151. Did You Know?: The opening ceremony of the 1994 World Cup was held on 17 June at Chicago's Soldier Field. Numerous dignitaries attended, including US President Bill Clinton, Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and President of Bolivia Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. 
The ceremony was emceed by Oprah Winfrey, who fell off the dais while getting particularly excited at one point. In addition, Jon Secada and Diana Ross gave musical performances. Ross was also supposed to kick a football into the goal from the penalty spot at the end of her performance of 'I'm Coming Up', with the goal then splitting in two. However, in the event she sent the ball hopelessly wide to the left in an apparent tribute to Geoff Thomas. Graham Taylor reportedly rang her up afterwards and ask her if she fancied playing for his England side which was lacking a bit of quality up front at the time.
152. Did You Know?: It was a balmy night in Seville in 1982, with ten minutes left in an engrossing World Cup semi-final between France and West Germany. Following a beautiful through-ball by Michel Platini, the French substitute Patrick Battiston races clear through the German defence towards goal. Harald 'Toni' Schumacher surges out of his goal towards Battiston just as the Frenchman takes a shot which narrowly misses the goal. Schumacher, however, carries on after the ball has passed him leaping into the air, twisting his body and sickeningly colliding with Battiston. Schumacher's hip hits the Frenchman's face.
Hard. Battiston, clattered, falls to the ground unconscious, with a damaged vertebrae and several teeth knocked out. He will later slip into a coma and emergency medics have to administer oxygen to him on the pitch. Platini will later say that, at this moment, he believes Battiston is dead, because 'he had no pulse and looked pale.' Astonishingly to the watching world, the referee did not give a foul, let alone send Schumacher off. The game goes to extra time, the French lead three-one but the West Germans equalise through a spectacular bicycle-kick from Klaus Fischer. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Schumacher saves from Didier Six and Maxime Bossis and the Germans win. Afterwards, the goalkeeper causes more controversy. When he is told that Battiston has lost three teeth, he replies: 'If that's all that's wrong with him, I'll pay for his teeth.' And, still the Germans wonder why everyone dislikes them so much.
153. Did You Know?: The most penalty saves by a goalkeeper in the same finals tournament was two, by Poland's Jan Tomaszewski in 1974 (against Sweden and West Germany) and by the USA's Brad Friedel in 2002 (against South Korea and Poland).
154. Did You Know?: Spectators in 1954 certainly got their money's worth, with one hundred and forty goals in twenty six matches, an average of 5.38 goals per game. This included the record for goals in a game – twelve, with Austria beating Switzerland 7-5 after earlier trailing 3-0.
155. Did You Know?: The Brazilian team of 1982 was one of the best the country had ever produced. Many informed judges reckon it was even better than the 1970 one in terms of pure ability and flair.
How, then, did they manage not to win the tournament? Telê Santana had assumed control of the national side in 1980. His philosophy was that football should be a show, both for those playing and for those watching the matches. For Telê, his teams should always be seeking to score goals. And he had the players to help him. The team was built around the mesmerising talents of Zico, the best player in the world at that time. Falcão had led his team, Internacional, to the tri-championship in Brazil and was now wowwing the Italians at Roma. Sócrates, a physician with the name of philosopher, combined elegance, supreme intelligence and outstanding vision. And the fact that he was a forty-a-day chain-smoker was used by many teenage boys as a rationale to their parents that smoking wasn't all bad. Toninho Cerezo, besides skill, was said to have an extra pair of lungs. (As John Motson noted, he was 'the adopted son of a circus clown, but the resemblence ends there!') The team also had the powerful left-winger Éder and, at the back, the abilities of Júnior and the experience of Oscar. There were, admittedly, a few weak links. The goalkeeper, Valdir Peres, didn't inspire much confidence even among fans of his team, São Paulo. Many thought that Leão, who had played in 1974 and 1978, and would return again in 1986, should have played in Spain. The lumbering centre-forward, Serginho, seemed like a carthorse playing in a team of thoroughbreds. He probably wouldn't have featured but Santana's favourite Careca, was injured. In three group matches against the USSR, Scotland and New Zealand, Brazil scored ten goals, conceded just two and looked, frankly, awesome. 
Then, they gave reigning champions Argentina a 3-1 hiding in the next match. But, perhaps, the seeds of doubt were first sown in the last few moments of that Argentina game when some general defensive sloppiness, with a tie already won, allowed Ramón Díaz to scored a consolation goal for the Argies. Brazil needed just a draw from their match with Italy to progress to the semi-finals. The game was a classic match-up of Brazil's attacking play and Italy's smothering Catenaccio defence, and swift counter-attacking, with an extra twist in that it was Italy who actually needed to win the game. It was the Italians who drew first blood. Striker Paolo Rossi, without a goal in the tournament up to that point, gave them the lead just five minutes into the match when he headed in a cross from Antonio Cabrini. It took Brazil just seven minutes to get back on level terms when Socrates burst through the Italian defence and slotted the ball past Dino Zoff. 
Italy were then gifted the initiative midway through the first half. For all their attacking style, Brazil's defence could highly suspect and when Cerezo suicidally gave the ball away to Rossi in their own half, he made no mistake in restoring Italy's lead. Midway through the second period Falcão equalised with an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box. Brazil had just over twenty minutes to hold on for the draw they needed, but they couldn't manage it. An Italian corner was half cleared and Marco Tardelli's shot fell to Rossi who completed his hat-trick to put Italy ahead for the third time. Despite their stunning attacking abilities, Brazil had been let down by their frail defence and it was Italy who went on to the last four and eventually a record-equalling third World Cup win.
156. Did You Know?:
Philippe Albert (everyone knows his name), then of Anderlecht, scored two of Belgium's four goals at the 1994 World Cup. Not bad for a centre half, even one as attack-minded as he. His performances in the tournament persuaded Kevin Keegan to pay over two and a half million quid for him to bring him to Newcastle. Where he would became a cult figure and, thanks to his delicate chip over Peter Schmichael in the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United in 1996, one of the most popular men in the country.
157. Did You Know?: When Bryan Robson scored for England against France at Bilbao in 1982 after just twenty seven seconds it was England's first goal in a world cup finals tournament since Martin Peters against West Germany in 1970. So, a quick goal, then, but rather a long time coming.
158. Did You Know?: 25 June 1982 is a date that lives forever in short, but eventual, history of Northern Ireland's World Cup exploits. At the Luis Casanova Stadium, Valencia, the Ulstermen, unsung and unheralded, achieved their most momentous international victory, a 1-0 triumph over host nation Spain. The city streets of the Province were emptied that night with almost everyone watching the drama. Indeed, it's probably fair to say that the goal scored by Gerry Armstrong has been screened more often in Belfast than Coronation Street. Northern Ireland opened with a goalless draw against Yugoslavia in Zaragoza where Manchester United's Norman Whiteside made his international debut at the age of seventeen. This was followed by another draw, 1-1, with Honduras, which meant they had to beat Spain to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Notwithstanding the Irish optimism it seemed a mission impossible, but not for manager Billy Bingham. 'Admittedly it will take much effort, passion, commitment and skill, but we possess these qualities in abundance,' he told a press conference. Skeptical journalists dismissed this as Irish blarney. Bingham, Northern Ireland's most successful manager, believed the thrusting runs by Billy Hamilton, Whiteside and Armstrong, could expose the Spanish defensive gaps. This was probably Northern Ireland's most talented ever side, with a midfield of David McCreery, Sammy McIlroy and Martin O'Neill full of work rate and the great Pat Jennings still one of the best goalkeepers in the world despite pushing forty. Bingham's message to players was simple: 'Don't concede an early goal.' That was difficult in a fiercely contested first half of what was primarily a physical struggle. 
Then, early in the second period, Armstrong took a step into Irish football immortality. He collected a pass thirty five yards from goal, left three players in his wake and laid the ball off to Hamilton on the right wing. Outpacing his markers, the strapping Burnley forward whipped the ball into the box where the Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada could only palm it into the path of Armstrong, who hit a low right-foot shot under the keeper's body. Then adversity struck: Sammy McIlroy, limping with a gashed leg, had to be substituted (Tommy Cassidy took his place), whilst on the hour, left back Mal Donaghy became entangled with Spanish defender Jose Antonio Camacho, who crashed against the advertising hoardings. Donaghy was ordered off. In injury time, a cross hung high in the box but before Juanito could make contact, Jennings flicked it over his head. Northern Ireland finished top of the group, a point ahead of Spain. They then drew 2-2 with Austria but were eliminated 4-1 by a Dominique Rocheteau-inspired France.
159. Did You Know?: Rubbish moments of World Cup TV analysis, number four. 1998. St Étienne. England and Argentina. Penalties. 'Kevin, you know him better than most. Will David Batty score this?' 'Yes.' 'NO!'
160. Did You Know?: The following have been the leading scorers in successive World Cups: 1930 Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) eight; 1934 Edmund Conen (Germany), Oldrich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia), Angelo Schiavio (Italy) four; 1938 Leônidas (Brazil) eight; 1950 Ademir (Brazil) nine; 1954 Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) eleven;
1958 Just Fontaine (France, see right) thirteen; 1962 Garrincha (Brazil), Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Dražen Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Flórián Albert (Hungary) four; 1966 Eusébio (Portugal) nine; 1970 Gerd Müller (West Germany) ten; 1974 Grzegorz Lato (Poland) seven; 1978 Mario Kempes (Argentina) eight; 1982 Paolo Rossi (Italy) six; 1986 Gary Lineker (England) six; 1990 Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) six; 1994 Hristo Stoitchkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia) six; 1998 Davor Šuker (Croatia) six; 2002 Ronaldo (Brazil) eight; 2006 Miroslav Klose (Germany) five.
161. Did You Know?: The career of Giorgio Chinaglia was a pretty remarkable one even by Roy of the Rovers' standards. Starting as a teenage trainee at Swansea and it would culminate with nearly a decade as a goal-every-two-games centre forward at Lazio leading the Rome club to their first Serie A title. In 1974 he went into the World Cup as Italy's first choice target man.
