World Cup: 101 most memorable tournament moments
Over the span of 92 years and 21 tournaments, the World Cup has had so many memorable moments.
So every day until Qatar 2022, which will air exclusively on FOX networks starting Nov. 20, Jenny Taft and Doug McIntyre are counting down the 101 most memorable moments in World Cup history. Find out where your favorite moment ended up on our countdown.
Lionel Messi showed Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho that his right foot is just as lethal as his left, and reminded the world why he's considered by many as the greatest of all time.
100: Wynalda's colossal curler
It would have been hard for Eric Wynalda to place his free kick more perfectly than he did; it helped that it came at the perfect time, too.
Eric Wynalda's free kick
Long before he coached the United States men's national team at the 2014 World Cup, Jürgen Klinsmann scored a ton of goals for Germany, including this stunner against South Korea.
South Korea's defenders didn't know what to do when Cuauhtémoc Blanco broke out the Cuauhtemiña at the 1998 World Cup.
A no-look scoop pass over the top of the defense with the outside of the boot? Michael Laudrup didn't play fair.
Michael Laudrup's assist
José Luis Chilavert didn't convert his free kick against Bulgaria at the 1998 World Cup, but he came as close as any keeper has since.
Who do you think appreciated the support of Japan's fans more in 2018: Japan's men's national team or the stadium staff in Russia?
Japanese fans take fandom to the next level
94: Oh my, Oliseh
The power and precision of Sunday Oliseh's shot stunned the Spanish giants of 1998. I mean, how do you stop that?
93: Matthäus' individual brilliance
Yugoslavia paid the price of giving Lothar Matthäus ample space to operate in the midfield, and his German teammates watched him collect.
Matthäus' run and rocket
92: El Tri tops Die Mannschaft
Mexico's fans were hoping for a draw against Germany; what they got was arguably El Tri's most surprising result on the World Cup stage.
It's safe to say this would have landed higher on our countdown had Pelé stuck the landing.
West Germany were the favorites to repeat as world champions in 1994 … until Yordan Letchkov decided they weren't.
Letchkov's header stuns Germany
89: No era penal
This one's pretty self-explanatory for Mexico fans: It wasn't a penalty.
Mexico's battle cry
In 1994, Brazil's Bebeto gave his newborn son the best birthday present ever: a celebration at the World Cup.
Bebeto's birthday gift
87. First goal wins
There have been two golden goals in World Cup history; Laurent Blanc's sent his team to the quarterfinals, where they'd win en route to their first-ever World Cup trophy.
First golden goal
Pelé's Brazil teams are the most famous to win back-to-back World Cups, but they weren't the first.
85. Salenko's five-goal frenzy
Oleg Salenko already had the golden boot secured when Russia were eliminated in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup.
Salenko bags five goals
Tim Howard did everything he could to save the United States from elimination at the 2014 World Cup, and his record-setting performance in the USMNT's loss to Belgium earned him the nickname "Secretary of Defense."
Hungary showed no mercy for El Salvador in their record-setting 10-1 win at the 1982 World Cup.
Hungary embarrass El Salvador
82. USMNT robbed of semifinals
The United States men's team would have had a fair chance of making their first World Cup semifinal appearance since 1930 had it not been for a missed call.
81. England come back in extra time
Cameroon nearly became the first African men's team to advance to a World Cup semifinal, but they couldn't stop England's comeback.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst went from uncertain roster selection to national hero at the 2010 World Cup.
South Korea's win over Germany wasn't enough to push them through to the knockout stage, but it did eliminate the then-reigning champions of the world.
England's misfortune with penalty shootouts took a brief break at the 2018 World Cup.
Although Iran beat the United States on the pitch, their gesture was the talking point of the game after the final whistle.
Just Fontaine scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, as many as the last two World Cup Golden Boot winners scored combined.
How did the sideline referee miss this one?
Rivaldo's acting results in red card
With the flick of his neck, Robin Van Persie helped the Netherlands get a consolation prize against Spain, who beat them in the 2010 World Cup Final.
