has been played in Micronesia informally, and at the school level, for over twenty years. However, its popularity beyond this was chiefly among expatriates living in the country. It wasn't until 1992 that a serious attempt was made to improve the level of organised matches in the country, especially among the indigenous populations of the various islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia - and yes, before you ask, it is a real country and not something from a Marx Brothers movie. In Pohnpei, a football league was started which culminated in periodic statewide tournaments.
In Yap, a club was formed with matches scheduled against teams from visiting ships. In spite of the many hurdles to further development, Micronesians became keenly passionate about the sport and, because of this, a team from Yap was invited to participate in the Micronesian Games which were held in the Republic of Palau in August 1998. Given that it was their first international event, and that the Yap team were mostly boys aged fourteen to twenty, they did remarkably well, winning two of their six games. In attendance at the Micronesian Games were two professional FIFA referees, sent to Palau from the Japan Football Association. They were impressed with the team and encouraged the Federated States of Micronesia to apply for FIFA accreditation. In 2006, the FSMFA was recognized as a possible future associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation.368. Did You Know?:
Then playing for Norwich, and born in Manchester, Efan Ekoku nevertheless found himself in Nigeria's squad for the 1994 World Cup thanks to his African parents. Ultimately, he didn't get on the pitch in any of Nigeria's four matches but he did subsequently carve out an international career for himself over the next four years, playing twenty times for his adopted country and scoring six goals.369. Did You Know?: Scotland's preparation for one of the most vital matches in their history was less than ideal; on the morning of their 1974 group match against Yugoslavia a letter arrived at Scotland's hotel, supposedly from the IRA which threatened to assassinate two - protestant - member of the Scotland team. The players had to be accompanied by armed guards and low-flying helicopters wherever they went.
It was a shit-or-bust situation for Willie Ormand's team who would, otherwise, have to rely on Zaire preventing Brazil from scoring three goals which would give the Brazilains a superior goal-difference. Nevertheless, the Scots (playing in all white) were confident that they would go through and Joe Jordan was presented with a great chance to give them a first half lead when a defender failed to deal with a ball into the box. Despite the humid conditions - very unusual in that particular competition - and the less than sporting tactics of the Slavs, Scotland were well on top for much of the game but, as they had done against Zaire and Brazil found scoring a major problem. Then, eight minutes from time, their chances appeared to have fallen through the floor when a fresh-off-the-bench Stanislav Karasi headed Yugoslavia into the lead. With Brazil thought to be still only 2-0 ahead against the Africans, Joe Jordan restored hope with an equaliser just seconds from the end following a fine cross by Tommy Hutchison. But, that hope was shattered at full time when the Frankfurt stadium's electronic scoreboard flashed up a result of Brazil 3, Zaire 0 to confirm that Scotland had become the first team in the history of the World Cup finals to exit without losing a match. Scuffles had broken out between rival supporters towards the end of the game which resulted in four arrests and twelve people being treated in hospital for minor injuries including a Yugoslavia fan who was stabbed in the chest with a broken bottle, but the behaviour of the Scottish support was, generally, noble in defeat. David Hay and Willie Morgan would never play for Scotland again, but - along with the rest of the squad - they were at least able to enjoy the consolation of a heroes welcome home back in Jockoland.370. Did You Know?:
The 2002 World Cup Silly Names Squad included Ebbe Sand (Denmark), Papa Bouba Diop (Senegal), Francisco Arce (Paraguay), Vampeta (Brazil), Yang Pu (China), Mustafa Izzet (Turkey), Jacek Bak (Poland), Capucho (Portugal), Song Chong-Gug (South Korea), Jeff Agoos (USA), Joseph-Désiré Job (Cameroon, see right), Hans-Jörg Butt (Germany), Damien Duff (Ireland), Abdullah Al-Waked (Saudi Arabia), Nicky Butt (England), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Bart Goor (Belgium) and Shinji Ono (Japan).371. Did You Know?: Everybody remembers every single moment of 1970's group three - the one with England and Brazil in - surely?
