World Cup 2018: Ahead of Russia kick-off, our writers look back at best memories from past tournaments
How many of these moments do you remember?
Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers
Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter
It’s World Cup Eve which means it’s time to recall all our favourite tournaments of old ahead of the start of Russia 2018.
Our writers recall their favourite memories of the World Cups gone as excitement builds ahead of the kick-off between Russia and Saudia Arabia on Monday…
Favourite World Cup:
Miguel Delaney (Chief Football Writer): 1994. Not the first I can remember but, as is crucial with this question, the first I fully consumed absolutely every detail of. So many players and teams I have such fond memories of, and so much colour, in so many great games.
Jonathan Liew (Chief Sports Writer): 2014. Vastly, vastly underrated. It’s easily forgotten after the anticlimactic ending, but for the most part we were treated to scintillating attacking football, genuinely jaw-dropping surprises, and some of the greatest goals ever scored in the tournament. The knockout stages – often derided as unmemorable – still produced a good half-dozen classic moments: that James Rodriguez goal, Germany v Algeria, Belgium v USA, Brazil v Colombia, and quite simply the most shocking result in football history. If that’s not one of the great World Cups of the modern age, I don’t know what is.
World Cup 2018 official kits
Show all 51Jack Pitt-Brooke (Football Writer): Germany 2006. An all-time classic final providing a surprising winner. A hero in Zinedine Zidane who became a villain. A semi-final (Italy 2-0 Germany) that was even better than the final. A host nation that played better than anyone could have imagined. A strong England team with top players who reached the quarter-finals, which they have not done since. Flickers of brilliance from Argentina and Brazil. Maybe this was the last great World Cup of its era.
Mark Critchley (Northern Football Writer): Brazil 2014, of those I’ve lived through and properly remember. The only one this century that in my mind was mostly good rather than mostly crap.
Ed Malyon (Sports Editor): Brazil was special because it was the first I got to go to and I was lucky enough to do so much travelling. You felt like you were living the tournament, but if I’m going nostalgic it’s World Cup 2006 fell at a very good time, I was 16 going on 17 and it was the first tournament where we’d really been able to, ahem, enjoy it with friends. Lots of barbecues, parties and events were staged around World Cup games and we barely went to school. It was a teenage dream.
Ben Burrows (Sports News Editor): 1998. My first real World Cup and still my favourite. Ronaldo’s boots, Owen’s goal, Zidane’s everything. Nike airport adverts. What wasn’t there to like? Oh yeah, Diego Simeone.
Lawrence Ostlere (Sports Night Editor): World Cup 2002 was my favourite – as teenagers my brother and I watched every minute we physically could. I loved it partly because of that captivating opener between France and Senegal, partly because of that fun Turkish team run by Hasan Sas, but mainly because of the Brazilian triumvirate of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo.
Jack Austin (Sports Reporter): It has to be Japan and South Korea in 2002. I was only 11 at the time and remember getting to school an hour early so I could watch the football on the wheeled out TV. From the shock of Senegal beating France to Ronaldo conquering his final demons from 1998 and everything in between, this World Cup had it all.
Luke Brown (Sports Reporter): South Africa 2010. Okay so the tournament itself was pretty woeful, but I was on holiday in Spain for the final. Cue an unforgettable evening of incessant car-horn beeping and one particularly triumphant waiter jumping into the swimming pool — complete with serving trolley. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to experiencing national pride.
Sam Lovett (Sports Reporter): Brazil 2014. Young, care-free and revelling in the glow of post-exam life at university, this World Cup ticked all the boxes. From an England fan’s perspective, the football was, of course, shite – but that didn’t make the whole affair any less enjoyable. Multiple days were spent vegetating on the sofa, watching game after game, eating pasta bake out of a pot while nursing a pint of Aldi’s finest home-brewed beer. Bliss.
Liam Twomey (Sports Reporter): As a tournament, France 98 had everything I want: Brazil and Netherlands at their most thrilling, England briefly lit up by a boy wonder and a strong host. Michael Owen was phenomenal and Ronaldo (the original one) felt like watching the greatest show on earth, which made the final drama all the more astonishing. Oh, and France won with Stephane Guivarc’h up front.
Adam Hamdani (Social Editor): 2014. I’ve not experienced too many World Cups but I remember being at uni and the excitement of watching the group stages with the sheer number of goals scored, every goalkeeper playing like they’re a prime Gianluigi Buffon and pure buzz. Hopefully this one becomes my new favourite.
