SN 140: The 21 most infamous moments in FIFA World Cup history

World Cups are about the glory. But not just about the glory. In fact, sometimes, they're not even mostly about the glory.

FIFA's quadrennial international soccer bonanza frequently provides the grimly perfect stage for great moments of sporting infamy and scandal.

Often, it is those tales that endure longer than the winning goal. Sometimes they are the winning goal, with triumph and controversy providing an irresistible cocktail.

Who's making motion pictures and deep-dive documentaries about a solid, competent midfielder who anchors their team to success? What urge is there to play an efficient 3-0 win over and over, beyond die-hard fans?

On the other hand, the list below features moments that continue to captivate, fascinate and enrage.

Our order might really annoy you. Perhaps that's inevitable. Maybe that's the point.

MORE: FIFA World Cup schedule 2026: Complete match dates, times, team fixtures

21. Rooney stamp and Ronaldo wink, 2006

History repeated for England heading into the 2006 World Cup, as an entire nation once again became obsessed with small bones at the top of the foot. Four years on from David Beckham's broken metatarsal putting his participation at the 2002 tournament in doubt, Wayne Rooney had a surgical boot of his own in the run-up to the finals in Germany.

Rooney made it and returned amid England's forgettable group-stage efforts, clearly short on match fitness. In the final round-robin game, a dead rubber against Sweden, Michael Owen blew out his ACL. Peter Crouch was in the squad, but not an ideal starter, while — for reasons that have never become entirely clear — Sven-Goran Eriksson selected Theo Walcott before the teenager had played a Premier League match for Arsenal. Max Dowman is a veteran by comparison.

The forward options were thin, leaving a bedraggled Rooney with a heavy workload in the 1-0 round-of-16 win over Ecuador and a quarterfinal slog versus Portugal. Early in the second half against the Selecao, he reached the end of his tether in a tangle with Ricardo Carvalho. Rooney trod on the Portugal centre-back in a fairly delicate area, but it was hard to fully judge the intent. Enter the villain of the piece.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney's Manchester United teammate, was front and centre in Portugal's ultimately successful protests for referee Horacio Elizondo to brandish the red card. Ronaldo was then caught on camera winking towards the Portugal bench, the defining image of a hustle complete — even more so than CR7 dispatching the decisive kick in the penalty shootout after 120 goalless minutes. There was no prolonged fallout for United, however, as Alex Ferguson smoothed things over and saw Rooney and Ronaldo inspire his last great team to three successive Premier League titles, with the 2007/08 Champions League thrown in for good measure.

20. Keane vs. McCarthy in Saipan, 2002

The Republic of Ireland's carefree runs to the quarterfinals and last-16 of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups under Jack Charlton endeared them to fans around the globe. No nonsense football and a carefree attitude off the pitch made them many people's second-favourite team. They returned in 2002 with Mick McCarthy, one of Charlton's Italia 90 stalwarts, in the dugout. The star player was Manchester United captain Roy Keane, just a few years removed from his talismanic performances in the club's historic treble run.

McCarthy as the keeper of Charlton's flame and Keane as one of the best players in the world created obvious tension. The manager felt his job was to keep everyone, as he later inimitably put it, "inside the tent p----ng out and get rid of any fellow who's outside the tent p----ng in", while Keane wanted to set and drive elite standards. That, ultimately, left him outside the tent, during a chaotic pre-tournament camp in Saipan.

Never mind camping equipment, Ireland arrived without football equipment — not training kit or balls — and the state of the training pitches further enraged Keane. Two big personalities were on a collision course, and Keane decided to leave the squad but was persuaded to stay, only for a subsequently scathing interview to Irish newspaper reporters to take things to a point of no return. The episode gripped a nation, a polarising issue for Ireland in the midst of its 'Celtic Tiger' economic boom. Was the English-born McCarthy a noble representation of the country's homely, everyman tradition? Did Keane represent an outward-facing modern Ireland that could aspire toward excellence? Or were they just two men with huge egos that could never align? The 2025 motion picture Saipan breathed new life into these unending debates around an enduring World Cup controversy.

19. The Battle of Nuremberg, 2006

It's a wonder referee Valentin Ivanov didn't give himself a repetitive strain injury as he dished out a World Cup record 16 yellow cards during the 2006 last-16 clash between Portugal and the Netherlands. Four of those were second bookings as the ill-tempered clash at Frankenstadion finished nine-a-side.