Except, perhaps, for Romania against Czechoslovakia, the 1970 World Cup game that time seems to have pretty much forgotten. Yer Keith Telly Topping doesn't know a single person who had ever seen so much as single goal from this game repeated on any of those World Cup Goals compilation TV shows! Although, as this proves, some of ITV's footage of the game (commentary by Hugh Johns) does exist. God bless You Tube. The match took place of Saturday 6 June in Guadalajara, twenty four hours before England's epic encounter with Brazil in the same stadium. Romania won 2-1, keeping alive their qualification hopes and eliminating the Czechs. Alexandru Neagu and Florea Dumitrache scored for the Romanians after Ladislav Petráš had opened the scoring with his second goal of the tournament.372. Did You Know?: Sandwiched between a 2-0 defeat in Rome the previous October and a very unconvincing 5-0 victory over Luxembourg, England's first international match of 1977 was in February when they were caned 2-0 by a magnificent Dutch performance at Wembley.
This night was, possibly, the ultimate evocation of Johan Cruyff and the total football way of thinking. The Dutch, containing seven of their 1974 World Cup final side, didn't give England a kick all night, toying with them in exactly the same way that a cat plays with a mouse before killing it. In the end, the margin of victory could have so much wider than the mere two goals scored in nine first half minutes by AZ 67's Jan Peters. Trevor Francis made his debut for England.373. Did You Know?:
Quality strikes from Roque Santa Cruz and Chiqui Arce had Paraguay dreaming of the second round when they played South Africa at Busan in 2002. But a last minute penalty, scored by Quinton Fortune, snatched a share of the points. Despite losing their next game, to Spain, the Paraguayans did qualify second in their group with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia.374. Did You Know?: Junichi Inamoto swapped Arsenal's reserve team for World Cup glory for Japan in 2002. His goals in the first round against Belgium and Russia helped Japan, playing on home soil, qualify for the second stages of the tournament for the first time.
Japan's star player for more than a decade was Hideotshi Nakata - the Ginger Ninja - the first Japanese player to become a household name in the Serie A (with Perugia, Roma and Parma). He played at three World Cup finals, in 1998, 2002 and 2006, although he was, generally, a disappointment in all of them. As, indeed, he was when he played half-a-season for Bolton Wanderers. The highlight of Nakata's career at Roma came in May 2001 in the Serie A match against Juventus. After replacing Francesco Totti in the second half with Roma trailing 0-2, Nakata scored with a thirty-yard screamer past Edwin van der Sar. He then set up another goal when his fierce drive from outside the box was parried into the path of Vincenzo Montella, who duly equalised.375. Did You Know?: We've already looked on Keith Telly Topping's World Cup Trivia at the glorious wasteland that is England's official World Cup songs. But, what about their Scottish counterparts, I hear you ask, dear blog reader? 'Easy, Easy' (sample lyric; 'Yabba-dabba-doo, we're the boys in blue, and it's easy, easy') was a minor hit single in 1974 on the Polydor label.
That's all there is to say about it, really. Like Scotland's 1974 World Cup campaign itself, the song promised much upfront but rather fizzled out a bit by the climax. In 1978, on the back of much media hype, the unofficial work of alleged comedian Andy Cameron briefly lit up the singles charts, making the top ten. Released on the Klub label (with 'Ah Want Tae Be A Punk Rocker' on the b-side), the turgid 'Ally's Tartan Army' probably put a fair few neutrals right off the Caledonians before they'd even kicked a ball in Argentina. Oh, how we all laughed at the 'England cannae dee it, cos they didnae qualify' line. And, we continued laughing right through the Peru and Iran games. That year's official Scotland anthem was 'Ole Ola (Mulher Brasileira)'. Which, to be fair, was not one of Rod Stewart's finest moments - especially the decision to try and rhyme 'ole ola' with 'we're gonna bring the World Cup back from over ... thar.' Other sample lyrics include: 'Brazil, this time I don't think so. Holland without Cruyff just ain't the same. Germany, we feel, will be a challenge. The Italians can still play the game. But there's really only one team in it. We'll be singing as we all get off of the plane. We are bound for Buenos Aires, we don't care just what the fare is. Only wish we had Danny McGrain.' As, indeed, did Ally MacLeod. Since then the quality of Scotland World Cup songs has varied from the mildly amusing (1982's 'We Have a Dream', written by BA Robertson and sung by Gregory's Girl actor John Gordon Sinclair) to the vaguely pathetic and self-pitying (1998's 'Don't Come Back Too Soon' by Del Amitri). To nothing at all in 2010. Because, Andy, they didnae qualify. Feel like recording a song about that, pal?376. Did You Know?: Like West Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 won the World Cup after having lost their third group game, in their case to a fine Roberto Bettega goal against Italy.