Even when Maradona wasn't scoring, he controlled the tempo of the match.
Maradonna and Caniggia send Brazil packing
Josip Šimunić was able to stay on the pitch after his second yellow due to a mental lapse by the referee.
One, two, three yellow cards
71. Luis Hernández comes through
Mexico needed every minute of stoppage time to upset the Dutch.
Scotland couldn't stop the Netherlands from scoring at Argentina '78.
Gemmill's goal not enough for Scotland
How did Xabi Alonso manage to stay on the pitch after this nasty challenge from Nigel de Jong?
De Jong's kick starts wave of bookings
68. Schillaci's surprise scoring tear
Salvatore Schillaci is considered the most unlikely Golden Boot winner in World Cup history.
Salvatore Schillaci's scintillating tournament
Kuwait's last World Cup appearance was a memorable one and not for anything the players did.
The Prince Protests
66. France's heated locker room
There were no winners in the fight between French striker Nicolas Anelka and coach Raymond Domenech.
France, Anelka crash out
65. Argentina fall short of back-to-back
Argentina were heavily criticized for not being more aggressive with their attack vs. West Germany.
Maradona falls to Germany
64. Red Devils rally
Japan thought they had punched their ticket to the World Cup semifinals, but Beglium had other plans.
Czechoslovakia's couldn't take the ball away from Roberto Baggio, and the keeper couldn't stop him from putting it in the back of the net.
Baggio slaloms through the Czechs
62. Best World Cup quarterfinal ever?
Before the 1998 World Cup Final, this was the most memorable matchup between Brazil and France.
This should have been named goal of the tournament the moment it left his foot.
60. Garrincha leads Brazil to glory
59. Maradona's inglorious goodbye
One of the greatest soccer players of all time didn't get to leave his last World Cup on his terms.
Maradona sent packing
58. Zaire time-waste for safety
Win or go home was't an option for Zaire.
Zaire's head-scratching defense
57. Brazil make opening statement
Not one, but two beautiful goals in one game.
Eder and Socrates' legendary strikes
56. Michael Owen does it himself
An 18-year-old Michael Owen stole the show against Argentina.
Owen's wonder-strike
Ghana would have been the firs African country to make a World Cup semifinal if Suárez didn't intentionally block the ball with his hand.
The other Hand of God
No one could have guessed that Senegal would be the reigning world champions.
Argentina practically passed the ball into the back of Serbia's net.
52. A storybook start in South Africa
Tshabalala's strike found the top corner of Mexico's net.
Tshabalala wows the world
51. Ronaldo comes through again
Spain learned to never count out Cristiano Ronaldo.
50. Donovan delivers
At the peak of his powers, Landon Donovan lived up to his U.S. soccer legend with a critical goal.
49. Pavard volleys from distance
It takes some luck to score a worldie like this, and France had all of it in 2018.
Benjamin Pavard's rocket
48. Croatia's Cinderella story
Croatia went from a nice story to a powerhouse at Russia 2018.
47. Negrete's sensational scissor kick
Mexico is home to one of the greatest goals in World Cup history.
Manuel Negrete's scissor kick
James Rodríguez made this masterfully skillful goal look easy.
James rips goal of the year
45. Ronaldinho's perfect mistake
Intentional or not, Ronaldinho's free-kick got the job done for Brazil.
44. Argentina create controversy
Things went almost a little too well for Argentina when they needed to win by at least four against Peru.
Emotions were high when Germany and the Netherlands faced off at the 1990 World Cup.
Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller see red:
North Korea didn't just beat one of the best teams in the world — they also made history during the process.
North Korea pull off historical upset
41. England's penalty shootout curse is born
England's now long history of misfortune with penalty shootouts began in their semifinal match against West Germany at the 1990 World Cup.
West Germany send England home from the spot
40. David Beckham sees red vs. Argentina
Did Beckham's completely avoidable red card cost England a trip to the World Cup final in 1998?