Dutch midfield henchman Mark van Bommel was the first man into the book for a lunge on Cristiano Ronaldo in the second minute. Khalid Boulahrouz was then carded for a foul on Ronaldo that ultimately led to the young winger limping off with a knee injury. Maniche was cautioned in the 20th minute, three minutes before the Portugal midfielder scored the only goal of the game. The Selecao's task was complicated by Costinha collecting his second yellow for deliberate handball in first-half stoppage time.

The interval did nothing to cool tempers, with Luis Figo fortune only to see yellow for nutting Van Bommel. Boulahrouz fouled the Portugal great a few moments later to receive his marching orders. Deco and Giovani van Bronckhorst joined them in taking an early bath before the gruelling spectacle concluded. FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticised Ivanov's performance, suggesting he should have given himself a yellow card. Surely we'd already seen quite enough of that sort of thing.

The 2022 quarterfinal between the Netherlands and Argentina surpassed Ivanov's record, with 18 yellow cards handed out, although Spanish official Mateu Lahoz had an extra 30 minutes to play with as that match went to extra time.

18. Thorsten Frings non-handball vs. USA, 2002

The great "what if..." moment in USMNT World Cup history. A stirring 2-0 win over CONMEBOL rivals Mexico booked a place in the quarterfinals of the 2002 tournament for Bruce Arena's side. Lying in wait were Germany: World Cup heavyweights, but not a great vintage by their high standards. Die Mannschaft were forced into a playoff to qualify after being thrashed 5-1 by England in Munich.

They depended heavily upon Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and superstar midfielder Michael Ballack. Both men were to the fore in Ulsan, as Ballack scored the only goal and Kahn made several excellent saves to keep the United States at bay. The problem was what happened when Khan was beaten, early in the second half after Gregg Berhalter prodded a Claudio Reyna corner goalwards. Thorsten Frings was defending on the far post and blocked the effort on the goalline, quite clearly with his hand. Scottish referee Hugh Dallas did not whistle for a clear penalty and red card.

It was a wide-open tournament and Germany got past co-hosts South Korea in the next round before losing to Brazil in the final. But for Dallas' error, that really could have been the US tangling with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and company.

17. Luis Suarez 'saves' Uruguay vs. Ghana, 2010

Luis Suarez's breakout tournament simply had to come with controversy thrown in. At the 2010 finals in South Africa, with Suarez playing up front alongside eventual Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan, Uruguay had their best team since La Celeste's tournament wins way back in 1930 and 1950.

Suarez's brace against South Korea set up a quarterfinal showdown with Ghana. The Black Stars were seeking to become Africa's first World Cup semifinalists at the first such tournament to be held on African soil.

Sulley Muntari gave Ghana the lead in first-half stoppage time and Forlan equalised early in the second period. The game went to extra time and remained on a knife-edge until, from a late corner, Suarez blocked Stephen Appiah's shot on the goalline. Dominic Adiyiah's follow-up was going in before Suarez stopped it with his hand. It was a clear red card, but a gamble worth taking. Asamoah Gyan struck his penalty against the crossbar and, although he scored in the subsequent shootout, Uruguay prevailed 4-2. The true controversy came afterwards when Suarez celebrated on the field, carried on the shoulders of a teammate, and later compared his exploits to Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal against England in 1986.

16. Tassotti breaks Luis Enrique's nose, 1994

Leonardo's sickening elbow on Tab Ramos that left the United States' star player with a fractured skull is a defining image of the 1994 World Cup for American fans. The Brazil winger was banned for three matches, missing the rest of the tournament as the Selecao sealed World Cup glory. In the final, Italy also had a defender unavailable through suspension, but Mauro Tassotti had already played his last international match.

During the closing stages of the Azzurri's 2-1 quarterfinal win over Spain, shortly after Roberto Baggio's decisive goal, the AC Milan defender smashed Luis Enrique in the face with an elbow, breaking his nose. The match officials missed the incident and Tassotti's retrospective eight-match ban was a record until Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini in 2014.

