Paying homage to 5 of the most memorable World Cup giant-killings

BRAZILIANT USA

The captains of England and USA, Billy Wright and Ed McIlvenny (right) exchange souvenirs at the start of their match on June 29, 1950 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The destination: Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The game: England 0-1 USA, 1950

The stadium: Built for the World Cup in 1950, the Estádio Independência was (changing rooms apart) completely reconstructed in 2010 and is now home to America and Atletico Mineiro.

What happened: England’s first appearance at a World Cup was nothing short of a disaster (yeah, start as you mean to go on) as the USA’s band of amateur brothers turned over the 3-1 favourites in a game that’s since been labelled the ‘miracle on grass’. On paper it should have been a walkover for the Three Lions who started with the legendary Tom Finney, Billy Wright, Alf Ramsey and Stan Mortensen and opted to rest Stanley Matthews. In contrast their opponents included a mailman, a paint-stripper, a dishwasher and a hearse driver. England totally dominated the game but for all their possession couldn’t find a reply to Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens’ scrappy goal on 37 minutes. It was a real backs to the wall performance after the deadlock was broken but somehow the minnows held out. Listeners on BBC radio thought the scoreline was an error when it was reported back in Blighty, while the New York Times dismissed the wire report as a hoax!

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THE ITALIAN JOB

F. Biyik of Cameroon celebrates after scoring against Argentina during the 1990 World Cup in Italy

The destination: Milan, Italy

The game: Argentina 0-1 Cameroon, 1990

The stadium: Standing proud in the west of Milan the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza remains the home of Serie A giants Internazionale and AC Milan and has hosted everything from rugby to a Take That concert in recent years.

What happened: Nearly 74,000 packed into the San Siro to watch the opening game of Italia ‘90 as reigning champions Argentina took on Roger Milla’s Indomitable Lions. Knowing they had their work cut out the underdogs came with one clear tactic – to kick the crap out of the reigning champions (particularly striker Claudio Caniggia) and hope they could knick a goal. It worked a treat. Despite having André Kana-Biyik sent off just past the hour mark, the Africans stole a lead thanks to a downward header by his brother François Omam-Biyik on 67 minutes and somehow clung on even though they went down to nine men for more ridiculously over-zealous defending. The victory kick-started a run that took Cameroon to the quarter-finals. Their opponents weren’t unduly fazed by the early setback and made the final only to be defeated by West Germany.