As with the Germans four years early, this ultimately proved to be the best thing that could have happened to the hosts. Finishing second in the group Argentina went into a slightly easily second round pool and, more importantly, got themselves out of Buenos Aires where, it was suggested, the pressure of expectation from massive crowds was inhibiting the players. In the Santa Fe city of Rosario, at the claustrophobic Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, local hero Mario Kempes greatly enjoyed the support of the fans and went on to become the tournament's top scorer.377. Did You Know?: Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born in Malmö to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother who had emigrated to Sweden. Ibrahimovic grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities.
Having joined his local club as a teenager subsequent moves to Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale and Barcelona saw the big centre forward scoring goals in the toughest leagues in Europe. He also managed twenty two goals in sixty internationals for Sweden where he formed, for many years, a more-than-useful striking partnership with Henrik Larsson. Even though he was eligible to play for both Bosnia and Croatia through his parentage, Ibrahimovic chose to play for Sweden, his country of birth. He made his international debut in a 0–0 friendly against the Faroe Islands at the Värendsvallen on 31 January 2001. His first competitive match was a 2002 qualifier against Azerbaijan on 7 October. Ibrahimovic was part of Sweden's 2002 World Cup finals squad who were eliminated in the second round by Senegal and, four years later, where they again reached the second round before losing to Germany.378. Did You Know?: Willie Ormond's first game in charge of Scotland was on 14 February 1973 in a friendly against England to celebrate the Scottish FA's Centenary. It turned into an unmitigated disaster as England inflicted a St Valentine's Day massacre on the auld enemy. On an ice-cold evening in front of fifty thousand frozen fans at Hampden Park, Bobby Moore won his one hundredth cap for England and received a silver salver before the game. The home crowd responded with the song 'Bobby Moore, superstar, walks like a woman and he wears a bra' throughout the match, and booed Moore every time he touched the ball.
England's captain, however, had the last laugh in a match which included three goals in the opening fifteen minutes. Peter Lorimer deflected Mick Channon's effort in to his own net, Channon set up Allan Clarke for the second and, a minute later, Channon scored a third with a half-volley. Martin Chivers saw a shot strike the woodwork before adding a fourth goal in the second half. And Clarke rounded off a miserable night for the Scots five minutes from the end. At 5-0, it was England's biggest win at Hampden since 1888 and the perfect response to the barrage of criticism they had received following the recent home draw with Wales in a World Cup qualifier. Incidentally, on the same night, West Germany lost a friendly to Argentina, their first defeat at home since England had beaten them in 1965.379. Did You Know?: Jimmy Hogan, from Burnley, is counted among the great pioneers of the development of the game on the continent. Hogan enjoyed some success as a footballer, with Burley, Bolton and reaching an FA Cup semi-final with Fulham in 1908. But it was as a coach that his abilities found their true vocation. In Switzerland, he coached Young Boys of Berne. Partly responsible for the development of football in mainland Europe, Hogan later formed a great partnership with the legendary Hugo Meisl, coaching the Austrian national team - Das Wunderteam - to unprecedented success in the early 1930s. After a brief spell as Fulham boss, Hogan returned to Austria, where he got them to the 1936 Olympic final.