However, after he was substituted in the group match against Haiti, he wasn't happy. Cursing at coach Ferruccio Valcareggi, he made a very pointed two-fingered gesture that was picked up by most of the watching media and huffily stormed from the pitch to the dressing room, where he broke some water bottles to vent his frustration. He was subsequently ostracised by both his team mates and the Italian media and the incident effectively ended his national team career with fourteen caps and four goals. Although Italy avoided humiliation against Haiti, winning 3-1, a draw in the second game against Argentina left them needing to beat Poland, who were top of the group, to progress. Chinaglia, dropped for the Argentina game, returned but was substituted at half-time and replaced by the veteran Roberto Boninsegna. The Italians were eventually beaten 2-1 (Fabio Capello getting their goal, Andrzej Szarmach and Kazimierz Deyna scoring for the Poles) and sulked off home blaming Chinaglia for the calamity.
162. Did You Know?: 2006's match between France and Spain was the seven hundredth game in the history of the World Cup finals. The French were one of the combatants in the very first match (beating Mexico 4-1 at Montevideo on 13 July 1930) and they also featured in the previous centennial match – the six hundredth - four years previously.
163. Did You Know?:
Funniest moment of the 1994 World Cup? No, not Diana Ross in the opening ceremony. And, not Carlos Valderrama's Help, It's The Hair-Bear Bunch barnet, either. Unquestionably, it was John Aldridge threatening to chin a hapless FIFA official who wouldn't let him on the field to replace Tommy Coyne against Mexico. 'Y'fuckin' CHEAT!' Go on, John, spark his lights out!
164. Did You Know?: The year was 1989. The place, Rio de Janeiro. The teams, Brazil and Chile. It was a hard-fought, take-no-prisoners match, and with the Brazilians 1-0 up, the crowd was going berserk, as they tend to do in those hot Latin climbs. At one point a fan threw a flare onto the field and Chile's goalkeeper, Roberto Rojas, suddenly collapsed.
After lying prostrate on the grass for several minutes, Rojas was gingerly stretchered off the field, covered in blood. His team mates refused to continue the game in such a dangerous atmosphere and walked off the field; Brazil won, but Chile claimed the moral high ground. Unfortunately for the Chileans, a subsequent investigation revealed that the flare had actually missed Rojas by some distance. In fact, he'd deliberately cut himself with a scalpel he'd hidden in his clothing. The cheating keeper was banned for life, while Chile were fined thirty one thousand dollars and booted out of the 1990 World Cup.
165. Did You Know?: The only player to appear at the World Cup finals whilst playing for an Irish league club was Felix Healey. The Coleraine midfielder played for Northern Ireland in 1982 - coming on as a substitute for Martin O'Neill in their second match against Honduras.
166. Did You Know?:
The fastest hat-trick in a World Cup finals match was the work of Hungarian substitute Laszlo Kiss in 1982 (a seven minutes rampage against El Salvador in a 10-1 win). On the other hand, Geoff Hurst needed one hundred and two minutes to score his three goals in the 1966 final. And even then, the Germans are still arguing that one wasn't over the line, the first one was never a free kick and there were people on the pitch when the last one went in.
167. Did You Know?: During the 1986 game between Brazil and Spain, the Spanish winger Michel had a shot which hit the underside of Brazil's bar and bounced down - in best Geoff Hurst style. Television replays subsequently confirmed that the ball had bounced behind the line. Unfortunately, there was no 'Russian' linesman available and no goal was awarded, as none of the match officials (an Australian referee and his Dutch and American linesmen) could be sure that the ball had crossed the line. Goal-line technology, eh? They're still arguing about it.
168. Did You Know?: To reach the finals in 1978, Argentina had to beat Peru by four goals.
This appeared improbable because Peru had a solid team - albeit with a decidedly eccentric (and Argentine-born) goalkeeper, Ramon Quiroga. But the military Junta who ruled Argentina at the time believed that a World Cup win was the only way they could hold on to their political power. So they hatched a plan: Knowing that the Peruvian government was short of cash, the generals ordered the Argentine central bank to unfreeze fifty million dollars for Peru and had thirty five thousand tons of free grain shipped to Lima. The subsequent result? Argentina edged out Peru by 6-0 and they, rather than Brazil faced the Netherlands in the final.
169. Did You Know?:
Belgium's first choice goalkeeper at the 1982 World Cup was Jean-Marie Pfaff (see right) but he was dropped after their third game. His replacement was Espanyol's Theo Custers for the next game. After they lost by three goals to Poland, Custers was never capped again – quite literally a case of 'Custers' last stand.'
170. Did You Know?: After Scotland lost 3-0 to Morocco at St-Etienne during World Cup 1998, around eight thousand Scottish fans drank approximately one hundred and twenty five thousand litres of beer. Bars soon ran dry and fresh supplies had to be shipped in to quench the thirst of the disappointed Scots.
171. Did You Know?:
Perhaps the most surprising scoreline of the second round in 1986 came from Querétaro, where Denmark, who were a lot of punters dark horses to win the tournament, were eliminated in a 5–1 battering against Spain, having led 1-0. The Danes key player Frank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at Lothar Matthäus. After Denmark opened the scoring with a Jesper Olsen penalty they were taken apart by a devastating performance from Emilio Butragueño of Spain (see left), nicknamed The Vulture, who scored four of his team's five goals.
172. Did You Know?:
It's often forgotten that in additon to managing England to a World Cup quarter-final and semi-final in 1986 and 1990 respectively, the late Sir Bobby Robson was also a World Cup player, appearing in all four of England's 1958 matches. He was also selected for the squad in 1962 but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of the tournament.
173. Did You Know?: Cameroon's winning goal in their second round match against Colombia in 1990 is a particular favourite of many football connoisseurs as it features two iconic footballers but for vastly different reasons. Firstly there's the legendary Roger Milla, the thirty eight year old striker who came out of retirement after receiving a persuasive phone call from Cameroon's President, Paul Biya. Milla scored four goals at Italia '90 as Cameroon made it all the way to the quarter-finals, the first African team to do so, and celebrated each goal with his patented corner flag dance.
The second man involved was Colombia's Rene Higuita, the frizzy-haired eccentric goalkeeper - he of the 'scorpion kick' fame. He was also famous for his fancy footwork, regularly enjoying a bit of dribble with the ball many yards outside of his area. With Cameroon leading 1-0 in extra time, Higuita attempted to help his defence out, with a bit of flash jiggerypokery. Milla, sharp as a needle, dispossessed him as the goalkeeper dithered and ran through to score. Higuita was subsequently imprisoned back in Colombia in 1993 after getting involved in a kidnapping plot. Acting as an alleged go-between for the drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina, he was largely responsible for securing the release of Molina's daughter by delivering the ransom money. He received sixty four thousand dollars for his services, which broke Colombian law as it is an offence to profit from a kidnapping. He was incarcerated for seven months before being released without charge. Because of the term in prison Higuita was not fit for the 1994 World Cup.
174. Did You Know?: The most matches played by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal in World Cup finals was ten by England's Peter Shilton during the 1982, 1986 and 1990 tournaments.
175. Did You Know?: In March 2006, the German state of Hesse proposed a controversial 'Citizenship Test' comprising one hundred questions to be answered by those applying for German citizenship.
Question Ninety, under the 'Culture, Education and Science' category was as follows: 'The film The Miracle of Bern was released in German cinemas in 2004. What sporting event does it deal with?' Even today, Das Wunder von Bern is mentioned with a sense of national pride in Germany. After all, the West Germany of 1954 was still busy recovering from its humiliating defeat nine years earlier by the Allied Forces and trying to atoned for six years of state-sponsored genocide. Disillusioned former soldiers and prisoners of war were returning to their families after years of separation and the country was trying to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the international community. 
The German economic miracle remained a distant ideal and most Germans simply struggled to survive. The World Cup final itself was a classic David and Goliath scenario. The amateur German team, coached by Sepp Herberger and captained by Fritz Walter, comprised players who held day jobs as shop workers, cinema projectionists, petrol station attendants and lottery ticket sellers. In the final, they were up against the Magical Magyars, Hungary's team of professionals, boasting several of Europe's most legendary footballers – Ferenc Puskas (see left), Zoltan Czibor, Nandor Hidegkuti and Sandor Kocsis. Defeat seemed imminent after Puskas and Czibor had given the Hungarians a 2-0 lead within eighteen minutes. 
But the Germans persevered and equalised. Then, with just six minutes remaining, Helmut Rahn scored the winning goal. The final was also the first World Cup tournament to be televised. However, most Germans experienced the event via radio coverage by the popular reporter, Herbert Zimmermann. Many Germans still get misty-eyed over his commentary. 'Rahn schiessen! Tor! Tor! Tor!' West Germany's first World Cup victory was forever immortalised through his jubilant cries after the final whistle: 'Aus, Aus, das Spiel ist Aus! Deutschland ist Weltmeister!' 
Coach Herberger had commissioned Adolf Dassler, (the founder of Adidas) to manufacture lighter, more supple boots which ingeniously used screw-in studs. As such, the boots could be equipped with short studs when the weather was good and the pitch was hard, while longer studs were used during rain. As luck would have it, it began raining shortly before the final. This was dubbed 'Fritz Walter Wetter' as the team captain – who had been a prisoner of the Russians during the later stages of the war - was reputed to play his best when it rained. The Miracle of Bern marked a turning point for West Germany. 
The nation was given a new sense of identity, its people a dose of self-confidence. Perhaps it could also be the inspirational one-liners that Herberger was famous for: 'Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel' (after the game is before the game). Loosely translated, it means that a loss is not the end of everything as it is usually followed by a new opportunity to succeed.
176. Did You Know?: Of the thirty two countries playing at the 2006 World Cup Finals only six (Costa Rica, Croatia, Iran, Italy, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia) didn't have a player in their squad who was contracted to an English club.
