World Cup 2018: 4 best semifinals in the history of the tournament 

#1 France vs West Germany, 1982

German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher clatters into Frenchman Patrick Battiston.

The rivalry between the Germans and the French are well documented, both on the field and off it.

As the two European heavyweights clashed in their semifinal, this rivalry assumed unprecedented proportions at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Sevilla in an epic contest, and arguably the best World Cup match ever played.

Germany was missing European Footballer of the Year Karl-Heinze Rummenigge, who was nursing a hamstring injury. The Germans, however, made light weather of his absence and opened the scoring through Pierre Littbarski.

This opening goal spurred on the French, with the effervescent Michel Platini gradually starting to pull the strings in attack.

Their newfound vigour paid dividends within ten minutes, as Bernd Forster wrestled with Dominique Rocheteau inside the German penalty box – the referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot. Platini equalized for France.

The most iconic moment of the game came, unfortunately, not in the form of a goal or an outrageous skill, but a moment of pure villainy and utter madness.

The brilliant Platini had played a delightful through ball for French substitute Patrick Battiston, who raced through on goal, with only German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher to beat.

Schumacher charged forward in an attempt to tighten the angle, but he didn’t seem to want to stop and ran right through Battiston, clattering him in the process.

The ball rolled out for a goal-kick as Battiston lay unconscious for seven whole minutes before being stretchered off for further treatment.

Medics later revealed that the Frenchman for a few moments had no pulse, and his visage assumed an increasingly pale appearance. He lost two teeth, along with broken vertebrae and three cracked ribs in what still is one of football’s most horrific injuries.

The referee, however, was unmoved – Schumacher escaped all punishment and only a goal-kick in favour of the Germans was awarded.

Angered by the blatant injustice, France took the game by the scruff of the neck but alas they couldn’t find a goal.

Both teams, in fact, squandered plenty of chances, most notably when Manuel Amoros hit the woodwork in stoppage time. With both sides, not their usual, clinical selves, it finished 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

The already arresting game sprung to life within minutes of the additional period kicking off, as France finally found their shooting boots – Marius Tresor’s volley from eleven yards out giving France the lead for the first time in the match. Not being able to watch on from the sidelines, the injured Rummenigge came on for Germany in a desperate bid to turn the game in their favour.

France, however, was in no mood to relent and Alain Giresse made it 3-1 within the next five minutes to send Les Bleus to within inches of the final.

Giving in was not an option for Germany, who yanked the game back to life with a delightful flicked goal from the substitute Rummenigge, who was making quite an impact in the handful of minutes he had played.

With just one goal separating the two teams, Germany pushed forward and came at the French relentlessly, resulting in Klaus Fischer scoring an acrobatic bicycle kick to improbably level the scores at 3-3.

With not one team sparing an inch in this incredibly tight contest, it came down to a penalty shootout for the first time ever in a World Cup.

The French raced into a 3-2 lead when Didier Six walked up to try and give them an almost unassailable lead.

However, his tame shot was saved by nobody’s favourite Schumacher, and the shootout continued. Schumacher once again managed to keep out a French penalty two rounds later, this time from Maxime Bossis.

The stage was set for Horst Hrubesch to seal it for the Germans, and he did so with aplomb, sending the keeper the wrong way, to send Germany into the final.

The Germans eventually lost the final to Italy, which was met with wild celebrations in France as well.

The entire Schumacher-Battiston incident remained a blot on what Platini described as “the most beautiful” game he had ever played – it certainly did add to the drama and strengthened the already intense rivalry that needs no introduction.

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