First World Cup memory:
MD: Diego Maradona juggling the ball on his shoulder before the 1990 opener against Cameroon. My uncle had just bought me a cap with the Irish flag on it, that I remember wearing: the first little flavour of Ireland’s first World Cup, and a feeling that would become a phenomenon as the side just kept going.
JL: Diana Ross.
JPB: I do remember watching USA ‘94 at the age of six, being told that it would be a bigger deal if England were in it, and Brazil winning the final. But the first World Cup game I remember very clearly was Brazil beating Scotland 2-1 in the France ‘98 opener. Paul Lambert, Colin Hendry and co not having quite enough for Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Bebeto.
MC: Making a paper World Cup hat, drawing a teddy bear in an England kit and a speech bubble coming from his mouth saying: “I’m TEDDY Sheringham”.
EM: I remember receiving a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy that was USA ‘94 branded but neither of my parents liked football so I don’t think I actually watched any of it. By France ‘98 I was fully in love with football and I remember nearly every match. The first memory, logically then, would be the opening game where Brazil beat Scotland. Cesar Sampaio flicked home a header at the near post before giving away the penalty from which John Collins equalised. A Tommy Boyd own goal settled the match in the end but my main memory is how bright everything was, the yellow of Brazil’s shirt, the green grass under a July sun and the deep blue of Scotland’s travelling support.
BB: That naughty Germany kit at USA 94. And Roberto Baggio’s penalty, of course.
LO: Taffarel’s rolled-up long sleeves, which inspired me to take up goalkeeping. God he was cool.
JA: 26th June 1998, England vs Colombia and David Beckham curling in a trademark free-kick to drag England into the second round. His pouting lips and thrusting hips celebration was replicated at every opportunity on the playground the following day.
LB: David Beckham flicking his right boot out at Diego Simeone and getting sent off at France 1998. Everyone attempted to replicate it on the school playing field the next day.
SL: I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t got a very good memory. There are flashes of ’98 swimming around in the old nut – something to do with David Beckham, I think – but it’s 2002 when things become a little more defined. It was England vs Brazil and my primary school had rolled out the cube-shaped TV for all 50 of us (yes, you read that right) to watch the game. I seem to remember there being a spread of some sort that included cups of lemonade, pringles and party rings. There was bunting. There were hats. There were flags. There was a quiet sense of false optimism. The rest, as we know, is history. I’ve never forgiven Michael Owen for getting my hopes up like that.
LT: I still remember watching England’s first group game of France 98 against Tunisia at school, and particularly Paul Scholes’ late curler to make sure of the win. The weather was sunny, everyone was optimistic and nothing felt quite as thrilling as watching England at a major tournament. How times have changed…
AH: Watching the Japan/South Korea opening ceremony in primary school in 2002, our teacher wheeled in the TV (as you used to) and we all sat around watching it. My only other memory of that tournament is sitting in assembly watching England-Brazil and the sadness in the room when Ronaldinho scored *that* free-kick.
Favourite goal:
MD: For personal reasons above anything else since I am half-Spanish – Andres Iniesta’s winner in the 2010 final. A late goal to win a World Cup, what could be better? In terms of pure aesthetic quality, as well as the emotion around it, I also liked Fabio Grosso’s against Germany in 2006.
JL: Michael Owen against Argentina. Look, I’m aware that technically it wasn’t the greatest goal: the pass is behind him, he doesn’t beat actually anybody, the defence back off him unforgivably. It wasn’t the best goal of the tournament, it wasn’t the best goal scored against Argentina in the tournament, and there’s an argument that it wasn’t even the best goal of the round (Ebbe Sand for Denmark v Nigeria was incredible). But 12-year-old Jonathan doesn’t care about any of that. Sorry.
JPB: Salif Diao v Denmark, 2002. The best team goal of the 2002 World Cup, Salif Diao atoned for earlier giving away a penalty by starting and then finishing a thrilling, ruthless counter-attack, storming down the middle of the pitch then slotting away in the penalty box. A highpoint of one of the most surprisingly impressive World Cup campaigns of the century.
MC: Michael Owen against Argentina in St Etienne. A goal you would love to score at school.
EM: Went mad when Michael Owen scored the opener against Brazil at World Cup 2002. We were allowed to watch it at school and everyone had been diverted to different places to watch the match early in the morning. We were in the library, which has probably never been as loud as when a bunch of 12 and 13-year-old kids went absolutely ballistic after (I think) about 26 minutes.