177. Did You Know?:
One of the most unusual injuries in World Cup history occurred as early as the first tournament. In the semi-final in 1930 the United States trainer had to be carried off after he ran onto the pitch to attend an injured player against Argentina, dropped his medicine box and broke a bottle of chloroform. He inhaled the fumes and fell to the ground immediately. The injured player, incidentally, recovered without any treatment. Argentina won the match and went on to the final where the lost to the hosts, Uruguay (see left).
178. Did You Know?:
The only time that East Germany ever met West Germany in a game of football, it happened at a politically-charged game at the 1974 World Cup. East Germany won, 1-0, thank to a Jürgen Sparwasser goal. Quality strike it was, too, from the FC Magdeberg midfielder, a little dink over Sepp Maier, albeit it must be said it followed some top comedy defending.
179. Did You Know?: The 1982 tournament saw the most appearances by third-choice goalkeepers in World Cup history. Czechoslovakia and Belgium used all three of their keepers from their squads due to injury, suspension, or poor performance. Also, Jean-Luc Ettori of France and Frank van Hattum of New Zealand had originally been selected as substitutes but ended up starting games thanks to strong performance in training.
180. Did You Know?:
The oldest player to score in the World Cup finals was Cameroon's Roger Milla who was alleged to be forty two years, thirty nine days old when he scored in a first round match against Russia in 1994. He may well have been older still, a member of the Cameroon delegation claimed that Milla was actually forty six. And still he had the energy to dance. Hey, don't take that corner flag away!
181. Did You Know?: First, There were the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in 1990. Then, there was the Super Eagles of Nigeria in 1994 as African football came of age on the world stage. But it was in 1998 that Nigeria scored a major upset by defeating Spain 3-2 after coming back twice from being 1-0 and 2-1 down. So often less than the sum of their parts, Spain's highly rated footballers disappointed on the world stage in 1998, as they had done so many times in the past. Undefeated in qualifying, Javier Clemente's squad made the short journey across the Pyrenees as favourites to top a group that also featured Bulgaria and Paraguay.
The presence of players like Fernando Hierro and Raul, both fresh from lifting the European Cup with Real Madrid, ensured hopes were high yet despite hitting the ground running in Nantes, the Nigerians eventually brought them crashing back to earth in a five-goal thriller. From a winning position, Spain let their opponents back into the game through an ill-timed error by Andoni Zubizarreta on seventy three minutes. Garba Lawal was the architect, exchanging passes with substitute Rasheed Yekini and shrugging off a challenge from Ivan Campo on his way to the byline. Yet his low cross still posed no threat until Zubizarreta inexplicably palmed the ball into his own goal. Coach Clemente had courted controversy by ignoring the claims of Santiago Canizares to keep faith with the thirty six-year-old and here the decision spectacularly backfired.
182. Did You Know?:
The next time that Alan Hansen talks about 'sssschocking defending' on Match of the Day kindly remind the bitter auld Scotsman of the events of 22 June 1982 when a calamitous collision between Hansen and his central defensive partner, Willie Miller, allowed USSR striker Ramaz Shengelia through to score the Soviets' second goal. Scotland, needing a win to progress to the next round for the first time in their history, could only draw 2-2 and so, went home. Unbelievable.
183. Did You Know?: Sweden's powerful centre forward Ralf Edström was something of a cult figure in the early 1970s, particularly after he scored four goals at the 1974 World Cup finals.
And, all this after his team had failed to score at all in their first two matches. Two came in a 3-0 win over Uruguay in the last group match. Another, one of the best volleys ever seen in the World Cup, was a consolation in Sweden's 4-2 second round defeat against eventual champions West Germany on a rainy night in Düsseldorf. The last was in Sweden's final game, a 2-1 win over Yugoslavia.
184. Did You Know?: In 1978 (as in 1974) Scotland were 'flying the flag' for Britain. During the build-up to the 1978 tournament the focal point of the publicity had been all about the team manager, Ally MacLeod.
MacLeod fuelled the hopes of the nation by stating that Scotland would come home with a medal. As the squad left for Argentina, they were given an enthusiastic send-off as they were paraded around a packed Hampden Park in an open-topped bus. Thousands more fans lined the route to Prestwick Airport. From his earliest days in club management, MacLeod had always prided himself on being able to spot 'quiet days' on the sports pages and to provide reporters with juicy quotes that would have the maximum impact. MacLeod received early praise from the media for his 'public relations victories'; his team was dubbed 'Ally's Tartan Army.' 
It all looked so promising. Then, on 3 June, after months of lucrative myth-making Scotland faced Peru in Cordoba. Two spectacular goals by Teófilo Cubillas were the highlights of a 3-1 defeat that no one, least of all MacLeod, had foreseen. On the BBC, Southampton's manager Lawrie McMenemy asked a question that a lot of people suddenly wanted to know the answer to: 'How many times were Peru watched?' MacLeod, it turned out, had only seen Peru play on videotape. Now, he had to explain his apparent lack of preparedness while at the same time coping with sudden deluge of allegations by reports at press conferences that his players were drinking heavily, had been out on the town with women and so on. 
When winger Willie Johnston failed a random dope test and was sent home, an ITV crew with Trevor MacDonald arrived at was supposed to be a 'morale-boosting' party from the Scottish players, and an ugly incident was played out in front of the cameras. 'You're stopping really low' MacLeod told MacDonald through gritted teeth. MacDonald ended his, as always, beautifully orated, report by suggesting that whilst the players weren't, yet, in full revolt, many 'don't seem to share the manager's high opinion of himself.' Four days later, Scotland's second game was a very disappointing 1–1 draw against Iran. 
The disconsolate mood of the nation was reflected perfectly in TV footage of a haunted-looking MacLeod in the dug-out with his head in his hands. One shot showed him yelling 'Come on Archie!' and punching his palm with his fist which prompted the BBC's normally quite passive John Motson to comment 'they needed that kind of lift a little earlier, I think.' After the match, Jimmy Hill prefaced an interview with MacLeod by, again alluding to the manager's lack of competence, describing MacLeod as 'A man who's never been afraid to come out and face the camera, say what you like about his ability.' 
In the subsequent, rather benign interview with Tony Gubba, MacLeod appeared as a man awaiting his own hanging and became semi-articulate and rambling, memorably ending the piece by saying 'I think you're a man and you know what kind of man you are. With a wife and a family, when you're happy married. Football's a funny game.' Restaurant owners back in Scotland, meanwhile, were reported to be putting up signs which advised potential customers that 'Ally MacLeod does not eat here!' And, not even Wee Archie's heroics could save MacLeod's team from the next flight home.
185. Did You Know?: Only three players have ever scored a World Cup hat-trick and finished on the losing side - Ernest Wilimowski (1938, Poland v Brazil, who scored four), Josef Hügi (1954, Switzerland v Austria) and Igor Belanov (1986, USSR v Belgium).
186. Did You Know?: In his later years, Jeff Astle became a TV celebrity for his singing escapades on Fantasy Football League.
But, the West Bromwich Albion centre-forward's cataclysmic miss against Brazil in 1970, blazing a relatively easy chance wide and robbing England of a deserved equaliser means that whenever his name is mentioned it will always be a case of what might have been. Five times capped for England, Astle turned professional at seventeen and was always celebrated for his heading abilities. On the deck, though, he wasn't nearly so hot. In Guadalajara, he came on against Brazil replacing Francis Lee with England already a goal down. He immediately began to trouble a none too solid Brazilian defence with his power in the air. Later, when a panic-stricken Brazilian defender's wild attempted clearance landed at Astle's feet ten yards out, he just couldn't miss. He missed.
187. Did You Know?: The performances of Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci for Italy at the 1990 World Cup was one of the highlights of a memorable tournament. But whatever happened to the little Sicilian? Toto was born in 1964 to a very poor family, and was raised in an area of Palermo, controlled by the mafia. He started his career with the local amateur side, Amat Palermo, before he caught the attention of Messina in 1982 and sent several years banging in the goals in Serie B. He eventually signed for Juventus in 1989. Under Juve coach Dino Zoff, Schillaci continued his superlative goalscoring exploits and ended the 1989-90 season in Azeglio Vicini's Azzurri squad for the World Cup.
Despite his league exploits many in the media expected Schillaci to be a somewhat peripheral figure the the tournament as the squad already contained four strikers of considerable ability and reputation, Sampdoria's Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, Napoli's Andrea Carnevale, and Inter's Aldo Serena. Toto began the tournament on the bench. Vicini chose to start Carnevale alongside Vialli for the opening group game against Austria. With the game poised at 0-0 and seventy six minutes gone, the Juve striker was given the call. Within a few minutes of being introduced, Vialli crossed and Toto was there to score with a bullet header from close-range to save the home nations blushes. However, he was left on the bench again for the next game against the USA. But with Vialli's poor form and growing public pressure, Schillaci started the last group game against Czechoslovakia where he again scored a header. Toto scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the semi-final against Diego Maradona and Argentina; the game ended 1-1 after extra time and went to penalties. Schillaci did not take a penalty as the Azzurri crashed out in heartbreaking fashion. He finished his meteoric rise by scoring the winning goal in the third place play-off against England and subsequently ended as the tournament's top scorer winning the Golden Shoe award. T
he seasons following that World Cup were disappointing, however, and he scored only eleven goals for a Juventus side in transition. He then had a series of injuries and was soon shipped out to Inter Milan in 1992. Ignored by the new Italy coach, Arrigo Sacchi, he was also continually booed by his own fans at the San Siro who called him a 'terrone', a derogatory term - literally meaning 'farmer' - often used by Northern Italian towards their rural Southern counterparts. He moved to the emerging J-league in Japan and signed for Jubilo Iwata in 1994. Never the same player during his time in Japan, his natural capacity for scoring goals never left him, as he ended up scoring a club record of sixty goals in three seasons. Since his retirement, he has opened up a football academy on his native Sicily, while he also had a short foray into politics, as he was elected as a local councillor in his home town of Palermo. More recently he took part in the reality TV show L'isola dei Famosi in 2005.