The images of Luis Enrique enraged in the aftermath, blood spewing from his nose and mouth onto his pristine white kit, became a touchstone for Spain's tales of heartbreak at major tournaments. On the morning of Spain's tense but highly cathartic penalty-shootout win over Italy en route to glory at Euro 2008, Luis Enrique's battered features adorned the front page of Madrid sports daily Marca. Time proved to be a healer for the men at the centre of the controversy, though. Prior to managing Spain in a Euro 2020 semifinal against Italy, Luis Enrique said: "It's part of my sporting history. I was lucky enough to meet Tassotti, a very good person, and I have no [thirst for] revenge."

15. Robert Baggio missed final penalty, 1994

Nothing underlines the cruel fine margins of a high-stakes penalty shootout more than the fact that the first-ever World Cup final decided on spot-kicks was settled when the tournament's standout player failed to hit the target.

Roberto Baggio was the consensus best player on the planet in 1994. After a breakout tournament on home soil four years earlier, the richly gifted attacker entered USA '94 as the Ballon d'Or holder and reigning FIFA World Player of the Year. After a limp group stage, very much in the tradition of Italy being slow starters to a tournament, Baggio ignited during the knockout stages, scoring five goals across wins over Nigeria, Spain and Bulgaria. Those efforts came at a cost, though, as he suffered a hamstring injury against the latter and had to play the final with heavy strapping on his right leg after a painkilling injection.

After 120 sapping, goalless minutes in the Pasadena heat against Brazil came the trial from 12 yards. The great Franco Baresi blazed over and Milan's 1994 Champions League final hero Daniele Massaro had his kick saved by Taffarel. It meant Baggio needed to score Italy's fifth attempt to keep the contest alive. He skied the kick and stood motionless, staring at the turf in bleak despair as Brazilian celebrations erupted around him.

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14. David Beckham kicks Diego Simeone, 1998

England's last-16 clash with Argentina at France 98 had already entered instant-classic territory by halftime. After Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer exchanged early penalties, Michael Owen announced himself a superstar when England's teenage forward netted a breathtaking solo goal. A cleverly worked free-kick saw Javier Zanetti level for La Albiceleste in first-half stoppage time, but the whole complexion of the contest — not to mention the course of one of the era's most storied careers — changed three minutes into the second period.

Diego Simeone — on the wind up, would you believe — fouled David Beckham from behind as he sought to control a Tony Adams header, pushed the England midfielder in the back as he lay face down and teasingly patted him on the head. A prostrate Beckham responded by kicking out his right leg and catching Simeone on the calf with his heel. The Argentina man tottered to the floor and referee Kim Milton Nielsen, having watched the whole thing unfold right in front of him, showed Beckham a red card. 

It was the petulant flick felt around the world. There were no further goals and England, as is their wont, lost on penalties. "It's cost us, it's cost us dearly," Three Lions manager Glenn Hoddle said of Beckham's kick during a post-match interview on the field, words that gave the hurting country's media carte blanche to go after their new public enemy No. 1 with the popstar girlfriend. "10 heroic Lions, one stupid boy" boomed The Sun's headline.

A predictable ordeal ensued for Beckham, but it proved to be the making of him. Barracked at most away grounds, he helped to inspire Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to a historic treble. Two more league titles followed and, when he departed to Real Madrid in 2003, he did so as England captain and a national hero.

13. Frank Lampard 'ghost goal' vs. Germany, 2010

England's 2010 World Cup campaign under esteemed Italian coach Fabio Capello had long descended into shambles before they handed themselves the short straw of a last-16 showdown with a vibrant young Germany team. Behind-the-scenes discontent was the main source of interest, in part because of the team's torpid efforts on the pitch.

The eventual 4-1 defeat, sealed by Thomas Muller's quickfire second-half brace, had long been in the post, but it was also an occasion for one of the English national team's most infamous hard-luck stories. After all-time World Cup leading scorer Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski gave Die Mannschaft a deserved 2-0 lead, England centre-back Matthew Upson pulled a goal back. A talented but inexperienced Germany were briefly wobbled and Frank Lampard crashed a fantastic long-range shot in off the underside of the bar... only the ball bounced out of the goal despite landing clearly behind the goalline. The linesman erroneously waved play-on — a karmic equaliser for the pain Geoff Hurst wrought upon Germany in 1966, perhaps — and England were doomed. 

The Lampard incident is widely viewed as a key driver in football's move towards goalline technology. It was rolled out in time for the 2014 World Cup, where England crashed out winless in the group stage.

