The 10 greatest World Cup moments
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Athletic FC.
Hi there and welcome to the Athletic FC podcast with me, Adam Leventhal. So our World Cup coverage is well underway now, getting you set up for the showpiece in the US, Canada and Mexico. Now, yesterday we debated our World Cup draft, which is the Ultimate 11. from all 32 editions of the competition. If you've not listened already, you can go back and check that one out. Today, we're bringing you some more nostalgia and we're going to be looking back on the defining moments in the competition's recent history from ghost goals to headbutts
What is the episode’s format and which experts are hosting the World Cup countdown?
The hand of God is in there as well. Our team of writers discussed 10 iconic performances and incidents from the last 10 tournaments. And back in the hot seat to host for you is Duncan Alexander. Over to you.
So at this tournament, obviously being held this summer in the USA, Mexico and Canada, the total number of World Cup games all time will tick over 1,000 matches. So what better time to rewind the clock and pick out some of our highlights. We haven't gone all the way back to 1930 for this one. We're going to keep it relatively modern with the emphasis on relatively. We're going to go from 1986 through to 2022. So 10 moments from the last 10 editions, one per tournament. It's by no means definitive, and I'm sure you might have some contrary opinions, but it's just a little bit of fun. Here with me to adjudicate are Oli Kay, Will Jeans, Hi Duncan, Jack Lang, Hi, and Felipe Cardenas. Buenos dias. Let's warm up with a little bit of open discussion, shall we, Jack?
Before we get into our selections, what does everyone think are the ingredients of a special World Cup moment? Start with you, Jack.
I think it's something that goes across national interests. So obviously every country has its own World Cup law, its big moments. But the ones that we're looking at, I think, are ones that transcend that. They're the things that people in every continent were talking about at the time that... changed perspectives or made everyone cry or made everyone laugh something that uh for better or worse brought people together so that's what i will be looking at i like my selections
ollie do you agree yeah i do i do i mean looking down the list that we we all came up with various suggestions beforehand and some of them are you know surprise wins shocks uh dramatic finals or whatever but a lot of them are human stories of you know a player often having a redemption moment on a big stage i think people could probably um imagine the kind of things we're talking about or a player sort of announcing himself on the global stage in a big way. So, yeah, I think a lot of them are those human and redemptive type stories. And I think they're the ones that as a football following media and a football following public, we all kind of gravitate towards.
Felipe, do you agree with all that?
I do. I tend to, you know, when I was thinking about listening to, you know, I was listening to Jack and I'm thinking, yeah, when I think of World Cup moments, it's either tears of devastation or a moment of glory. I still remember vividly over the years, not that I saw it live, but just throughout my childhood, seeing Marco Tardelli's performance. celebration in that that 1982 final over West Germany. Just I just remember thinking like, Oh my gosh, if I I would do the same thing. I mean, if you're in that moment, like you would let out a scream. And so I think when I think of the World Cup, I think of the both ends of the spectrum. You know, it's complete disappointment, failure or a moment that can shock somebody.
And then the complete opposite, just absolute glory.
Yeah, I think that's an important detail, isn't it? The way it kind of connects us with the history of the World Cup to incidents we maybe didn't see at the time because we weren't alive, but we kind of know almost, you know, really, really well. Will, you're very much a football historian. Obviously, we're going to start in 1986 with this exercise. But if you had to pick one thing from pre-1986, what do you reckon?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:45
2
What is the episode’s format and which experts are hosting the World Cup countdown?
0:45–11:36
3
How did the panel define the ingredients of a truly memorable World Cup moment?
11:36–34:27
4
Why is Diego Maradona’s 1986 quarter-final against England considered both genius and controversial?
34:27–1:14:16
5
Which 1990 World Cup moments sparked the biggest debate: Gascoigne’s tears or Cameroon’s shock win over Argentina?
1:14:16–1:22:56