188. Did You Know?: Belgium holds the record for the most consecutive draws in the World Cup with five.
189. Did You Know?: In 1974's second round Group B, Poland played West Germany in the deciding match, but the game nearly didn't start at all.
Torrential rain - which had dogged the whole tournament - left the Frankfurt pitch water-logged. Given that half the world were watching on TV, however, FIFA put pressure on the two teams and after a delay during which a great effort was made to clear water off the pitch, the game eventually proceeded. It was a tight match and accurate passing was always a problem in the bog-like conditions. Two great reflex saves from Sepp Maier prevented Poland from opening the scoring. 
Then Polish keeper Jan Tomaszewski saved penalty, taken by Uli Hoeness. A poached Gerd Müller effort finally gave West Germany the victory. 'Who knows what would have happened without all that rain and a wet field?' Grzegorz Lato would note years later. 'It wasn't a football game, it was water polo. Today a match in such conditions simply would not happen.'
190. Did You Know?: The last player to score a World Cup hat-trick was, believe it or not, Pauleta (Portugal v Poland, 2002). No, I can't quite believe that useless plank hit the target once, let alone three times but, there you go…
191. Did You Know?: During the 1970s, the German Fußball-Bundesliga was regularly contested by two magnificent sides – the widely hated Bayern Munich and the far more admired Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The former (despite their successes) were seen as a team of athletic robots, lacking much flair and imagination. Like Manchester United in England, and Juventus in Italy, they were loathed by virtually everyone in their country except for their own – notoriously fickle – supporters. The latter on the other hand, built around the flair of Günter Netzer (see right), were the side most Germans wanted to win the league if their own side couldn't. Ironic, then, that Bayern not only usually scored far more goals each season than Borussia but also included three times married international playboy Franz Beckenbauer and genuine Maoist nutter Paul Breitner in their ranks. Not to mention Sepp Maier and his novelty oversized gloves and shorts. That's got to be worth something, surely?
192. Did You Know?:
The career of Niccolo Carosio, Italy's most famous football commentator since the 1930s (first on radio – when he was alleged to be a particularly favourite of Mussolini - and then on TV), ended in embarrassing circumstances during the 1970 World Cup and a match between Italy and Israel. The Italians seemed to have taken an early lead thanks to a Gigi Riva close-range effort. However the linesman, an Ethiopian, raised his flag for offside. 'What the bloody hell is that damned blacky doing?' shouted Carosio. 'He's disallowed the goal. He's mad, this damned stupid blacky.' Even in the less-than-PC world of Italy in 1970, that was still considered a wee bit over-the-top and Carosio was ushered into retirement with almost immediate effect.
193. Did You Know?:
The younger scorer of a hat-trick in a World Cup finals tournament was, of course, Pelé in Brazil's 5-2 semi final victory over France in 1958. he was just seventeen. You knew that, right? The oldest scorer of a World Cup finals hat-trick was another dazzlingly gifted South American, Peru's mercurial genius Teófilo Cubillas - see left, aged twenty nine - in 1978, against Iran. Cubillas would play again in the 1982 tournament.
194. Did You Know?:
Greenland actually have a national football side. They're not affiliate members of FIFA so are ineligible to play in the World Cup or the European Championships but they do play friendlies. The first international was a 6-0 defeat by the Faroe Islands in July 1980 and, to date, their biggest win is a 16-0 thrashing of Sark in Guernsey in 2003 in a tournament called The Island Games. That, however, wasn't Sark's biggest defeat – they had already lost 19-0 to Gibraltar and 20-0 to the Isle of Wight a few days earlier. You couldn't make this stuff up, could you?!
195. Did You Know?: The first occasion that an own goal was scored by both teams in a finals match was in the Portugal v USA game in 2002. Jorge Costa and Jeff Agoos both put through their own net.
196. Did You Know?:
Four England players made it into FIFA's 'all star team' for the 1966 World Cup. Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton might be expected. The appearance of George Cohen (left) alongside them, Beckenbauer, Eusabio and Florian Albert might be a shade more surprising to some blog readers.
197. Did You Know?: 'Who'll Win The Battle Of Hampden?' asked the press before the 1974 Scotland v England Home International. It was the first occasion on which a Scotland team was going to a World Cup whilst their old enemy were not. In sheeting rain, the home crowd created an even more intense atmosphere than usual, inspiring their team into an early momentum which England never really got to grips with.
After five minutes Frank Worthington's wayward pass in front of his own penalty found Billy Bremner, the ball then ran loose to Joe Jordan whose goalbound effort was intercepted by the outstretched leg of England's left-back Mike Pejic who could do nothing except divert it into the corner of the net. Twenty five minutes later, wee Jimmy Johnstone back-healed to Lorimer by the touchline, his attempted cross was partially blocked but fell to Kenny Dalglish. A low ball into the box took a deflection off Colin Todd Scotland were two up and the game was won. Indeed, it could have been many more, Shilton had to make a number of good saves before the final whistle which was greeted by wild celebrations and Johnstone making a point of a two-fingered gesture to the press box following recent newspaper criticism.
198. Did You Know?: The West German squad for the 1976 European Nations Cup included loads of players you’ll have heard of but, also Rudi Kargus, Erich Beer, Ronald Worm, Heinz Flohe and Peter Nogly. No, me neither…
199. Did You Know?:
The Three v The Six was an international match held at Wembley on 3 January 1973 to celebrate the entry of Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark into the EEC. The 'Six' team contained players from Belgium, French, West Germany, Netherlands and Italy (no representatives from Luxembourg were considered worthy of a place. Likewise, there were also no Welshmen in The Three). This included the cream of European football - Beckenbauer, van Hanegem, Neeskens, Netzer, Zoff and Krol. Cruyff was supposed to take part but his plane was reportedly 'delayed by fog in Amsterdam.' The Three won 2-0 with goals from Denmark's Henning Jensen and Scotland's Colin Stein (see left). This was Bobby Charlton's final game at Wembley.
200. Did You Know?: The 1970s. The days of trill phones, kipper ties, space hoppers and Brut 33. Of star jumpers, clackers and Pagan Man (by Jovan). Of Top Trumps, British Leyland, Jackson the Tailor and Hai Karate aftershave. And, also, the golden age of that most missed of moribund activities, the football pitch brawl.
Of course, in these enlightened Twenty First Century days it's vitally important to stress that no-one condones the rank idiocy of grown men having a punch-up over whose throw-in it was. But, when you're twelve there really is nothing better than watching two Olympian figures knocking seven-grades of diarrhoea out of each other. On 1 November 1975 one the great English football matches of the decade took place - a first division clash between Derby County and Leeds United at the Baseball Ground. Match of the Day cameras witnessed an epic, with Derby snatching a 3-2 victory thanks to a late Roger Davies winner. But the big talking point afterwards was the fight between Norman Hunter and Francis Lee. They might have been, as The Times noted, 'two men with fifty five international caps between them who should have known better' but, nevertheless, it was very funny. England World Cup team-mates (and, indeed, room-mates on several trips), the two had engaged in a running battle all afternoon after Lee appeared to go down rather easily following a tackle by Hunter early in the match. 
Referee, Derek Nippard, awarded a penalty. 'People write and talk about present-day players diving in a bid to win a penalty but Franny and Rodney Marsh were brilliant at it,' Hunter wrote in his 2004 autobiography Biting Talk. 'They used to run straight at you with the ball, knock it past you and then go down.' Lee, described in subsequent press reports as 'grinning all the way back to the centre spot' did, indeed, have something of a reputation for winning, let's be charitable and say some dubious penalty decisions although Hunter's equally well-earned nickname 'Bites Yer Legs' should make it clear that he was no innocent when it came to the delicious ironies of natural justice. Various niggles between the pair followed until, ten minutes into the second half they clashed again and, this time, Hunter landed a devastating right upper-cut that split Lee's lip. 
'That's been brewing for some time,' noted John Motson, taking to his new role of boxing commentator with relative ease. There followed some pushing and shoving and the referee, with the help of other players from both sides, separated the pair before sending them off. But as the cameras remained on him, chatting merrily with Paul Reaney, on the other side of the pitch, words were seemingly exchanged between the departing Lee and Hunter and the whole thing kicked-off again, with a bunch of their colleagues joining in a free-for-all that resembled a scene from an episode of Kung-Fu. The sight, in particularly, of Billy Bremner running fully fifty yards to dive onto Archie Gemmill's back won't be forgotten in a hurry by anyone who saw it. Finally Hunter and Lee were dragged away to the safety of the dressing room. A week later the FA announced that both men would be charged with 'bringing the game into disrepute.'
Given the outcry which followed from a wide cross-section of journalists, commentators (Jimmy Hill was particularly forthright in his condemnation) and the odd rent-a-gob politician it was expected that, when the disciplinary committee met on 9 December, both men could expect to have the book thrown at them. They turned up, rather sheepishly, at Lancaster Gate for their caning though Lee was still protesting his innocence to anyone who would listen and claiming that he'd been sent off for no reason. Hunter (wearing a dazzling suede jacket), as was the Leeds way, said nothing at all. Lee went in first and was given a four match ban and fined two hundred and fifty notes, plus costs. 'It seemed a fair hearing,' Derby manager Dave Mackay told reporters, although Lee was still chuntering away about the manifest unfairness of it all. Hunter, on the other hand, was cleared of any blame and was rushed away to Heathrow to catch a flight back to Leeds where he was said to be taking part in 'the club pantomime.' 
FA secretary, Ted Croker, announced the verdicts and noted 'Having considered all the evidence and seen film of the incident the committee were satisfied Norman Hunter had not committed a breach of rule thirty three and as such he was found not guilty. As far as Francis Lee is concerned the committee is satisfied he acted in such a way as could bring the game in disrepute.' 'After two hours the Leeds manager, Jimmy Armfield, appeared with Hunter who smiled as they charged past reporters and dashed up the road with a posse of photographers giving chase,' wrote Gerry Harrison in The Times. 'How do you feel about Norman now?' a BBC reporter asked Lee. The previously talkative Franny kept his own counsel.