12. The Battle of Santiago, 1962

"I wasn't reffing a football match, I was acting as an umpire in military manoeuvres," said English official Ken Aston after taking charge of the group game between hosts Chile and Italy at the 1962 World Cup. Aston was later the man behind football introducing red and yellow cards. When you've presided over a game when the police had to enter the field four times, it's understandable you might ponder different ways to restore order.

A tempestuous build-up to the match was underpinned by scathing dispatches from Italian reporters in Santiago lambasting the Chilean capital as unfit to host the tournament. The first foul of the game came after 35 seconds and Aston was probably looking back longingly at that peaceful half minute once matters concluded. A fifth-minute fracas saw Chile midfielder Eladio Rojas on the turf after Mario David kicked out at him, while Humberto Maschio appeared to punch Leonel Sanchez to the floor in the aftermath. That proved to be an error.

Aston restored calm for all of three minutes, until he sent off Giorgio Ferrini for booting Honorino Landa. During the ensuing fracas, with police required to escort Ferrini from the field, Sanchez broke Maschio's nose. The Chile forward got out his trusty left hook again in retaliation for a foul from David before halftime but escaped punishment despite the offence taking place in front of the linesman. David then launched a flying kick towards Sanchez's head, an outrageously violent challenge even in the context of the preceding nonsense. Italy were down to nine men in the first half.

The Azzurri held out until Jaime Ramirez's 73rd-minute header and a fabulous long-range drive from Jorge Toro sealed the points. In between the goals, Aston found himself on the floor separating a scuffle. More fights broke out at fulltime, at which point the English referee simply left them to it.

11. Maradona failed drug test, 1994

After inspiring Argentina to unforgettable glory at the 1986 World Cup, Diego Maradona was a diminished force but cajoled his teammates into the 1990 final, where a rematch with West Germany ended in a 1-0 defeat. That appeared to be that for Maradona on the biggest stage, something underlined as his club career descended into chaos. A 15-month ban for a positive cocaine test ended his storied association with Napoli, before a reunion with former Argentina boss Carlos Bilardo at Sevilla turned sour.

The national team appeared to be doing just fine without Maradona, winning back-to-back Copas America in 1991 and 1993. But a seismic 5-0 defeat to a gifted Colombia team in Buenos Aires in September 1993 plunged Argentina into a World Cup qualification playoff and the country's footballing public into a collective breakdown. The solution was inevitable: bring back Diego.

A rotund Maradona returned by popular demand for the edgy two-legged playoff win over Australia before he went about whipping himself into shape for the finals in the United States. He played a small handful of games for Newell's Old Boys and withdrew to an isolated ranch in La Pampas to get tournament ready under the watchful eye of personal trainer Fernando Signorini.

A remarkably svelte Maradona arrived ready and raring for action. In Argentina's opening game, a 4-0 win over Greece, he scored a spectacular goal and celebrated by maniacally howling into a television camera. That became the defining image of what followed when, after a 2-1 win over Nigeria, Maradona tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine. Naturally, El Diego cried conspiracy, but arguably the greatest international career of them all had ended in disgrace.

10. Harald Schumacher takes out Patrick Battiston, 1982

West Germany's campaign at the 1982 World Cup really was no way to make friends. After the Disgrace of Gijon — their confected 1-0 win over Austria that saw both teams progress from Group 1 at Algeria's expense — came this, probably the singularly most violent on-field act in World Cup history. 

The much-anticipated semifinal between West German and France in Seville was locked at 1-1 after Michel Platini's penalty had cancelled out Pierre Littbarski's opening goal. Early in the second half, Platini's floated throughball sent Patrick Battiston scampering towards the penalty area. The Saint-Etienne defender got to the ball before goalkeeper Harald 'Toni' Schumacher, his first-time effort bouncing past the right post. Before it had, Schumacher launched himself into Battiston with sickening force, his hip smashing into his opponent's face. Battison lay motionless on the field before being taken off on a stretcher. Play resumed with a goal kick; no penalty and no red card for Schumacher, both of which looked like blindingly obvious calls for referee Charles Corver.

Battison suffered broken ribs and damaged vertebrae, and received oxygen having lost three teeth. The pair later reconciled, but Schumacher's flippant post-match offer to pay for the Frenchman's dental work only added to his status as the arch villain of the piece. The fact he saved penalties from Didier Six and Maxime Bossis in Germany's shootout victory, after a frantic period of extra time finished with the score 3-3, only added to this. Few tears were shed for Jupp Derwall's side when Italy won the final 3-1.