Aston Villa appointed Hogan as their manager in November 1936, then having just been relegated to the second division for the first time in their history. Within two seasons, Hogan had guided Villa back to the top flight. He has also coached the teams of FC Dordrecht in the Netherlands and Dresden. The outbreak of the second world war found him again coaching in Austria. On the day war was declared he was woken at dawn and thrown into a concentration camp. He remained an internee for the duration of the war but was allowed to go to Hungary where he worked with the MTK club who formed the basis of the subsequent Hungarian national team which would develop into the great side of the 1950s. However, when the war ended Hogan returned to England and was told that footballers who had suffered financially as a result of the war could claim two hundred pounds from the Football Association. He was almost destitute but when he went to London the FA secretary, Frederick Wall, opened a cupboard and offered him a pair of khaki socks: 'We sent these to the boys at the front and they were grateful.' The subtext was unsubtle: 'Traitor.' Hogan also had a short spell in the early 1950s as a coach at Celtic and then returned to Villa where he was in charge of their youth team for another decade. His ideas, which emphasized greater ball control, were often dismissed as unnecessarily elaborate within British football circles, although he did have a formative influence on the generation of managers who would emerge in the 1960s. He is also sometimes credited with the revolution in European football that saw Hungary thrash England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953, ushering in a new football era. After the match, Sándor Barcs, the president of the Hungarian Football Federation, told the English press, 'Jimmy Hogan taught us everything we know about football.' Jimmy died in 1974 aged ninety one, a patriot and purist to the end, but one with cause to be bitter.380. Did You Know?:
Despite his exploits at Euro '88, winning the European Football of the Yard award three times (1988, 1989 and 1992, the latter when he was also named World Football of the Year) and his astonishing goalscoring career with Ajax and AC Milan, Marco vas Basten never scored a single goal in a World Cup finals tournament. The Netherlands failed to qualify in 1986. Four years later despite playing in all four of their games van Basten couldn't find the net. And, by 1994, a troublesome ankle injury was on the verge of forcing his retirement from the game when, at twenty nine, he should have been leading the Dutch attack.381. Did You Know?: Lionel Messi made his full international debut for Argentina in August 2005 against Hungary at the age of eighteen. He came on as a sixty third minute substitute but his debut lasted just three minutes before he was sent off when the referee, Markus Merk, spotted him head-butting defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt.
Messi returned to the team a month later for Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. On 28 March 2009, in a qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number ten shirt for the first time with Argentina. Significantly, this match was the first official game for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring goal.382. Did You Know?: Having missed out on qualification for the 1974 World Cup, Sir Alf Ramsey was dismissed as England manager on 1 May 1974. Coventry City's manager, Joe Mercer, was placed in temporary charge of England for the forthcoming friendly at Wembley against Argentina and a subsequent three game tour of Eastern Europe. Argentina insisted that the referee at Wembley should be an Argentinean before they would agree to play the fixture - still, seemingly, feeling hard-done-by about 1966 and all that - and after allowing some bad tackles to go unpunished in the second half, Senor Ithurralde denied England a deserved victory by awarding Argentina a penalty in the dying minutes.
Mick Channon had scored opening goal just before half time. As the players left the field, Roberto Perfumo protested about the goal. Emlyn Hughes pushed the Argentina captain out of the way and was head-butted in the face by Rubén Glaría who, perhaps wisely, did not come out for the second half having been subbed. Although, to be fair, who hasn't idly wanted to stick the nut on Elmyn Hughes at some point in their lives? Frank Worthington scored a second from a Keith Weller pass after Colin Bell hit the underside of the crossbar following a corner. Three minutes later Mario Kempes reduced arrears and then the same player won a penalty, falling dramatically over the outstretched foot of Hughes. He took the kick himself to make it 2-2. 
A week later, England drew 1-1 in Leipzig against East Germany. Having hit the woodwork four times, England went behind to a Joachim Streich goal but Channon equalised. They then moved on to Bulgaria where they won 1-0 - Worthington scoring his second, and last, international goal. The England party arrived at Belgrade airport from Sofia on Sunday afternoon but, due to apparent confusion over the time difference their arrival was an hour earlier than expected and no Yugoslavian officials had turned up to greet them. The England players were reportedly in a jovial mood and were dressed in casual clothes. Worthington walked into a glass door which had his colleagues in hysterics and Alec Lindsay decided to lark about walking on the luggage conveyor belt. Angry immigration officials ordered the players to move to the correct area. Kevin Keegan, the slowest to move, was then pushed in the back - probably because of the perm, although it might have been 'looking at them in a funny way' - and, as he turned to complain, he was grabbed around the neck and hauled off to an office by some men in uniform. It was then alleged that a stewardess had claimed one of the passengers on the flight had 'goosed' her. Keegan, who had been asleep for the whole journey, was detained for half-an-hour and was said to have been struck in the face and stomach. 