BB: Beckham against Colombia in 1998. This felt momentous at the time and so it proved. A sensational goal and the birth of the most iconic England player of my lifetime. The less said about the rest of his tournament the better, mind.
LO: Esteban Cambiasso, 2006. The iconic team goal, made all the better by the fact it wasn’t finished by Hernan Crespo, Carlos Tevez or Lionel Messi but by a holding midfielder who had only ever scored one international goal before.
JA: David Beckham’s penalty to banish his Argentina demons of four years previous in the Group Stages in 2002. Diego Simeone actually tried to shake Beckham’s hand before he took the spot-kick and for him to block that out, after he his dirty tricks caused there to be effigies hung of him in England and death threats sent to him and his family, was mental strength of the highest order. Even this Welshman allowed himself a punch the air moment.
LB: James Rodriguez scoring an entirely unremarkable consolation penalty against Brazil four years ago. BUT DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT BUG?
SL: I’m going to go for the goal that never was – purely because of the emotions it elicited and because I remember it all so vividly. I’ve never celebrated so hard in my life as I did when Raheem Sterling’s rocket shot rippled across the back of Italy’s net in Brazil 2014. Except, well, it didn’t – despite the BBC being similarly duped and changing the score to 1-0 to England. It took 30 seconds of wild, frenzied celebrations in my university piazza to realise that we had not in fact scored. From an English perspective, it was all downhill from that moment onwards.
LT: I was lucky enough to be at the Maracana in 2014 to see James Rodriguez’s incredible chest and volley for Colombia against Uruguay. My favourite thing about it is that he takes his eye off the ball to shoot a quick look over his shoulder at the goal as the ball is dropping towards him. It was incredible technique, and great to witness a signature moment in a breakout World Cup.
AH: Siphiwe Tshabalala. It wasn’t a great tournament in 2010 but his opening day goal against Mexico, followed by the celebration just got me so excited for the tournament, it’s the first one that comes to mind.
Favourite player:
MD: USA 94 was probably the first World Cup where I was old enough as a child to consume every detail, and I think they’re the ones that make the most impression on you in that regard. So that’s probably why Romario, Hristo Stoichkov and Roberto Baggio so stand out for me in terms of performance. There was also a magic to them. I think I’d go Baggio.
JL: Bebeto. Weirdly. That 1994 tournament was my first, and for some reason I was always drawn more towards the more cerebral charms of Bebeto than the flashing rapier blade of Romario. It was the equivalent, I suppose, of appreciating Sheringham over Shearer. It’s almost hard to believe I ended up as a pretentious sportswriter.
JPB: Zinedine Zidane. Being great in one World Cup is one thing, but how about being great in two of them? Zidane made history in 1998, scoring two headers in the final to beat Brazil. He barely showed up four years later but then made up for it with his unforgettable farewell to the game in 2006. Long before the headbutt, there was his virtuoso quarter-final display against Brazil – reminding Ronaldinho what it meant to be a true great – and then the impossibly cool chipped penalty in the Berlin final.
MC: Paul Gascoigne, for embarrassingly sentimental and completely unoriginal reasons.
EM: David Beckham, obviously. Though the World Cup was great for alerting me to foreign players that I would become fascinated by: Ronaldo, Michael Ballack, Zinedine Zidane, Fabio Grosso, Jong Tae-Se....
BB: Ronaldo 1998. Yes, 1998 again but come on, it’s the right answer, isn’t it? He’d get more goals four years later but the 1998 vintage of the great man was perhaps his best. Pace, power, superhuman strength and out-of-this-world finishing, he was like a video game player turned up to 99. 10-year-old Ben’s favourite player and maybe still No 1 20 years on.
LO: Wesley Sneijder, specifically in 2010 when he directed Holland to the final with nonchalance.
JA: You won’t be surprised based on previous answers that it’s that man David Beckham. Scored in three World Cups, was captain in two, public enemy No 1 in one. Inspired me to try out a Mohawk and taught me everything I needed to know about the metatarsal bone. Have I missed anything?
LB: Papa Bouba Diop, for scoring the winning goal against the reigning world champions in 2002 and reminding us all why we love football.