The ceremony was emceed by Oprah Winfrey, who fell off the dais while getting particularly excited at one point. In addition, Jon Secada and Diana Ross gave musical performances. Ross was also supposed to kick a football into the goal from the penalty spot at the end of her performance of 'I'm Coming Up', with the goal then splitting in two. However, in the event she sent the ball hopelessly wide to the left in an apparent tribute to Geoff Thomas. Graham Taylor reportedly rang her up afterwards and ask her if she fancied playing for his England side which was lacking a bit of quality up front at the time.152. Did You Know?: It was a balmy night in Seville in 1982, with ten minutes left in an engrossing World Cup semi-final between France and West Germany. Following a beautiful through-ball by Michel Platini, the French substitute Patrick Battiston races clear through the German defence towards goal. Harald 'Toni' Schumacher surges out of his goal towards Battiston just as the Frenchman takes a shot which narrowly misses the goal. Schumacher, however, carries on after the ball has passed him leaping into the air, twisting his body and sickeningly colliding with Battiston. Schumacher's hip hits the Frenchman's face.
Hard. Battiston, clattered, falls to the ground unconscious, with a damaged vertebrae and several teeth knocked out. He will later slip into a coma and emergency medics have to administer oxygen to him on the pitch. Platini will later say that, at this moment, he believes Battiston is dead, because 'he had no pulse and looked pale.' Astonishingly to the watching world, the referee did not give a foul, let alone send Schumacher off. The game goes to extra time, the French lead three-one but the West Germans equalise through a spectacular bicycle-kick from Klaus Fischer. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Schumacher saves from Didier Six and Maxime Bossis and the Germans win. Afterwards, the goalkeeper causes more controversy. When he is told that Battiston has lost three teeth, he replies: 'If that's all that's wrong with him, I'll pay for his teeth.' And, still the Germans wonder why everyone dislikes them so much.153. Did You Know?: The most penalty saves by a goalkeeper in the same finals tournament was two, by Poland's Jan Tomaszewski in 1974 (against Sweden and West Germany) and by the USA's Brad Friedel in 2002 (against South Korea and Poland).
154. Did You Know?: Spectators in 1954 certainly got their money's worth, with one hundred and forty goals in twenty six matches, an average of 5.38 goals per game. This included the record for goals in a game – twelve, with Austria beating Switzerland 7-5 after earlier trailing 3-0.
155. Did You Know?: The Brazilian team of 1982 was one of the best the country had ever produced. Many informed judges reckon it was even better than the 1970 one in terms of pure ability and flair.
How, then, did they manage not to win the tournament? Telê Santana had assumed control of the national side in 1980. His philosophy was that football should be a show, both for those playing and for those watching the matches. For Telê, his teams should always be seeking to score goals. And he had the players to help him. The team was built around the mesmerising talents of Zico, the best player in the world at that time. Falcão had led his team, Internacional, to the tri-championship in Brazil and was now wowwing the Italians at Roma. Sócrates, a physician with the name of philosopher, combined elegance, supreme intelligence and outstanding vision. And the fact that he was a forty-a-day chain-smoker was used by many teenage boys as a rationale to their parents that smoking wasn't all bad. Toninho Cerezo, besides skill, was said to have an extra pair of lungs. (As John Motson noted, he was 'the adopted son of a circus clown, but the resemblence ends there!') The team also had the powerful left-winger Éder and, at the back, the abilities of Júnior and the experience of Oscar. There were, admittedly, a few weak links. The goalkeeper, Valdir Peres, didn't inspire much confidence even among fans of his team, São Paulo. Many thought that Leão, who had played in 1974 and 1978, and would return again in 1986, should have played in Spain. The lumbering centre-forward, Serginho, seemed like a carthorse playing in a team of thoroughbreds. He probably wouldn't have featured but Santana's favourite Careca, was injured. In three group matches against the USSR, Scotland and New Zealand, Brazil scored ten goals, conceded just two and looked, frankly, awesome. 
Then, they gave reigning champions Argentina a 3-1 hiding in the next match. But, perhaps, the seeds of doubt were first sown in the last few moments of that Argentina game when some general defensive sloppiness, with a tie already won, allowed Ramón Díaz to scored a consolation goal for the Argies. Brazil needed just a draw from their match with Italy to progress to the semi-finals. The game was a classic match-up of Brazil's attacking play and Italy's smothering Catenaccio defence, and swift counter-attacking, with an extra twist in that it was Italy who actually needed to win the game. It was the Italians who drew first blood. Striker Paolo Rossi, without a goal in the tournament up to that point, gave them the lead just five minutes into the match when he headed in a cross from Antonio Cabrini. It took Brazil just seven minutes to get back on level terms when Socrates burst through the Italian defence and slotted the ball past Dino Zoff. 
Italy were then gifted the initiative midway through the first half. For all their attacking style, Brazil's defence could highly suspect and when Cerezo suicidally gave the ball away to Rossi in their own half, he made no mistake in restoring Italy's lead. Midway through the second period Falcão equalised with an unstoppable drive from the edge of the box. Brazil had just over twenty minutes to hold on for the draw they needed, but they couldn't manage it. An Italian corner was half cleared and Marco Tardelli's shot fell to Rossi who completed his hat-trick to put Italy ahead for the third time. Despite their stunning attacking abilities, Brazil had been let down by their frail defence and it was Italy who went on to the last four and eventually a record-equalling third World Cup win.156. Did You Know?:
Philippe Albert (everyone knows his name), then of Anderlecht, scored two of Belgium's four goals at the 1994 World Cup. Not bad for a centre half, even one as attack-minded as he. His performances in the tournament persuaded Kevin Keegan to pay over two and a half million quid for him to bring him to Newcastle. Where he would became a cult figure and, thanks to his delicate chip over Peter Schmichael in the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United in 1996, one of the most popular men in the country.157. Did You Know?: When Bryan Robson scored for England against France at Bilbao in 1982 after just twenty seven seconds it was England's first goal in a world cup finals tournament since Martin Peters against West Germany in 1970. So, a quick goal, then, but rather a long time coming.
158. Did You Know?: 25 June 1982 is a date that lives forever in short, but eventual, history of Northern Ireland's World Cup exploits. At the Luis Casanova Stadium, Valencia, the Ulstermen, unsung and unheralded, achieved their most momentous international victory, a 1-0 triumph over host nation Spain. The city streets of the Province were emptied that night with almost everyone watching the drama. Indeed, it's probably fair to say that the goal scored by Gerry Armstrong has been screened more often in Belfast than Coronation Street. Northern Ireland opened with a goalless draw against Yugoslavia in Zaragoza where Manchester United's Norman Whiteside made his international debut at the age of seventeen. This was followed by another draw, 1-1, with Honduras, which meant they had to beat Spain to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Notwithstanding the Irish optimism it seemed a mission impossible, but not for manager Billy Bingham. 'Admittedly it will take much effort, passion, commitment and skill, but we possess these qualities in abundance,' he told a press conference. Skeptical journalists dismissed this as Irish blarney. Bingham, Northern Ireland's most successful manager, believed the thrusting runs by Billy Hamilton, Whiteside and Armstrong, could expose the Spanish defensive gaps. This was probably Northern Ireland's most talented ever side, with a midfield of David McCreery, Sammy McIlroy and Martin O'Neill full of work rate and the great Pat Jennings still one of the best goalkeepers in the world despite pushing forty. Bingham's message to players was simple: 'Don't concede an early goal.' That was difficult in a fiercely contested first half of what was primarily a physical struggle. 
Then, early in the second period, Armstrong took a step into Irish football immortality. He collected a pass thirty five yards from goal, left three players in his wake and laid the ball off to Hamilton on the right wing. Outpacing his markers, the strapping Burnley forward whipped the ball into the box where the Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada could only palm it into the path of Armstrong, who hit a low right-foot shot under the keeper's body. Then adversity struck: Sammy McIlroy, limping with a gashed leg, had to be substituted (Tommy Cassidy took his place), whilst on the hour, left back Mal Donaghy became entangled with Spanish defender Jose Antonio Camacho, who crashed against the advertising hoardings. Donaghy was ordered off. In injury time, a cross hung high in the box but before Juanito could make contact, Jennings flicked it over his head. Northern Ireland finished top of the group, a point ahead of Spain. They then drew 2-2 with Austria but were eliminated 4-1 by a Dominique Rocheteau-inspired France.159. Did You Know?: Rubbish moments of World Cup TV analysis, number four. 1998. St Étienne. England and Argentina. Penalties. 'Kevin, you know him better than most. Will David Batty score this?' 'Yes.' 'NO!'
160. Did You Know?: The following have been the leading scorers in successive World Cups: 1930 Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) eight; 1934 Edmund Conen (Germany), Oldrich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia), Angelo Schiavio (Italy) four; 1938 Leônidas (Brazil) eight; 1950 Ademir (Brazil) nine; 1954 Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) eleven;
1958 Just Fontaine (France, see right) thirteen; 1962 Garrincha (Brazil), Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Dražen Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Flórián Albert (Hungary) four; 1966 Eusébio (Portugal) nine; 1970 Gerd Müller (West Germany) ten; 1974 Grzegorz Lato (Poland) seven; 1978 Mario Kempes (Argentina) eight; 1982 Paolo Rossi (Italy) six; 1986 Gary Lineker (England) six; 1990 Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) six; 1994 Hristo Stoitchkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia) six; 1998 Davor Šuker (Croatia) six; 2002 Ronaldo (Brazil) eight; 2006 Miroslav Klose (Germany) five.161. Did You Know?: The career of Giorgio Chinaglia was a pretty remarkable one even by Roy of the Rovers' standards. Starting as a teenage trainee at Swansea and it would culminate with nearly a decade as a goal-every-two-games centre forward at Lazio leading the Rome club to their first Serie A title. In 1974 he went into the World Cup as Italy's first choice target man.