9. Luis Suarez bites Giorgio Chiellini, 2014

As Oscar Wilde didn't quite say: to bite one opponent in an elite-level football match may be regarded as misfortune; to bite three looks like carelessness.

Luis Suarez had already landed in hot water for plunging his teeth into the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013. This being the pre-VAR era, Suarez remained on the field to score an equaliser for Liverpool in a 2-2 Premier League draw, although he was subsequently banned for 10 matches. He'd received a seven-game ban for biting PSV's Otman Bakkal during his time with Ajax in 2010.

Suarez returned to have the season of his life at Anfield in 2013/14, winning the Premier League Golden Boot, sweeping the board in England's end-of-season awards and firing Liverpool to the brink of an unlikely title triumph. A mega-money move to Barcelona was presumed to be on the cards as Uruguay headed to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil looking to follow up their 2010 run to the semifinals.

They stumbled out of the blocks with a 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica before a Suarez brace sunk England, which meant a winner-takes-all showdown in the final group game against Italy. Claudio Marchisio had already been sent off during an ill-tempered affair for an over-the-ball challenge on Egidio Arevalo when Suarez and grizzled centre-back Giorgio Chiellini tangled in the penalty area before tumbling to the floor. Chiellini was enraged and pulled his shirt down to reveal teeth marks on his shoulder. Again, Suarez got away with it on the field and, again, his team scored late on, Diego Godin sending Uruguay through to the knockout stages.

Suarez's misdemeanour dominated the post-match fallout. FIFA handed him a nine-match international suspension and he was banned from all football activity for four months. It meant he returned on October 25, 2010, making his Barcelona debut in El Clasico after a $107 million (£65 million) move. Remarkably, Italy are still yet to play a World Cup match since the Suarez bite game, the four-time winners having embarked upon three consecutive unsuccessful qualifying campaigns.

8. The Disgrace of Gijon, 1982

A talent-stacked Germany squad swaggered into the 1982 World Cup as European champions and one of the favourites for glory. Then they gave themselves a problem: Algeria caught Jupp Derwall's complacent team cold as they claimed a stunning 2-1 win in the opening group game.

A Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hat-trick got Germany off and running with a 4-1 win over Chile in their next match, while Algeria lost to Austria. In their final group game, Algeria raced into a 3-0 lead over Chile. That scoreline would have virtually assured qualification, but the eliminated Chileans pulled their game back to 3-2 — a turn of events that left the Desert Warriors fatally vulnerable. It meant a 1-0 win for Germany over Austria would see the two European neighbours progress thanks to superior goal difference.

Playing a day after Algeria and Chile in Gijon, Germany took a 10th-minute lead through Horst Hrubesch. Then, in scenes of infamous high farce, more or less nothing happened. Neither team attempted to play with any attacking purpose and certainly did not try to score. Fans barracked the players, with Algerian supporters inside El Molinon waving banknotes. Local newspaper El Comercio published the match report in its crime section.

The practical upshot from this risible episode, along with a 1-0 defeat for hosts Spain to Northern Ireland that seemed similarly manufactured at the same stage of the tournament, was that FIFA decided to schedule all final group matches to kick off simultaneously at future events.

7. The Maracanazo, 1950

An official crowd of 173,850 (realistically in excess of 200,000) poured into Rio's new Maracana Stadium, expecting a coronation in the final match of the 1950 World Cup. This would be a moment of defining national triumph, Brazil emerging as the global kings of their national sport and projecting an image of strength as a would-be superpower. Uruguay, the inaugural world champions in 1930, had been beaten 5-1 as Brazil stormed to Copa America glory in 1949 and were presumed to be making up the numbers.

This was not a final, as such. FIFA decided the final phase of the 1950 World Cup would be a four-team round robin. Brazil demolished Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1, while Uruguay's 2-2 draw with Spain meant they had to beat the hosts to win the trophy.

After coming through a first-half shellacking unscathed, Uruguay fell behind to Friaca's 47th-minute goal. The house band at the Maracana would be playing the specially written samba "Brazil the Victors" soon enough. But then Brazil fell back to defend their lead and Pepe Schiaffino equalised. When Alcides Ghiggia fired home a cute near-post finish, silence gripped the bumper ground and Brazil could not escape the suffocating reality of improbable defeat.

