#6 West Germany 1974
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The final of this tournament – between two of the World Cup’s classic sides, Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands and their ‘Total Football’ against the Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller-inspired hosts – remains one of the most iconic in World Cup history and assures this one a place in the top ten. This one introduced the idea of two group stages, with the winners and runners-up of an initial four groups going into another two groups, and the winners going into the final.
Cruyff’s Netherlands were the outstanding side throughout the tournament as their ‘Total Football’ style allowed their defenders to seamlessly attack and vice-versa. Alongside Cruyff, other players such as Ruudi Krol, Johan Neeskens and Johnny Rep also became iconic names. The side somehow failed to win in the final though, as the hosts pulled out the win with a goal from all-time great Muller.
Other memorable moments included the World Cup’s first red card – for Chile’s Carlos Caszely – and a weird moment during the Brazil vs. Zaire game that saw defender Alunga Mwepu charge out of the wall during a free kick to boot the ball down the field. England might’ve missed out but this was still a memorable tournament.
#5 Spain 1982
When people think of great celebrations in football, they don’t remember the flashy ones – the emotional, visceral ones come to mind first and there can be nothing more emotional than Marco Tardelli’s wide-eyed screaming when his goal helped Italy to a 3-1 victory over West Germany in the final – arguably the Azzurri's first “clean” World Cup win, despite bad press for the side due to a match-fixing scandal in Serie A.
The whole tournament was filled with entertaining and memorable moments – the Brazil side are often called the greatest never to win a World Cup, as the likes of Zico, Socrates, Falcao and Eder lit up the early games before they were eliminated in one of those pesky second group stages following a stunning loss to Italy.
Elsewhere Michel Platini’s France were fantastic too, getting to the semi-finals before losing to West Germany on penalties following a 3-3 draw that is recognised as one of the World Cup’s greatest ever games.
In addition, Bryan Robson’s 1st-minute goal helped England to beat France in their first game, and Northern Ireland made the second group stage in their first tournament since 1958. 1982 was a truly brilliant tournament with some classic sides, classic games and one of the most memorable moments in any World Cup final.