However, after he was substituted in the group match against Haiti, he wasn't happy. Cursing at coach Ferruccio Valcareggi, he made a very pointed two-fingered gesture that was picked up by most of the watching media and huffily stormed from the pitch to the dressing room, where he broke some water bottles to vent his frustration. He was subsequently ostracised by both his team mates and the Italian media and the incident effectively ended his national team career with fourteen caps and four goals. Although Italy avoided humiliation against Haiti, winning 3-1, a draw in the second game against Argentina left them needing to beat Poland, who were top of the group, to progress. Chinaglia, dropped for the Argentina game, returned but was substituted at half-time and replaced by the veteran Roberto Boninsegna. The Italians were eventually beaten 2-1 (Fabio Capello getting their goal, Andrzej Szarmach and Kazimierz Deyna scoring for the Poles) and sulked off home blaming Chinaglia for the calamity.162. Did You Know?: 2006's match between France and Spain was the seven hundredth game in the history of the World Cup finals. The French were one of the combatants in the very first match (beating Mexico 4-1 at Montevideo on 13 July 1930) and they also featured in the previous centennial match – the six hundredth - four years previously.
163. Did You Know?:
Funniest moment of the 1994 World Cup? No, not Diana Ross in the opening ceremony. And, not Carlos Valderrama's Help, It's The Hair-Bear Bunch barnet, either. Unquestionably, it was John Aldridge threatening to chin a hapless FIFA official who wouldn't let him on the field to replace Tommy Coyne against Mexico. 'Y'fuckin' CHEAT!' Go on, John, spark his lights out!164. Did You Know?: The year was 1989. The place, Rio de Janeiro. The teams, Brazil and Chile. It was a hard-fought, take-no-prisoners match, and with the Brazilians 1-0 up, the crowd was going berserk, as they tend to do in those hot Latin climbs. At one point a fan threw a flare onto the field and Chile's goalkeeper, Roberto Rojas, suddenly collapsed.
After lying prostrate on the grass for several minutes, Rojas was gingerly stretchered off the field, covered in blood. His team mates refused to continue the game in such a dangerous atmosphere and walked off the field; Brazil won, but Chile claimed the moral high ground. Unfortunately for the Chileans, a subsequent investigation revealed that the flare had actually missed Rojas by some distance. In fact, he'd deliberately cut himself with a scalpel he'd hidden in his clothing. The cheating keeper was banned for life, while Chile were fined thirty one thousand dollars and booted out of the 1990 World Cup.165. Did You Know?: The only player to appear at the World Cup finals whilst playing for an Irish league club was Felix Healey. The Coleraine midfielder played for Northern Ireland in 1982 - coming on as a substitute for Martin O'Neill in their second match against Honduras.
166. Did You Know?:
The fastest hat-trick in a World Cup finals match was the work of Hungarian substitute Laszlo Kiss in 1982 (a seven minutes rampage against El Salvador in a 10-1 win). On the other hand, Geoff Hurst needed one hundred and two minutes to score his three goals in the 1966 final. And even then, the Germans are still arguing that one wasn't over the line, the first one was never a free kick and there were people on the pitch when the last one went in.167. Did You Know?: During the 1986 game between Brazil and Spain, the Spanish winger Michel had a shot which hit the underside of Brazil's bar and bounced down - in best Geoff Hurst style. Television replays subsequently confirmed that the ball had bounced behind the line. Unfortunately, there was no 'Russian' linesman available and no goal was awarded, as none of the match officials (an Australian referee and his Dutch and American linesmen) could be sure that the ball had crossed the line. Goal-line technology, eh? They're still arguing about it.
168. Did You Know?: To reach the finals in 1978, Argentina had to beat Peru by four goals.
This appeared improbable because Peru had a solid team - albeit with a decidedly eccentric (and Argentine-born) goalkeeper, Ramon Quiroga. But the military Junta who ruled Argentina at the time believed that a World Cup win was the only way they could hold on to their political power. So they hatched a plan: Knowing that the Peruvian government was short of cash, the generals ordered the Argentine central bank to unfreeze fifty million dollars for Peru and had thirty five thousand tons of free grain shipped to Lima. The subsequent result? Argentina edged out Peru by 6-0 and they, rather than Brazil faced the Netherlands in the final.169. Did You Know?:
Belgium's first choice goalkeeper at the 1982 World Cup was Jean-Marie Pfaff (see right) but he was dropped after their third game. His replacement was Espanyol's Theo Custers for the next game. After they lost by three goals to Poland, Custers was never capped again – quite literally a case of 'Custers' last stand.'170. Did You Know?: After Scotland lost 3-0 to Morocco at St-Etienne during World Cup 1998, around eight thousand Scottish fans drank approximately one hundred and twenty five thousand litres of beer. Bars soon ran dry and fresh supplies had to be shipped in to quench the thirst of the disappointed Scots.
171. Did You Know?:
Perhaps the most surprising scoreline of the second round in 1986 came from Querétaro, where Denmark, who were a lot of punters dark horses to win the tournament, were eliminated in a 5–1 battering against Spain, having led 1-0. The Danes key player Frank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at Lothar Matthäus. After Denmark opened the scoring with a Jesper Olsen penalty they were taken apart by a devastating performance from Emilio Butragueño of Spain (see left), nicknamed The Vulture, who scored four of his team's five goals.172. Did You Know?:
It's often forgotten that in additon to managing England to a World Cup quarter-final and semi-final in 1986 and 1990 respectively, the late Sir Bobby Robson was also a World Cup player, appearing in all four of England's 1958 matches. He was also selected for the squad in 1962 but an injury to his ankle sustained in a pre-tournament friendly against a Chilean club side ruled him out of the tournament.173. Did You Know?: Cameroon's winning goal in their second round match against Colombia in 1990 is a particular favourite of many football connoisseurs as it features two iconic footballers but for vastly different reasons. Firstly there's the legendary Roger Milla, the thirty eight year old striker who came out of retirement after receiving a persuasive phone call from Cameroon's President, Paul Biya. Milla scored four goals at Italia '90 as Cameroon made it all the way to the quarter-finals, the first African team to do so, and celebrated each goal with his patented corner flag dance.
The second man involved was Colombia's Rene Higuita, the frizzy-haired eccentric goalkeeper - he of the 'scorpion kick' fame. He was also famous for his fancy footwork, regularly enjoying a bit of dribble with the ball many yards outside of his area. With Cameroon leading 1-0 in extra time, Higuita attempted to help his defence out, with a bit of flash jiggerypokery. Milla, sharp as a needle, dispossessed him as the goalkeeper dithered and ran through to score. Higuita was subsequently imprisoned back in Colombia in 1993 after getting involved in a kidnapping plot. Acting as an alleged go-between for the drug barons Pablo Escobar and Carlos Molina, he was largely responsible for securing the release of Molina's daughter by delivering the ransom money. He received sixty four thousand dollars for his services, which broke Colombian law as it is an offence to profit from a kidnapping. He was incarcerated for seven months before being released without charge. Because of the term in prison Higuita was not fit for the 1994 World Cup.174. Did You Know?: The most matches played by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal in World Cup finals was ten by England's Peter Shilton during the 1982, 1986 and 1990 tournaments.
175. Did You Know?: In March 2006, the German state of Hesse proposed a controversial 'Citizenship Test' comprising one hundred questions to be answered by those applying for German citizenship.
Question Ninety, under the 'Culture, Education and Science' category was as follows: 'The film The Miracle of Bern was released in German cinemas in 2004. What sporting event does it deal with?' Even today, Das Wunder von Bern is mentioned with a sense of national pride in Germany. After all, the West Germany of 1954 was still busy recovering from its humiliating defeat nine years earlier by the Allied Forces and trying to atoned for six years of state-sponsored genocide. Disillusioned former soldiers and prisoners of war were returning to their families after years of separation and the country was trying to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the international community. 
The German economic miracle remained a distant ideal and most Germans simply struggled to survive. The World Cup final itself was a classic David and Goliath scenario. The amateur German team, coached by Sepp Herberger and captained by Fritz Walter, comprised players who held day jobs as shop workers, cinema projectionists, petrol station attendants and lottery ticket sellers. In the final, they were up against the Magical Magyars, Hungary's team of professionals, boasting several of Europe's most legendary footballers – Ferenc Puskas (see left), Zoltan Czibor, Nandor Hidegkuti and Sandor Kocsis. Defeat seemed imminent after Puskas and Czibor had given the Hungarians a 2-0 lead within eighteen minutes. 
But the Germans persevered and equalised. Then, with just six minutes remaining, Helmut Rahn scored the winning goal. The final was also the first World Cup tournament to be televised. However, most Germans experienced the event via radio coverage by the popular reporter, Herbert Zimmermann. Many Germans still get misty-eyed over his commentary. 'Rahn schiessen! Tor! Tor! Tor!' West Germany's first World Cup victory was forever immortalised through his jubilant cries after the final whistle: 'Aus, Aus, das Spiel ist Aus! Deutschland ist Weltmeister!' 
Coach Herberger had commissioned Adolf Dassler, (the founder of Adidas) to manufacture lighter, more supple boots which ingeniously used screw-in studs. As such, the boots could be equipped with short studs when the weather was good and the pitch was hard, while longer studs were used during rain. As luck would have it, it began raining shortly before the final. This was dubbed 'Fritz Walter Wetter' as the team captain – who had been a prisoner of the Russians during the later stages of the war - was reputed to play his best when it rained. The Miracle of Bern marked a turning point for West Germany. 
The nation was given a new sense of identity, its people a dose of self-confidence. Perhaps it could also be the inspirational one-liners that Herberger was famous for: 'Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel' (after the game is before the game). Loosely translated, it means that a loss is not the end of everything as it is usually followed by a new opportunity to succeed.176. Did You Know?: Of the thirty two countries playing at the 2006 World Cup Finals only six (Costa Rica, Croatia, Iran, Italy, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia) didn't have a player in their squad who was contracted to an English club.