The country entered a period of national mourning after the 2-1 loss, the white kit with blue trim was ditched in favour of a new yellow kit and a young Pele promised his crying father he would win the World Cup.

6. France stay on the bus, 2010

Winners in 1998 and runners-up in 2006, a lavishly gifted France squad were again among the favourites for the 2010 World Cup. However, with greats such as Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele having left the stage, there was a leadership vacuum that the enigmatic head coach Raymond Domenech was ill-equipped to fill. 

Les Bleus began with a 0-0 draw against eventual semifinalists Uruguay, but a lacklustre 2-0 defeat to Mexico all-but rubberstamped an early flight home. Reports then emerged of a foul-mouthed tirade from Nicolas Anelka against Domenech when he was substituted at halftime against Mexico. Petulant and ill-advised from Anelka, although a thing that can happen in dressing rooms, but how had it leaked to French sports newspaper L'Equipe, which shockingly ran Anelka's alleged words on its front page? Who was the mole? Paranoia and self-preservation within a campaign gone off the rails made for a heady cocktail.

The French government expressed its condemnation, Anelka was sent home by the French Football Federation and, in solidarity with their teammate, the France players refused to take part in an open training session, infamously remaining on the team bus after captain Patrice Evra rowed publicly with a fitness coach. Domenech read out a statement on their behalf, later having to clarify that he did not concur with the players' point of view. He did so by admonishing the squad at a pre-match press conference before the game against hosts South Africa, where he did not allow Evra to appear alongside him. A 2-0 defeat in a state of rolling mutiny served as France's final humiliation.

5. Brazil 1-7 Germany, 2014

Brazil head into the 2026 World Cup 24 years removed from their most recent success. It is the joint-longest drought that the five-time winners have experienced since Pele inspired them to their first title back in 1958. Slap bang in the middle of this 21st-century Selecao timeline is the unfathomably devastating result that does much to explain their ongoing malaise.

As tournament hosts, Brazil had 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari back in charge and a 22-year-old Neymar coming off his debut season at Barcelona. The star attacker had four goals by the end of the group stage, but Brazil often played like a team suffocated by and buckling under the weight of expectation. A penalty-shootout win over Chile in the last 16 did nothing to ease this and Neymar suffering a back injury during the 2-1 quarterfinal victory against Colombia further heightened the fear that the roof might fall in on Scolari's men.

Not this spectacularly, though. Not to such a heightened level of maximum humiliation.

Germany were the best team in the tournament. If sober reflection were at all possible in such a football-mad nation, the Brazilian football public might have reflected that there was no shame in losing. But there's an inordinate amount of shame involved in losing a World Cup semifinal on home soil 7-1. What sort of scoreline is 7-1? Thomas Muller gave Germany an 11th-minute lead but things went completely off the reservation between the 23rd and 29th minutes, when Die Mannschaft scored four times. Midfield maestro Toni Kroos got two of those and, with the game long since over as a contest, Andre Schurrle added a brace of his own in the second half. Oscar bothering to score Brazil's consolation in the 89th minute only heightened the sense of morbid embarrassment.

4. Zinedine Zidane headbutts Marco Materazzi, 2006

Zinedine Zidane had authored an almost achingly perfect farewell. With France struggling to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, he was coaxed out of international retirement and reinstated as captain. Alongside fellow returning veterans Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele, Zidane inspired a revival. He then announced he would retire from all football when his Real Madrid contract expired in summer 2026. The finals in Germany were to be his swansong.

During the knockout stages, Zizou was majestic. He set up a goal for Patrick Vieira and was on target himself in a last-16 win over Spain, provided the floated free-kick for Thierry Henry to down Brazil and scored the only goal from the penalty spot to sink Portugal in the semifinals. In the last match of his glorious career, Zidane scored another penalty — an audacious Panenka, in off the crossbar to put Les Bleus ahead against Italy, opening the scoring in a World Cup final as he had against Brazil eight years earlier.

But there was not a second Zidane goal as there was that night in Paris, and Marco Materazzi swiftly equalised for Italy. The game remained deadlocked into extra time, when the two goal-scorers clashed in the 110th minute. Zidane launched a violent headbutt into Materazzi's chest, leaving referee Horacio Elizondo with no option but to send off the man of the hour. The world looked on open-mouthed as Zidane trudged past the trophy Italy duly claimed after a penalty shootout.

