The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest international sports events globally. It is held in different countries at an interval of four years. Billions of people tune in to watch the magnanimous football event that features top international teams representing different parts of the world. Ever since the first World Cup took place in 1930, the popularity and craze for the massive sporting event have exponentially increased. According to FIFA, more than half of the world watched the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The onset of similar hyped football tournaments like the Bundesliga, Serie A, EPL, or MLS provides football fans the perfect opportunity to indulge in fantasy football games. Fantasy football fanatics from all around the globe create teams by choosing their fantasy picks and predicting the outcome of real-life tournament games. Keen football enthusiasts who want to know everything about the fantasy sport and wish to indulge in fantasy football games can follow the link – https://www.mpl.live/fantasy-football.
With the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 right around the corner, here are some moments in the history of the FIFA World Cup that will remain etched in the memories of fans forever:
- Uruguay’s Luis Suarez Bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini – 2014 World Cup.
Luis Suarez, the then-forward of Barcelona, was already under the radar since he had already been involved in two controversial situations, both of which involved biting opponent team members. In a match against Italy at the Arena das Dunas (Natal, Brazil) in the 2014 World Cup, Suarez bit defender Giorgio Chiellini’s left shoulder because of a skirmish. To further aggravate the situation, the Uruguayan striker fell to the ground to portray himself as the victim of the situation. However, things came into perspective when Chiellini showed the bite marks present on his shoulder. Initially, Suarez was adamant that he tripped and fell on the Italian defender’s shoulder but later admitted guilt. As a result, the star player got banned for nine international matches. This is the longest ban issued to any player in the World Cup’s history. The incident spread like wildfire among the masses, and Suarez became the prime subject of critics all around the globe. This is how it became one of the most popular World Cup incidents.
- Russia’s Oleg Salenko set a Record by Scoring Five Goals – 1994 World Cup.
In a group stage match against Cameroon, Russia’s Oleg Salenko created history by netting 5 goals against Cameroon. The match took place at the famous Stanford Stadium in California. There have only been a handful of times when players have scored hat tricks in World Cup matches. Salenko scored a hattrick in the first half of the match, where the third goal came in the form of a penalty. In the second half, he secured two more and led his team to a comfortable victory with a 6-1 scoreline. Even though Russia did not win another game after their magnificent clash against Cameroon, Oleg Salenko went on to clinch the prestigious Golden Boot award. To date, he is the only player in the history of the World Cup who has managed to win the award without moving past the group stage matches.
- Miroslav Klose became the All-Time Leading Goal Scorer in World Cup History – 2014 World Cup.
When the 2014 World Cup began, Germany’s Miroslav Klose was an experienced 36-year-old player who had two goals less than World Cup’s all-time leading goal scorer Ronaldo. The record-holding Brazilian had 14 goals under his belt at that time. However, the ranking table changed after Germany’s match against Brazil at the Estadio Mineirao (Horizonte, Brazil). Klose scored his 15th goal during the group stage match and finally marched ahead of Ronaldo by scoring in the semi-finals against Brazil. Germany scored 7 goals in the match against their opponents, and it became Brazil’s worst defeat in World Cup history. Miroslav Klose not only marched past Ronaldo in the top-scorer-of-all-time category by scoring against the latter’s team but also did it in a humiliating manner, i.e., by handing Brazil their worst-ever loss in the World Cup.
- Argentina’s Diego Maradona scored the “Goal of the Century” Against England – 1986 World Cup.
Millions of fans still consider Diego Maradona one of the greatest football players. In the Quarter-Finals against England in the 1986 World Cup at Estadio Azteca (Mexico), Maradona scored a mesmerizing goal against the English side that sealed the win for Argentina. The iconic incident occurred minutes after the legendary player’s controversial “Hand of God” goal. The scoreboard read 1-0 after Maradona’s iconic first goal. Moments after celebrating it, Maradona added another one to the scoreboard spectacularly. After receiving the ball in midfield, the Argentinian forward dribbled the ball across 60 yards. He brushed it past five defenders and the goalkeeper to score the most iconic goal in World Cup history. Argentina won the quarter-finals and eventually clinched their first-ever World Cup title. Almost one a half-decade later, FIFA conducted an official poll to determine the greatest goal of all time. The goal that emerged triumphant in the poll was Maradona’s brilliant second goal against England. Hence, the goal earned the nickname “The Goal of the Century.”
Over the years, World Cup matches have provided fans with many memorable and iconic moments. Die-hard fans of football and the World Cup will never forget the moments mentioned above any time soon.
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