177. Did You Know?:
One of the most unusual injuries in World Cup history occurred as early as the first tournament. In the semi-final in 1930 the United States trainer had to be carried off after he ran onto the pitch to attend an injured player against Argentina, dropped his medicine box and broke a bottle of chloroform. He inhaled the fumes and fell to the ground immediately. The injured player, incidentally, recovered without any treatment. Argentina won the match and went on to the final where the lost to the hosts, Uruguay (see left).178. Did You Know?:
The only time that East Germany ever met West Germany in a game of football, it happened at a politically-charged game at the 1974 World Cup. East Germany won, 1-0, thank to a Jürgen Sparwasser goal. Quality strike it was, too, from the FC Magdeberg midfielder, a little dink over Sepp Maier, albeit it must be said it followed some top comedy defending.179. Did You Know?: The 1982 tournament saw the most appearances by third-choice goalkeepers in World Cup history. Czechoslovakia and Belgium used all three of their keepers from their squads due to injury, suspension, or poor performance. Also, Jean-Luc Ettori of France and Frank van Hattum of New Zealand had originally been selected as substitutes but ended up starting games thanks to strong performance in training.
180. Did You Know?:
The oldest player to score in the World Cup finals was Cameroon's Roger Milla who was alleged to be forty two years, thirty nine days old when he scored in a first round match against Russia in 1994. He may well have been older still, a member of the Cameroon delegation claimed that Milla was actually forty six. And still he had the energy to dance. Hey, don't take that corner flag away!181. Did You Know?: First, There were the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in 1990. Then, there was the Super Eagles of Nigeria in 1994 as African football came of age on the world stage. But it was in 1998 that Nigeria scored a major upset by defeating Spain 3-2 after coming back twice from being 1-0 and 2-1 down. So often less than the sum of their parts, Spain's highly rated footballers disappointed on the world stage in 1998, as they had done so many times in the past. Undefeated in qualifying, Javier Clemente's squad made the short journey across the Pyrenees as favourites to top a group that also featured Bulgaria and Paraguay.
The presence of players like Fernando Hierro and Raul, both fresh from lifting the European Cup with Real Madrid, ensured hopes were high yet despite hitting the ground running in Nantes, the Nigerians eventually brought them crashing back to earth in a five-goal thriller. From a winning position, Spain let their opponents back into the game through an ill-timed error by Andoni Zubizarreta on seventy three minutes. Garba Lawal was the architect, exchanging passes with substitute Rasheed Yekini and shrugging off a challenge from Ivan Campo on his way to the byline. Yet his low cross still posed no threat until Zubizarreta inexplicably palmed the ball into his own goal. Coach Clemente had courted controversy by ignoring the claims of Santiago Canizares to keep faith with the thirty six-year-old and here the decision spectacularly backfired.182. Did You Know?:
The next time that Alan Hansen talks about 'sssschocking defending' on Match of the Day kindly remind the bitter auld Scotsman of the events of 22 June 1982 when a calamitous collision between Hansen and his central defensive partner, Willie Miller, allowed USSR striker Ramaz Shengelia through to score the Soviets' second goal. Scotland, needing a win to progress to the next round for the first time in their history, could only draw 2-2 and so, went home. Unbelievable.183. Did You Know?: Sweden's powerful centre forward Ralf Edström was something of a cult figure in the early 1970s, particularly after he scored four goals at the 1974 World Cup finals.
And, all this after his team had failed to score at all in their first two matches. Two came in a 3-0 win over Uruguay in the last group match. Another, one of the best volleys ever seen in the World Cup, was a consolation in Sweden's 4-2 second round defeat against eventual champions West Germany on a rainy night in Düsseldorf. The last was in Sweden's final game, a 2-1 win over Yugoslavia.184. Did You Know?: In 1978 (as in 1974) Scotland were 'flying the flag' for Britain. During the build-up to the 1978 tournament the focal point of the publicity had been all about the team manager, Ally MacLeod.
MacLeod fuelled the hopes of the nation by stating that Scotland would come home with a medal. As the squad left for Argentina, they were given an enthusiastic send-off as they were paraded around a packed Hampden Park in an open-topped bus. Thousands more fans lined the route to Prestwick Airport. From his earliest days in club management, MacLeod had always prided himself on being able to spot 'quiet days' on the sports pages and to provide reporters with juicy quotes that would have the maximum impact. MacLeod received early praise from the media for his 'public relations victories'; his team was dubbed 'Ally's Tartan Army.' 
It all looked so promising. Then, on 3 June, after months of lucrative myth-making Scotland faced Peru in Cordoba. Two spectacular goals by Teófilo Cubillas were the highlights of a 3-1 defeat that no one, least of all MacLeod, had foreseen. On the BBC, Southampton's manager Lawrie McMenemy asked a question that a lot of people suddenly wanted to know the answer to: 'How many times were Peru watched?' MacLeod, it turned out, had only seen Peru play on videotape. Now, he had to explain his apparent lack of preparedness while at the same time coping with sudden deluge of allegations by reports at press conferences that his players were drinking heavily, had been out on the town with women and so on. 
When winger Willie Johnston failed a random dope test and was sent home, an ITV crew with Trevor MacDonald arrived at was supposed to be a 'morale-boosting' party from the Scottish players, and an ugly incident was played out in front of the cameras. 'You're stopping really low' MacLeod told MacDonald through gritted teeth. MacDonald ended his, as always, beautifully orated, report by suggesting that whilst the players weren't, yet, in full revolt, many 'don't seem to share the manager's high opinion of himself.' Four days later, Scotland's second game was a very disappointing 1–1 draw against Iran. 
The disconsolate mood of the nation was reflected perfectly in TV footage of a haunted-looking MacLeod in the dug-out with his head in his hands. One shot showed him yelling 'Come on Archie!' and punching his palm with his fist which prompted the BBC's normally quite passive John Motson to comment 'they needed that kind of lift a little earlier, I think.' After the match, Jimmy Hill prefaced an interview with MacLeod by, again alluding to the manager's lack of competence, describing MacLeod as 'A man who's never been afraid to come out and face the camera, say what you like about his ability.' 
In the subsequent, rather benign interview with Tony Gubba, MacLeod appeared as a man awaiting his own hanging and became semi-articulate and rambling, memorably ending the piece by saying 'I think you're a man and you know what kind of man you are. With a wife and a family, when you're happy married. Football's a funny game.' Restaurant owners back in Scotland, meanwhile, were reported to be putting up signs which advised potential customers that 'Ally MacLeod does not eat here!' And, not even Wee Archie's heroics could save MacLeod's team from the next flight home.185. Did You Know?: Only three players have ever scored a World Cup hat-trick and finished on the losing side - Ernest Wilimowski (1938, Poland v Brazil, who scored four), Josef Hügi (1954, Switzerland v Austria) and Igor Belanov (1986, USSR v Belgium).
186. Did You Know?: In his later years, Jeff Astle became a TV celebrity for his singing escapades on Fantasy Football League.
But, the West Bromwich Albion centre-forward's cataclysmic miss against Brazil in 1970, blazing a relatively easy chance wide and robbing England of a deserved equaliser means that whenever his name is mentioned it will always be a case of what might have been. Five times capped for England, Astle turned professional at seventeen and was always celebrated for his heading abilities. On the deck, though, he wasn't nearly so hot. In Guadalajara, he came on against Brazil replacing Francis Lee with England already a goal down. He immediately began to trouble a none too solid Brazilian defence with his power in the air. Later, when a panic-stricken Brazilian defender's wild attempted clearance landed at Astle's feet ten yards out, he just couldn't miss. He missed.187. Did You Know?: The performances of Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci for Italy at the 1990 World Cup was one of the highlights of a memorable tournament. But whatever happened to the little Sicilian? Toto was born in 1964 to a very poor family, and was raised in an area of Palermo, controlled by the mafia. He started his career with the local amateur side, Amat Palermo, before he caught the attention of Messina in 1982 and sent several years banging in the goals in Serie B. He eventually signed for Juventus in 1989. Under Juve coach Dino Zoff, Schillaci continued his superlative goalscoring exploits and ended the 1989-90 season in Azeglio Vicini's Azzurri squad for the World Cup.
Despite his league exploits many in the media expected Schillaci to be a somewhat peripheral figure the the tournament as the squad already contained four strikers of considerable ability and reputation, Sampdoria's Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, Napoli's Andrea Carnevale, and Inter's Aldo Serena. Toto began the tournament on the bench. Vicini chose to start Carnevale alongside Vialli for the opening group game against Austria. With the game poised at 0-0 and seventy six minutes gone, the Juve striker was given the call. Within a few minutes of being introduced, Vialli crossed and Toto was there to score with a bullet header from close-range to save the home nations blushes. However, he was left on the bench again for the next game against the USA. But with Vialli's poor form and growing public pressure, Schillaci started the last group game against Czechoslovakia where he again scored a header. Toto scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the semi-final against Diego Maradona and Argentina; the game ended 1-1 after extra time and went to penalties. Schillaci did not take a penalty as the Azzurri crashed out in heartbreaking fashion. He finished his meteoric rise by scoring the winning goal in the third place play-off against England and subsequently ended as the tournament's top scorer winning the Golden Shoe award. T
he seasons following that World Cup were disappointing, however, and he scored only eleven goals for a Juventus side in transition. He then had a series of injuries and was soon shipped out to Inter Milan in 1992. Ignored by the new Italy coach, Arrigo Sacchi, he was also continually booed by his own fans at the San Siro who called him a 'terrone', a derogatory term - literally meaning 'farmer' - often used by Northern Italian towards their rural Southern counterparts. He moved to the emerging J-league in Japan and signed for Jubilo Iwata in 1994. Never the same player during his time in Japan, his natural capacity for scoring goals never left him, as he ended up scoring a club record of sixty goals in three seasons. Since his retirement, he has opened up a football academy on his native Sicily, while he also had a short foray into politics, as he was elected as a local councillor in his home town of Palermo. More recently he took part in the reality TV show L'isola dei Famosi in 2005.188. Did You Know?: Belgium holds the record for the most consecutive draws in the World Cup with five.
