FIFA World Cup On This Day...

An unofficial historical look back at past FIFA World Cups 1930-2022. NOT affiliated with FIFA. #FIFA #fifaworldcup #worldcup #soccer #football #otd #onthisday

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17th Jul: Sixty-four years to the day that they host the 1994 World Cup Final, the USA make history of a different kind as forward Bert Patenaude scores the first ever World Cup hat-trick in USA's 3-0 win over Paraguay in 1930. FIFA don't officially ratify the feat until 2006.

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Jul 16th: The decisive match of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil sees a showdown between the top two teams in the group. Despite scoring 13 goals over their previous 2 games, Brazil are beaten 2-1 by Uruguay who leapfrog the hosts to top the group and win their second World Cup title

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Jul 15th: At the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, 2018, France win their second World Cup, 20 years after winning their first, with a 4-2 win over Croatia. The opening goal of the game, an own goal by Croatia’s Mario Mandžukić is the first own goal to be scored in a World Cup final.

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Jul 14th: Belgium seal their best finish at a World Cup, beating England 2-0 in the Third place play-off at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Having previously finished 4th in the 1986 tournament, Thomas Meunier scores after only four minutes before Eden Hazard scores a late second.

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Jul 13th: As in 2010, the 2014 World Cup final is won 1-0 with the winner in the 2nd half of extra time. This time, at The Maracanã in Rio, Brazil, Mario Götze scores the decisive goal for Germany against Argentina, becoming the 1st substitute to score a World Cup winning goal.

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Jul 12th: For the first time in 20 years, the World Cup hosts are also winners as France beat Brazil 3-0 in the final at the Stade de France, Paris. Two first half Zinedine Zidane headers and a third goal in second half stoppage time from Emmanuel Petit seal France's first title.

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Jul 11th: Spain win their first ever World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2010. Barcelona's Andrés Iniesta scores the latest opening goal in a World Cup final after 116 minutes to beat Netherlands 1-0. Captain Iker Casillas becomes the first Spanish player to lift the trophy.

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Jul 10th: At Giants Stadium, New Jersey, USA, holders Germany are surprise quarter-final casualties after losing to Bulgaria at the 1994 World Cup. From leading 1-0, Germany concede after 75 minutes as Hristo Stoichkov equalises before a Yordan Letchkov winner three minutes later

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Jul 9th: Italy are victorious in the final of the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin, Germany, beating France 5-3 on penalties after the game finished 1-1. Zinedine Zidane infamously ends his career with a red card for a headbutt after a clash with Italian defender Marco Materazzi.

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Jul 8th: Argentina fail in their attempt at defending their title in the 1990 World Cup final in Rome, Italy, where they are beaten 1-0 by West Germany with an Andreas Brehme penalty sealing the win. Captain Lothar Matthäus lifts the trophy for West Germany's third World Cup win.

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Jul 7th: In the Olympiastadion, Munich, 1974, the World Cup Final takes place between Netherlands and hosts West Germany. Netherland's Johan Neeskens scores an early penalty but West Germany fight back to win 2-1 to win their second World Cup title, 20 years after their first.

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Jul 6th: The Netherlands reach their first final in 32 years after beating Uruguay 3-2 in their semi-final tie with Uruguay in Cape Town, South Africa, 2010. Captain Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's thunderbolt opens the scoring with further goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.

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Jul 5th: The decisive Group C fixture of the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain sees Italy face Brazil in Barcelona. Paolo Rossi's hat-trick in a 3-2 win by eventual champions Italy seals a semi-final place and goes down as one of the greatest World Cup games ever.

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Jul 4th: West Germany win their first World Cup in 1954 in Bern, Switzerland, beating Hungary 3-2. The game starts brightly with the score 2-2 after just 18 minutes and the winning goal from Helmut Rahn doesn't arrive until the 84th minute. Captain Fritz Walter lifts the trophy.

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Jul 3rd: At the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, the final fixtures in the Second Round Group Stage are played. In Group A, Netherlands beat Brazil 2-0 to book a place in the final where they would face hosts West Germany who topped Group B after beating Poland 1-0 in Frankfurt.

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Jul 2nd: In Rostov-on-Don, Russia, at the 2018 World Cup, Belgium and Japan play out a classic in their round of 16 tie. With all the goals coming in the second half, Belgium fight back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 as Nacer Chadli scores the winner in the 4th minute of stoppage time.

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Jun 29th: 28 years apart, Brazil (1958) and Argentina (1986) win World Cups in Sweden and Mexico respectively. Pele-inspired Brazil beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in Solna whilst Argentina win their second World Cup in 8 years defeating West Germany 3-2 at the Estadio Azteca, Mexico City.

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Jun 28th: Russian striker Oleg Salenko sets a record as the only player to score five goals in a single match in his Russia's 6-1 win over Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. With 6 goals in total, he is also the only Golden Boot winner to be eliminated in the group stage.

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Jun 27th: In 2018, Kazan, Russia, Group F concluded in dramatic fashion. Two stoppage time goals from South Korea seal a 2-0 win over World Cup holders Germany who become the fourth defending champions to be eliminated from the World Cup group stage in the last five tournaments.

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Jun 26th: An incredible game in Lausanne, Switzerland at the 1954 World Cup as the hosts are eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 7-5 defeat to Austria. Despite leading 3-0 after 19 minutes, the Swiss trail 5-4 at half-time before losing further ground in the second half.