Why These Matches Still Matter
The World Cup has produced thousands of matches, but only a select few become part of football’s permanent memory. Some are remembered for breathtaking quality. Others for controversy, heartbreak, shock results or individual genius.
The best World Cup matches are not always the neatest or most technically perfect. They are the games that make the tournament feel bigger than sport: matches where legacies are written, nations stop still and one moment can live forever.
Argentina 3-3 France, 2022 Final
The Greatest Final Ever?
The 2022 World Cup final in Lusail immediately entered the debate as the greatest match in tournament history.
For 80 minutes, Argentina looked in complete control. Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María had put them 2-0 up, and France appeared flat, overwhelmed and out of ideas. Then Kylian Mbappé changed everything.
Two goals in barely a minute dragged France level and turned the final into chaos. Messi scored again in extra time, seemingly sealing his crowning moment, only for Mbappé to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot and make it 3-3.
Argentina eventually won the shootout, giving Messi the World Cup trophy that had eluded him for so long. But the match was bigger than one ending. It had momentum swings, superstar brilliance, extra-time drama, penalties and a generational duel between Messi and Mbappé.
It was not just a great final. It was football theatre at its highest level.
Italy 4-3 West Germany, 1970 Semi-Final
The Game of the Century
Few matches carry a nickname as grand as “The Game of the Century”, but Italy and West Germany earned it in 1970.
For much of the semi-final, Italy led 1-0 and looked set to reach the final. Then Karl-Heinz Schnellinger scored a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser for West Germany, forcing extra time.
What followed was one of the wildest 30-minute periods in World Cup history. Five goals were scored in extra time as the lead swung back and forth. Gerd Müller twice scored for West Germany, but Italy kept responding before Gianni Rivera struck the decisive goal.
The match had exhaustion, bravery, technical…
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