189. Did You Know?: In 1974's second round Group B, Poland played West Germany in the deciding match, but the game nearly didn't start at all.
Torrential rain - which had dogged the whole tournament - left the Frankfurt pitch water-logged. Given that half the world were watching on TV, however, FIFA put pressure on the two teams and after a delay during which a great effort was made to clear water off the pitch, the game eventually proceeded. It was a tight match and accurate passing was always a problem in the bog-like conditions. Two great reflex saves from Sepp Maier prevented Poland from opening the scoring. 
Then Polish keeper Jan Tomaszewski saved penalty, taken by Uli Hoeness. A poached Gerd Müller effort finally gave West Germany the victory. 'Who knows what would have happened without all that rain and a wet field?' Grzegorz Lato would note years later. 'It wasn't a football game, it was water polo. Today a match in such conditions simply would not happen.'190. Did You Know?: The last player to score a World Cup hat-trick was, believe it or not, Pauleta (Portugal v Poland, 2002). No, I can't quite believe that useless plank hit the target once, let alone three times but, there you go…
191. Did You Know?: During the 1970s, the German Fußball-Bundesliga was regularly contested by two magnificent sides – the widely hated Bayern Munich and the far more admired Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The former (despite their successes) were seen as a team of athletic robots, lacking much flair and imagination. Like Manchester United in England, and Juventus in Italy, they were loathed by virtually everyone in their country except for their own – notoriously fickle – supporters. The latter on the other hand, built around the flair of Günter Netzer (see right), were the side most Germans wanted to win the league if their own side couldn't. Ironic, then, that Bayern not only usually scored far more goals each season than Borussia but also included three times married international playboy Franz Beckenbauer and genuine Maoist nutter Paul Breitner in their ranks. Not to mention Sepp Maier and his novelty oversized gloves and shorts. That's got to be worth something, surely?192. Did You Know?:
The career of Niccolo Carosio, Italy's most famous football commentator since the 1930s (first on radio – when he was alleged to be a particularly favourite of Mussolini - and then on TV), ended in embarrassing circumstances during the 1970 World Cup and a match between Italy and Israel. The Italians seemed to have taken an early lead thanks to a Gigi Riva close-range effort. However the linesman, an Ethiopian, raised his flag for offside. 'What the bloody hell is that damned blacky doing?' shouted Carosio. 'He's disallowed the goal. He's mad, this damned stupid blacky.' Even in the less-than-PC world of Italy in 1970, that was still considered a wee bit over-the-top and Carosio was ushered into retirement with almost immediate effect.193. Did You Know?:
The younger scorer of a hat-trick in a World Cup finals tournament was, of course, Pelé in Brazil's 5-2 semi final victory over France in 1958. he was just seventeen. You knew that, right? The oldest scorer of a World Cup finals hat-trick was another dazzlingly gifted South American, Peru's mercurial genius Teófilo Cubillas - see left, aged twenty nine - in 1978, against Iran. Cubillas would play again in the 1982 tournament.194. Did You Know?:
Greenland actually have a national football side. They're not affiliate members of FIFA so are ineligible to play in the World Cup or the European Championships but they do play friendlies. The first international was a 6-0 defeat by the Faroe Islands in July 1980 and, to date, their biggest win is a 16-0 thrashing of Sark in Guernsey in 2003 in a tournament called The Island Games. That, however, wasn't Sark's biggest defeat – they had already lost 19-0 to Gibraltar and 20-0 to the Isle of Wight a few days earlier. You couldn't make this stuff up, could you?!195. Did You Know?: The first occasion that an own goal was scored by both teams in a finals match was in the Portugal v USA game in 2002. Jorge Costa and Jeff Agoos both put through their own net.
196. Did You Know?:
Four England players made it into FIFA's 'all star team' for the 1966 World Cup. Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton might be expected. The appearance of George Cohen (left) alongside them, Beckenbauer, Eusabio and Florian Albert might be a shade more surprising to some blog readers.197. Did You Know?: 'Who'll Win The Battle Of Hampden?' asked the press before the 1974 Scotland v England Home International. It was the first occasion on which a Scotland team was going to a World Cup whilst their old enemy were not. In sheeting rain, the home crowd created an even more intense atmosphere than usual, inspiring their team into an early momentum which England never really got to grips with.
After five minutes Frank Worthington's wayward pass in front of his own penalty found Billy Bremner, the ball then ran loose to Joe Jordan whose goalbound effort was intercepted by the outstretched leg of England's left-back Mike Pejic who could do nothing except divert it into the corner of the net. Twenty five minutes later, wee Jimmy Johnstone back-healed to Lorimer by the touchline, his attempted cross was partially blocked but fell to Kenny Dalglish. A low ball into the box took a deflection off Colin Todd Scotland were two up and the game was won. Indeed, it could have been many more, Shilton had to make a number of good saves before the final whistle which was greeted by wild celebrations and Johnstone making a point of a two-fingered gesture to the press box following recent newspaper criticism.198. Did You Know?: The West German squad for the 1976 European Nations Cup included loads of players you’ll have heard of but, also Rudi Kargus, Erich Beer, Ronald Worm, Heinz Flohe and Peter Nogly. No, me neither…
199. Did You Know?:
The Three v The Six was an international match held at Wembley on 3 January 1973 to celebrate the entry of Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark into the EEC. The 'Six' team contained players from Belgium, French, West Germany, Netherlands and Italy (no representatives from Luxembourg were considered worthy of a place. Likewise, there were also no Welshmen in The Three). This included the cream of European football - Beckenbauer, van Hanegem, Neeskens, Netzer, Zoff and Krol. Cruyff was supposed to take part but his plane was reportedly 'delayed by fog in Amsterdam.' The Three won 2-0 with goals from Denmark's Henning Jensen and Scotland's Colin Stein (see left). This was Bobby Charlton's final game at Wembley.200. Did You Know?: The 1970s. The days of trill phones, kipper ties, space hoppers and Brut 33. Of star jumpers, clackers and Pagan Man (by Jovan). Of Top Trumps, British Leyland, Jackson the Tailor and Hai Karate aftershave. And, also, the golden age of that most missed of moribund activities, the football pitch brawl.
Of course, in these enlightened Twenty First Century days it's vitally important to stress that no-one condones the rank idiocy of grown men having a punch-up over whose throw-in it was. But, when you're twelve there really is nothing better than watching two Olympian figures knocking seven-grades of diarrhoea out of each other. On 1 November 1975 one the great English football matches of the decade took place - a first division clash between Derby County and Leeds United at the Baseball Ground. Match of the Day cameras witnessed an epic, with Derby snatching a 3-2 victory thanks to a late Roger Davies winner. But the big talking point afterwards was the fight between Norman Hunter and Francis Lee. They might have been, as The Times noted, 'two men with fifty five international caps between them who should have known better' but, nevertheless, it was very funny. England World Cup team-mates (and, indeed, room-mates on several trips), the two had engaged in a running battle all afternoon after Lee appeared to go down rather easily following a tackle by Hunter early in the match. 
Referee, Derek Nippard, awarded a penalty. 'People write and talk about present-day players diving in a bid to win a penalty but Franny and Rodney Marsh were brilliant at it,' Hunter wrote in his 2004 autobiography Biting Talk. 'They used to run straight at you with the ball, knock it past you and then go down.' Lee, described in subsequent press reports as 'grinning all the way back to the centre spot' did, indeed, have something of a reputation for winning, let's be charitable and say some dubious penalty decisions although Hunter's equally well-earned nickname 'Bites Yer Legs' should make it clear that he was no innocent when it came to the delicious ironies of natural justice. Various niggles between the pair followed until, ten minutes into the second half they clashed again and, this time, Hunter landed a devastating right upper-cut that split Lee's lip. 
'That's been brewing for some time,' noted John Motson, taking to his new role of boxing commentator with relative ease. There followed some pushing and shoving and the referee, with the help of other players from both sides, separated the pair before sending them off. But as the cameras remained on him, chatting merrily with Paul Reaney, on the other side of the pitch, words were seemingly exchanged between the departing Lee and Hunter and the whole thing kicked-off again, with a bunch of their colleagues joining in a free-for-all that resembled a scene from an episode of Kung-Fu. The sight, in particularly, of Billy Bremner running fully fifty yards to dive onto Archie Gemmill's back won't be forgotten in a hurry by anyone who saw it. Finally Hunter and Lee were dragged away to the safety of the dressing room. A week later the FA announced that both men would be charged with 'bringing the game into disrepute.'
Given the outcry which followed from a wide cross-section of journalists, commentators (Jimmy Hill was particularly forthright in his condemnation) and the odd rent-a-gob politician it was expected that, when the disciplinary committee met on 9 December, both men could expect to have the book thrown at them. They turned up, rather sheepishly, at Lancaster Gate for their caning though Lee was still protesting his innocence to anyone who would listen and claiming that he'd been sent off for no reason. Hunter (wearing a dazzling suede jacket), as was the Leeds way, said nothing at all. Lee went in first and was given a four match ban and fined two hundred and fifty notes, plus costs. 'It seemed a fair hearing,' Derby manager Dave Mackay told reporters, although Lee was still chuntering away about the manifest unfairness of it all. Hunter, on the other hand, was cleared of any blame and was rushed away to Heathrow to catch a flight back to Leeds where he was said to be taking part in 'the club pantomime.' 
FA secretary, Ted Croker, announced the verdicts and noted 'Having considered all the evidence and seen film of the incident the committee were satisfied Norman Hunter had not committed a breach of rule thirty three and as such he was found not guilty. As far as Francis Lee is concerned the committee is satisfied he acted in such a way as could bring the game in disrepute.' 'After two hours the Leeds manager, Jimmy Armfield, appeared with Hunter who smiled as they charged past reporters and dashed up the road with a posse of photographers giving chase,' wrote Gerry Harrison in The Times. 'How do you feel about Norman now?' a BBC reporter asked Lee. The previously talkative Franny kept his own counsel. 