SL: Diego Forlan. The former Atletico Madrid striker scored five goals during the 2010 World Cup, including two outstanding strikes against South Africa and Germany, as Uruguay exceeded expectations to reach the semi-finals and then lose the third-place play-off 3-2 to Germany. If it hadn’t been for him, the South Americans wouldn’t have got anywhere near to the semis. A fine talent who deservedly picked up the prestigious Golden Ball award after the tournament.
LT: Juan Roman Riquelme was robbed in 2006. Argentina were the best team in that World Cup by a mile and he was the best player, controlling matches at his own stylishly slow pace and picking passes that made your jaw drop. I still don’t know why Jose Pekerman subbed him off after 72 minutes against Germany in that fateful quarter-final.
AH: Zinedine Zidane. He was a joke in 2006 and the way he went out, as controversial as it was, was one of the most iconic moments of not just that tournament but football in general. What a player and now what a manager.
Most ridiculous moment:
MD: I didn’t think it at the time, when I was distraught, but hard to get away from ‘Saipan’ – when Roy Keane was sent home from Ireland’s camp in 2002. It remain amazing when you think about it, not least his reported diatribe. Sixteen years on, I’m very much of the opinion: “yes, you were probably right Roy... but just bloody play! It’s the World Cup!”
JL: Bulgaria v Mexico, 1994. You couldn’t even remember the score without looking it up, but everyone knows it as the game when the goalposts collapsed, and a slightly tubby American guy had to put them up again on live television. An early and valuable lesson for an eight-year-old kid to learn, too: that even adults, serious-looking adults, on the biggest stage in the world, can still screw things up totally, and in a totally hilarious fashion. It’s almost hard to believe I ended up as a snarky newspaper columnist.
JPB: Luis Suarez v Ghana, 2010. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Luis Suarez’s goal-line save against Ghana was against the laws and the spirit of the game, but it was the only thing he could have done to keep Uruguay in the competition. He did it, it worked, and by the end he was being carried around the pitch by his grateful team-mates, even though he was banned from the next match. A remarkable moment whatever you may think of it.
MC: I sometimes find myself thinking about what the Brazil players were saying to each other in a huddle at the end of the 7-1, just before they decided it was a good idea to turn around and applaud the crowd.
EM: Esh. The most ridiculous thing I personally witnessed was probably two journalists getting into an actual punch up in the mixed zone in Brazil. In terms of football, Luis Suarez has probably been responsible for the two moments that spring to mind; the handball on the line against Ghana and biting Giorgio Chiellini. The morning after that bite I was trying to get from where I was in Brazil to Salto, Suarez’s hometown in Uruguay. A travel agent had priced it up expensively and I was waiting on sign-off to go which was 50-50. At the last minute they said not to go and only then did I realise the trip we nearly booked was to Salta in Argentina, and that the travel agent’s screw-up could have sent me on the most embarrassing wild goose chase possible, thousands of miles from where I needed to be.
BB: Ronaldo and 1998 again and that will he, won’t he wait ahead of the final. Had he fainted in the changing room? Would he be able to start? Would he play at all? He did play of course and the memories of watching him trudge past the World Cup after France’s victory will be remembered by a generation of fans forever.
LO: When Portugal's Deco and Holland's Giovanni van Bronckhorst sat on the sideline together in the closing stages of the battle of Nuremberg in 2006, trying to make sense of the chaos.
JA: There are so many, but I’m going to go slightly different with maybe this best over-reaction to a goal ever. Ahn Jung-hwan was a Perugia player at kick-off of hosts South Korea’s Round of 16 game against Italy. He wasn’t at full-time. His golden goal to knock out the Italians led to Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelling his contract, saying: “I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football.”
LB: England vs Italy in Brazil. Earlier that day I played in an 11-a-side match and collided with some guy while competing for a header. He split his brow and I was fine — or so I thought. Turns out I had a concussion which only became apparent four beers and 45 minutes into the England game. I passed out at half-time and a friend had to take me to hospital.
SL: Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on Marco Materazzi. Bizarre, unexpected, and completely out of character, an iconic World Cup moment.
LT: It’s an obvious one, but I can’t get over Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt in the 2006 final. Yes, we always knew he had a temper and yes, we always knew Marco Materazzi was a shameless provocateur, but it’s incredible to me that he could have come up with any insult heinous enough to make Zidane do something so brainless on the biggest stage IN THE FINAL GAME OF HIS CAREER. Utter madness.
AH: Luis Suarez saving his country on the line with a handball, getting sent off against Ghana. That game was absolutely absurd.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies