Every football fan has their own particular favourite FIFA World Cup Finals competition but the consensus is that the tournament held in Mexico in 1970 was the greatest of them all.
What was it about Mexico that made it so special? Perhaps it was a combination of factors which included an England squad defending their trophy widely regarded as even better than the team which won the World Cup at Wembley in 1966. Then there was the exotic location and for many the first chance to see the matches live on TV in colour. Add to the mix some very good teams from Italy, West Germany, Uruguay, Peru, the Soviet Union and the host Nation, Mexico. Then there was the fact that as the competition had just 16 qualifiers, there was none of the meaningless matches we have today for the first two weeks where the dross is eliminated.
But above all there was Brazil. A Brazil who played the game with such flair and style that they are quite rightly regarded as the greatest football team the game has ever seen. There was Pelé & Rivelino, Jairzinho & Gerson, Tostao & Everaldo and if Brazil’s defence wasn’t quite up to the standards of their midfield and attack they also had one of football’s best ever full-backs in team captain Carlos Alberto.
The first phase saw the elimination of Belgium and El Salvador from Group A, Sweden and Israel from Group B, Romania and Czechoslovakia from Group C and Bulgaria and Morocco from Group D. The four Quarter-Finals then offered-up a mouthwatering feast of football.
Uruguay and the Soviet Union had a closely fought match which was resolved three minutes before the end of extra time when Espárrago put the South Americans into the Semi-Final, despite Soviet protests about the cross which led to the goal going out of play. Italy, who only managed to score once against Israel & Sweden in the group stage, had a comfortable win over their Mexican hosts 4-1.
Brazil beat Peru in the all South American Quarter Final 4-2 and the last match was between the old enemies England and West Germany. Alan Mullery and Martin Peters put England two goals up and most people watching on TV thought that was pretty much that. Alf Ramsey decided to substitute Bobby Charlton and bring-on Colin Bell instead and while many consider this to have been a blunder the truth was that Charlton was exhausted and there was little option. In any case, the Germans could do nothing but attack and they got a goal back through Beckenbauer and their equaliser came with 8 minutes remaining through Seeler. Extra time was played and striker Gerd Muller won the game for the Germans and England were on their way home.
The Semi-Finals saw one of the most astounding matches in World Cup history as Italy and West Germany played a thriller which went to extra time with the Italians winning 4-3 in a match dubbed “The Game of the Century”. Brazil booked their passage to the Final with a solid 3-1 win over Uruguay.
The Final itself was probably one of the most talked-about and analyzed games in football history as the skill, artistry and rhythm of the Brazilians overcame the tactics and flair of the Italians 4-1. Brazil’s goals came from Pelé, Gerson’s thunderbolt from outside the box, Jairzinho’s close range effort and the icing on the cake from Carlos Alberto at the end of a move in which no less than 9 Brazilians had been involved.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
FIFA World Cup 2010 Qualification Competition
The first Nation to qualify for the 2010 World Cup was South Africa, once their bid to host the competition was accepted by FIFA on 15th May 2004 in Switzerland. Traditionally, the World Cup holders also used to get a free ride to the next tournament but this has changed in recent years and Italy entered the European qualification rounds, along with 52 other Nations. A total of 203 nations from around the world entered the qualification competition chasing the 31 available places.
All seven previous FIFA World Cup winners (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina & France) will be present in South Africa, so any football betting will be bound to feature one of those teams as favourites. Of the teams that have so far failed to win the World Cup, Spain and the Netherlands must rank among the teams most fancied.
The 53 European (UEFA) countries were split into eight groups of six teams and one group of five with the winners automatically booking their berth to South Africa. The best eight runners-up from the nine groups played-off against each other to give a final quota of 13 qualifiers. Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, England, Serbia, Italy and the Netherlands all went through as group winners. France, Portugal, Greece and Slovenia all won their play-offs.
There were also 53 African (CAF) countries and with South Africa already confirmed as hosts, the other 52 teams battled for the 5 more spots available. After a complex series of qualification groups, the eventual successful nations of Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) emerged.
South American (CONMEBOL) qualification took the form of the now traditional single group with all 10 countries playing each other twice for the four automatic berths and one play-off place. Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina finished as the top four teams. The play-off place went to Uruguay, who would later beat Central America’s Costa Rica and join the other four South American teams in the Finals.
35 countries from North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) competed for the three automatic places and one play-off spot for South Africa. After a complex series of eliminators, six nations emerged to play in the final group decider. The United States, Mexico and Honduras all gained automatic qualification with Costa Rica finishing fourth and later losing the play-off to South America’s Uruguay. El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago finished at the bottom of the group decider.
The 43 entrants from Asia (AFC) had to first negotiate their preliminary rounds before the 10 top nations formed two groups of five for the final group stage. The top two from each group were rewarded with automatic entries to the World Cup Finals while the third placed teams in each group held a play-off to determine the fifth Asian qualifier.
Australia won the first group with Japan second and Bahrain third. The second group was won by South Korea with North Korea second and Saudi Arabia third. Bahrain won the play-off and had to face the winners of the Oceania zone for a place in South Africa.
The 10 nations which made-up the Oceania (OFC) zone had been weakened by Australia’s decision to play their football as part of Asia, so there was no guaranteed place for the winner, as there had been in previous FIFA World Cup competitions. New Zealand won the group stage and then faced Bahrain in a final play-off, which they won.
All seven previous FIFA World Cup winners (Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina & France) will be present in South Africa, so any football betting will be bound to feature one of those teams as favourites. Of the teams that have so far failed to win the World Cup, Spain and the Netherlands must rank among the teams most fancied.
The 53 European (UEFA) countries were split into eight groups of six teams and one group of five with the winners automatically booking their berth to South Africa. The best eight runners-up from the nine groups played-off against each other to give a final quota of 13 qualifiers. Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, England, Serbia, Italy and the Netherlands all went through as group winners. France, Portugal, Greece and Slovenia all won their play-offs.
There were also 53 African (CAF) countries and with South Africa already confirmed as hosts, the other 52 teams battled for the 5 more spots available. After a complex series of qualification groups, the eventual successful nations of Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) emerged.
South American (CONMEBOL) qualification took the form of the now traditional single group with all 10 countries playing each other twice for the four automatic berths and one play-off place. Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina finished as the top four teams. The play-off place went to Uruguay, who would later beat Central America’s Costa Rica and join the other four South American teams in the Finals.
35 countries from North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) competed for the three automatic places and one play-off spot for South Africa. After a complex series of eliminators, six nations emerged to play in the final group decider. The United States, Mexico and Honduras all gained automatic qualification with Costa Rica finishing fourth and later losing the play-off to South America’s Uruguay. El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago finished at the bottom of the group decider.
The 43 entrants from Asia (AFC) had to first negotiate their preliminary rounds before the 10 top nations formed two groups of five for the final group stage. The top two from each group were rewarded with automatic entries to the World Cup Finals while the third placed teams in each group held a play-off to determine the fifth Asian qualifier.
Australia won the first group with Japan second and Bahrain third. The second group was won by South Korea with North Korea second and Saudi Arabia third. Bahrain won the play-off and had to face the winners of the Oceania zone for a place in South Africa.
The 10 nations which made-up the Oceania (OFC) zone had been weakened by Australia’s decision to play their football as part of Asia, so there was no guaranteed place for the winner, as there had been in previous FIFA World Cup competitions. New Zealand won the group stage and then faced Bahrain in a final play-off, which they won.
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