He was eventually released 'under surveillance'. Charges of assaulting a stewardess, assaulting security guards, disturbing the peace and causing obstruction were all ultimately dropped. The one about 'having a really bad haircut' remains on file to this day. Many of the England players protested that they should get straight back on the plane and go home, but wiser counsel prevailed and they were eventually persuaded to stay and play the match. A crowd of eighty thousand saw Channon give England an early lead after Enver Maric had failed to hold on to a corner. Ilija Petkovic headed and equaliser and Yugoslavia then went ahead courtesy of a terrific strike from Branko Oblak. But Keegan had the final word, scoring with a diving header fifteen minutes from the end. Malcolm MacDonald could have won the match in the dying seconds when he was put clear with only the keeper to beat but he failed to find the net from a narrow angle.383. Did You Know?: Of the FIFA World Rankings going into the 2010 World Cup finals nine of the top ten nations - Brazil, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England and France - qualified. Only Croatia had not. The lowest ranked team to qualify were North Korean, currently ranked one hundred and fifth of the two hundred and two FIFA nations.
384. Did You Know?: Danish pair Jesper Grønkjær and Stig Tøfting, had a handbags-at-five-paces wrestling match that all got a bit out of hand during training at the 2002 World Cup. Tøfting and Everton's Thomas Gravesen had decided to indugle in a bit of 'boys own British humour' by attempting to put some ice cubes down Grønkjær's shorts.
The Chelsea winger, needless to say, took exception to this under-five behaviour and struck out at Bolton's Tøfting who, as all bullies tend to, grabbed his mucker round the neck, blacked his eye and wrestled him to the ground. It was, in short, a right shite state of affairs. The pair had to be separated and there was talk in the Danish press that both (and, possibly, Gravesen, who appeared to have been the instigator of the assault) could be sent home in disgrace. In the end, they stayed and Denmark made the second round before losing to England. After returning home, the players held a celebration evening at the Café Ketchup in Copenhagen. During this, Tøfting head-butted the proprietor of the café. He stood trial for the incident in October 2002 and was convicted and sentenced to four months in jail. He announced his international retirement having played a total forty one international games for Denmark.385. Did You Know?: T
he 1998 World Cup Silly Names Squad included Smahi Triki (Morocco), Roar Strand (Norway), Christian Dailly (Scotland), Arnold Wetl (Austria), Søren Colding (Denmark), Naughty Mokoena (South Africa), Kiko (Spain), Danny Boffin (Belgium), Phillip Cocu (Netherlands), Lee Dong-Gook (South Korea, see right), Christian Wörns (Germany), David Seaman (England), José Santa (Colombia), Ovidiu Stînga (Romania) and Donovan Ricketts (Jamaica).386. Did You Know?: The match of the second round in the 1986 World Cup was the seven-goal thriller between Belgium and the Soviet Union at Leon, in which the Soviets' Igor Belanov scored a hat-trick and still ended up on the losing side.
The game was drawn 2–2 after ninety minutes, and in extra time Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen put Belgium 4–2 ahead. Belanov scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining, but neither he nor his team-mates could find a fourth goal for the USSR. This was one of the Soviets finest ever teams - the team of Rinat Dassayev, Anatoli Demyanenko, Oleg Kuznetsov, Vasyly Rats and Oleg Blokhin among others. But the hard-working Belgians (who would end the tournament in the semi-finals) had twice equalised Belanov's earlier goals - through Enzo Scifo and Jan Ceulemans (after a defence-splitting pass by Franky Vercayteren).387. Did You Know?: England were confident heading to Rome for a 1997 World Cup qualifier after an impressive 2-0 win over Italy in Le Tournoi - a World Cup warm-up tournament in France. Still, Italy had never dropped a point at home in a World Cup qualifier before and were favourites to get the victory they needed to progress.