39. Fabio Grosso bends it vs. Germany
German keeper Jens Lehmann had no choice but to watch Fabio Grosso's shot curl past him.
Bend it like Grosso
Uruguay won the first-ever World Cup in 1930 after coming back from a 2-1 halftime deficit.
Saeed Al-Owairan's goal against Belgium at the 1994 World Cup was Maradona-esque.
36. Dos a Cero
What's better than beating your arch rival 2-0? Doing it at the World Cup.
35. Jorge Burruchaga wins it for Argentina
Maradona was the player of the tournament at the 1986 World Cup, but it was Jorge Burruchaga's that won it all for Argentina.
Burruchaga's late-game heroics
34. Eusebio carries Portugal in comeback win
Eusébio was unstoppable in Portugal's monumental comeback win vs. North Korea at the 1966 World Cup.
Eusebio's legendary haul
33. Müller seals second title for Germany
Gerd Müller's final goal for Germany was the biggest of his illustrious international career.
32. The fantastic France-Croatia Final
The 2018 World Cup Final was a goal-fest, something that's a rarity for a Final.
31. England robbed of Frank Lampard goal
VAR would have shown Lampard's ball was over the line, but it didn't exist in 2010.
30. Ronaldo returns for 1998 Final
Ronaldo had a health scare before the 1998 World Cup Final, but he was cleared to play just in time.
29. Paolo Rossi scores hat-trick vs. Brazil
Paolo Rossi broke his cold streak for Italy with a hat-trick vs. Brazil.
Germany and Austria got exactly the result they needed to advance to the knockout stages. Coincidence?
27. South Korea's controversial win vs. Italy
Did South Korea have the refs on their side, or was Italy just unlucky?
26. Schumacher’s careless tackle
Schumacher wasn't given a card for what many consider the dirtiest tackle in World Cup history.
25. Götze denies Messi of trophy
Mario Götze's goal won the World Cup for Germanny against Argentina.
24. 'El Matador' shines for Argentina
Mario Kempes is Argentina's lesser-known World Cup hero.
After experiencing adversity in 1998, Ronaldo dominated the 2002 World Cup Final.
Luis Suárez dug his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder.
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21. Roger Milla turns back clock
Age was just a number for Roger Milla at the 1990 World Cup.
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19. Bergkamp settles it vs. Argentina
Dennis Bergkamp scored a sensational match-winner against Argentina.
It's hard to imagine a time when Germany were underdogs at the World Cup, but that was the case in 1954.
17. U.S. pull off massive upset vs. England
The U.S. will be hoping for a repeat come Nov. 25.
16. The birth of total football
The Netherlands didn't invent total football, but they perfected it at the 1974 World Cup.
Total Football For The Oranje
Andres Escobar was just 27 years old when he was slain.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a better World Cup semifinal than the one between Germany and Argentina in 1970.
Everyone but English goalkeeper Gordon Banks thought Pele's header would cross the goal line.
Gordon Banks robs Pele
12. Roberto Baggio skies it
Baggio's missed penalty defined his otherwise great career.
Roberto Baggio skies penalty
11. The Maracanazo
Uruguay came back from down 2-1 to win the 1950 World Cup.
10. Iniesta seals Spain's first
Andres Iniesta's goal won Spain their first World Cup and second consecutive international trophy.
8. Marco Tardelli's iconic celebration
Tardelli couldn't fight back his tears after scoring the eventual match-winner for Italy.
Marco Tardelli's emotional celebration
England's lone World Cup triumph came with a great deal of controversy.
Brazil was humiliated by Germany on home soil.
Die Mannschaft routs Brazil
Materazzi made an off-color remark about Zidane's sister.
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Pelé became a global icon at the 1958 World Cup.
Maradona scored two goals in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals — the first was with his fist.
2. Maradona's 'Goal of the Century'
This was the other.
1. Brazil plays the beautiful game
Nine Brazilian players touched the ball in the buildup to the decisive goal vs. Italy. Brazil's post-match celebration is considered the most iconic moment in World Cup history.
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