Zidane claimed Materazzi insulted his mother, with the Azzurri centre-back saying it was actually comments about his sister. All very grown-up stuff. "Of course I reproach myself," Zidane told El Pais in 2010. "But, if I say 'sorry', I would also be admitting that what he himself did was normal. And for me, it was not normal. If I ask him forgiveness, I lack respect for myself and for all those I hold dear with all my heart. I apologise to football, to the fans, to the team."

3. Geoff Hurst final goal, 1966

Azerbaijani linesman Tofiq Bahramov has a claim when it comes to being the most influential figure in English football history. Sure, Geoff Hurst scored the decisive World Cup final-winning hat-trick against West Germany in 1966 — a triumph that becomes a larger millstone for the Three Lions with every passing decade — but Bahramov's decisiveness in a moment no one was really sure about at the time, or ever since, proved key.

Wolfgang Weber's 89th-minute goal silenced Wembley and forced extra time, with the score at 2-2. It remained that way until the 100th minute when Hurst brilliantly controlled Alan Ball's low cross and crashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar. Germany goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski did not sniff it and the ball bounced down into the turf, and out of his goalmouth. But did it cross the line? Referee Gottfried Dienst wasn't sure, he consulted Bahramov, he signalled for a goal and the crowd went wild.

Hurst's delirious hat-trick goal sealed a 4-2 win, but it is his game-breaking second that remains a topic of fascination. This was decades before we had multiple camera angles in stadiums to pour over such things forensically, or before Hawkeye and other ball-tracking technology. The goal has been the subject of university studies. Hurst's contention that Roger Hunt celebrating rather than following in the rebound proves it was a goal has always felt spurious. Replays show the Liverpool attacker was not getting there in any case. But for all the talk that still goes on, a Soviet match official had the decisive final say.

2. Ronaldo's mystery pre-final illness, 1998

The dramatic events preceding the 1998 World Cup final in Paris have long been the subject of intrigue and conspiracy. A brilliant 3-0 win for host nation France, inspired by a first-half brace from the great Zinedine Zidane to claim a maiden world title, can sometimes feel like a footnote. Les Bleus' defence shackled Ronaldo, the best player in the world at that time, but O Fenomeno was a shadow of himself.

It was a wonder he played at all. At lunchtime before the match, the 21-year-old Inter Milan star suffered a convulsive fit in his hotel room, witnessed by teammate Roberto Carlos. Ronaldo headed to the hospital with the team doctor, and head coach Mario Zagallo accepted he would not be able to play. Zagallo attempted to rouse his players with a team talk recalling the fact that he played in the 1962 Brazil team that won the World Cup despite Pele being injured for the final. When the team sheets dropped an hour and 15 minutes before kickoff at the Stade de France, the news that Edmundo was starting ahead of Ronaldo caused all hell to break loose in the media tribune. The initial cover story of an ankle injury didn't convince many.

The plot took another sensational twist when Ronaldo arrived at the stadium less than an hour before the start, declared himself fit to play and was reinstated. Brazil did not warm up on the field before the game and their No. 9 sleepwalked through a laboured performance. Zagallo lost his job, coaches and members of the medical staff followed and the whole episode ended up being the subject of an inquest in Brazil's national congress. Murmurings that pressure from team sponsor Nike, the Brazilian federation and FIFA itself forced Zagallo to pick a diminished Ronaldo were never proven.

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1. Maradona 'Hand of God', 1986

The central character and wider context mean no moment of World Cup infamy is so widely celebrated.

Diego Maradona's exploits in 1986 are widely regarded as the outstanding individual tournament performance in the competition's history. Yet, his defining acts came not in the dramatic final win over West Germany, but the quarterfinal versus England.

The game took place against the recent backdrop of the Falklands War, meaning tensions were high. Maradona received some uncompromising treatment from England defenders before scoring the breakthrough goal early in the second half, leaping with goalkeeper Peter Shilton to divert the ball into the net. England's players appealed furiously because the diminutive No. 10 had clearly handled the ball.

The goal stood and, four minutes later, Maradona dribbled from his own half, past four England defenders, to net his 'goal of the century'. Both goals have their own Wikipedia page. "Un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios," he told reporters after the match when describing his first goal, which translates as: "A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God." Not just a controversial moment, but one he revelled in enough to give a name for the ages.