But England required just a point from the game and produced one of their best ever defensive performances to get a battling 0-0 draw. It could have been even better as Ian Wright went close to grabbing the winner in the dying seconds. The game lived up to its expectations although it was somewhat marred by Italy's aggressive approach, which resulted in the home side receiving five cautions and one player being sent off, and that of their riot police who, for once, genuinely did over-react to some rather mild behaviour by travelling England supporters with shields and batons. Glenn Hoddle's side comfortably held off Inzaghi, Zola, Vieri, Del Piero, Maldini and co. and, unlike four years earlier, qualified for the finals. As, after a play-off with Russia, did Italy, Pierluigi Casiraghi's goal in a 1-0 win in Rome proving decisive.388. Did You Know?: Things got even worse for Scotland after the final whistle of their calamitous 3-1 defeat to Peru in 1978. Kenny Dalglish and West Brom winger Willie Johnston were selected for the obligatory doping tests after the game - Johnston had not, originally been one of those selected by had been picked when original choice Archie Gemmill proved too dehydrated to give a urine sample. Johnston says now that he knew there was going to be trouble when his pee looked a different colour to Dalglish's. Johnston's test returned positive. The stimulant Fencamfamin had been, Johnston claims, innocently taken as a constituent part of over-the-counter hay fever medicine Reactivan. Twenty four hours later, amid chaotic scenes in the Scottish camp and a press pack scenting blood, Johnston was ordered home in disgrace, never to don the dark blue jersey again.
Johnston always had something of a reputation for being a bit of a maverick, even from his early days as a teenage protégé at Rangers. By December 1970 he had been sent off five times and banned for a total of one hundred and five days during two lengthy suspensions. 'I would get my retaliation in first,' he later reasoned. 'People were kicking lumps out of us. They'd kick you to death. Off-the-ball, high tackles, attempts to break your leg.' One of those dismissals saw him sent off in a New York friendly against Fiorentina for not much more of a crime than being hacked down and apprearing angry about it. When Johnston refused to leave the pitch, Antonio Rattín-style, a US cop came on and drew a gun on the player. Johnston decided it would be a good time to quell his protests. Willie's antics at the Hawthorns are the stuff of legend. He once playfully kicked a referee up the arse. He took a swig from a fan's can of beer while waiting to take a corner. And over the course of two home matches, he successfully negotiated the purchase of a greenhouse from a supporter stationed near the touchline. But he was rarely in the sort of bother he found himself in up north. In addition, his form was such that by 1977, and with the World Cup finals looming, the Scotland manager, Willie Ormond, was prepared to give him an international recall. 'You're the best winger in England,' Ormond told Johnston. 'I want you in my team but the SFA doesn't want you. Prove them wrong.' Willie would do so and was selected to go to Argentina the following year under new manager, Ally McLeod. On his return to Britain, Johnston's life was made a living hell and he soon upped sticks for Vancouver, where he won the 1979 Soccer Bowl with the Whitecaps. He is also fondly remembered in the US for instigating a twenty-man brawl against the New York Cosmos, after a clash with the notoriously hot-headed Giorgio Chinaglia; his Vancouver team-mate Alan Ball sat it out in the centre-circle alongside Cosmos defender Franz Beckenbauer whilst everybody else on the field got on with it.389. Did You Know?: The 1990 World Cup is generally considered by connoisseurs of the Beautiful Game as more of a table vintage.
Yet, ironically, because England did so well in the tournament (reaching the semi finals) Italia '90 in often cited as the point at which a sport that had been withering throughout the 1980s suddenly reminded people that it was still alive and kicking. The drama of England's extra-time victories over Belgium and Cameroon and, their participation in that heart-stoppingly tense semi-final with West Germany which ended on penalties has tended, for many, to airbrush over the mind-numbing tedium of some of Italia '90's low spots. The fact that Scotland also provided us with a comedy defeat to Costa Rica and Big Jack Chartlon's Irish side making the quarter-finals (again, via the drama of a penalty shoot-out) helped, somewhat, to banish memories of some really tedious games. Italy vs Austria, Uruguay vs Spain, the United Arab Emirates vs Colombia and every match - including the final - involving a horrid, negative, defensive and downright nasty Argentina team.390. Did You Know?: Australia coach Pim Verbeek criticised his players Vince Grella and Tim Cahill for reckless tackles after his side snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over rivals New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up game in 2010.
Verbeek said the experienced pair would have been red-carded if it had been in a competitive match for their tackles which forced Kiwi Leo Bertos to be stretchered off with a shin injury. The Australians won a fiercely contested friendly with a goal from substitute Brett Holman in the final seconds. But Dutchman Verbeek didn't hold back on the ugly tackles dished out by the two Premier League stars, saying that they were unacceptable, and praising New Zealand's composure in not seeking retribution. 'In the World Cup that's probably two red cards. So it's a good lesson because I cannot accept this and the players also know that this is not the way they should play the game,' Verbeek said. New Zealand, playing Australia for the first time in five years, took the lead at Melbourne Cricket Ground through Middlesbrough's Chris Killen. Australia equalised with a goal by Dario Vidosic before Holman's late intervention.391. Did You Know?: In 1993 Ruud Gullit and Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat began what was to be a long running dispute which ultimately ended Gullit's international career.
Advocaat's decision to play Gullit on the right-side of midfield, in a qualifying game against England at Wembley, rather than his usual central position upset Gullit and this was exacerbated by his substitution for Marc Overmars midway through the second half. Gullit refused to play for the national team following this but he later changed his mind and agreed to return, facing Scotland in a friendly in May 1994. Shortly before the 1994 World Cup, however, Gullit walked out of pre-tournament training camp and would never play international football again. The Dutch often pull this sort of stunt, of course, going right back Gerrie Mühren in 1974 and taking in Cruyff and van Hanegem's no-shown in Argentina, right up to Edgar Davids getting sent home from Euro '96 for criticising Guus Hiddink in a radio interview. Like Spain imploding and Italy 'starting slowly but getting stronger', it's become one of the clichés of all major tournaments. Whenever twenty two or twenty three are gathered together - and they're Dutch - one of them will take the huff about something.392. Did You Know?: England made up for their defeat against Romania four days earlier to turn the tables on Colombia at the World Cup in 1998. Michael Owen and David Beckham started the game, both having come on as substitutes in the previous match. Good old Sicknote himself, Darren Anderton opened the scoring before, inevitably, ending up limping and being replaced by Rob Lee. Becks doubled the scored with one of his trademark free-kicks.
It was the one hundred and eleventh, and final, international appearance for Colombia of Carlos Valderrama who, before the game, had made some very unwise comments about how nobody liked the English and what Colombia intended to do to them, being quoted in the Observer as saying 'Once we have run the English into the ground with "chase the ball," then we will go for the throat and they will be on their way home tomorrow morning.' No danger of you replacing Mystic Meg then, Carlos? The game was also notable for Chris Waddle on the BBC referring to the Colombian goalkeeper, Mondragon as 'Mogadon.'393. Did You Know?:
With fifty one goals for the Danish national team - including four in four game at the 2002 World Cup - Jon Dahl Tomasson is second only to Poul Tist Nielsen, as Denmark's all-time top goalscorer. I do realise that this will be difficult for any Newcastle fans who saw Tomasson suffer a torrid, unhappy season at St James' Park in the late 1990s when it appeared he'd have difficulty hitting a barn door from three feet. But, as his subsequent success at Feyenoord and AC Milan proved, he was actually a decent player when he put his mind to it.394. Did You Know?: The 1960s is generally considered to have been the Golden Age for Azerbaijani football - it produced several great players including Anatoliy Banishevskiy and Alakbar Mammadov who both played for the Soviet Union national side.
395. Did You Know?: P
oland's Wlodzimierz Lubanski made his international debut at the age of sixteen years and one hundred and eighty eight days, becoming the youngest player ever to appear for Poland. A tricky, skillful forward, he led his country to the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Tragically, he missed the 1974 World Cup after a Roy McFarland tackle during the Poland vs England qualifier in Chorzow damaged his cruciate ligament and put him out of football for two years. Lubanski had scored the Poles decisive second goal after robbing Bobby Moore of possession. He did return to play Belgian side KSC Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen and appeared in five of Poland's six games at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, but he never reached his previous levels of pace and deadly finishing.396. Did You Know?:
In the opening game of the 1970 tournament, hosts Mexico faced the USSR in what proved to be one of the most dull and boring 0-0 draws in the history of the World Cup. Before the match, the Soviets had flatly refused to send out their starting eleven to stand around in the broiling heat for over thirty minutes whilst the opening ceremonies took place and the team were introduced to dignitaries. Instead, the sent out all of the non-playing members of their squad.397. Did You Know?: Three players have scored after coming on as a substitute in a World Cup final - Dick Nanninga in 1978, Alessandro Altobelli in 1982 and Rudi Völler in 1986 for the Netherlands, Italy and West Germany respectively. Only Altobelli ended up on the winning side.
398. Did You Know?:
Panathinaikos's Nigerian-born striker Emmanuel Olisadebe was controversially granted Polish citizenship by presidential decree in 2001 reportedly after former international Zbigniew Boniek persuaded the country's president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, to hurry-up Olisadebe's application for citizenship. He become a major star virtually overnight via eight goals in the 2002 World Cup qualification tournament. Poland topped their group which included Ukraine, Norway and Belarus and Wales. At the finals tournament, however, Olisedebe was a big disappointment, as indeed were Poland generally, although he did score his country's opening goal in a 3-1 consolation victory over the USA in their final match.399. Did You Know?:
Cha Bum-Kun was South Korea's finest ever player. Nicknamed Tscha Bum in Germany because thunderous shooting, his accomplishments in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen made him a national hero back in Korea. For the national team, he appeared one hundred and twenty one times, scoring fifty five goals and playing in their first World Cup campaign in 1986. In January 1997, he became the Korean national team coach and led the nation to the 1998 World Cup. However, a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in South Korea's second group game got Cha fired. He later blamed the Korea Football Association for the bad performance, citing lack of bonuses and alleging football games in Korea were fixed. The KFA promptly slapped a five-year ban on him and he soon left the country with his wife.400. Did You Know?: South Africa was one of four African nations to attend FIFA's 1953 congress, at which the four won representation on the FIFA executive committee. These four nations - South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan - founded the Confederation of African Football in 1956. It soon became clear however that South Africa's constitution prohibited racially mixed teams from competitive sport and so they could only send either an all-black side or an all-white side to the planned 1957 African Cup of Nations. This was unacceptable to the other members of the Confederation and South Africa were disqualified from the competition, although some sources say that they withdrew voluntarily. At the second CAF conference in 1958 South Africa were formally expelled. They were admitted to FIFA in the same year, but in August 1960 the South African Football Association was given an ultimatum of one year to fall in line with the non-discriminatory regulations of FIFA. On 26 September 1961 they were formally suspended from FIFA. Sir Stanley Rous, a champion of South Africa's FIFA membership, was elected FIFA President a few days later. Rous was adamant that sport, and FIFA in particular, should not embroil itself in political matters and against fierce opposition he continued to resist attempts to expel South Africa from FIFA.
The suspension was lifted in January 1963 after a visit to South Africa by Rous. He declared that if the suspension were not lifted, football there would be discontinued, possibly to the point of no recovery. The next annual conference of FIFA in October 1964 took place in Tokyo and was attended by a larger contingent of representatives from African and Asian associations and here the suspension of South Africa's membership was re-imposed. In 1976, after the Soweto uprising, they were formally expelled from FIFA. In 1991, with the apartheid system beginning to be demolished, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was formed, and was admitted, virtually straight away, to FIFA. On 7 July 1992, the South African national team played their first game in two decades, beating Cameroon 1-0. South Africa made the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, but failed to qualify past the group stage both times. They hosted (and won) the 1996 African Nations Cup and will host the 2010 World Cup, the first African nation to do so. 
