1966 to 2026 – my 60 years of FIFA Soccer World Cups – Part Two

Jun 06, 2026 Sports

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Colin E. H. Croft – Former Guyana, Lancashire CCC & W. I.  International Cricketer

Kaieteur Sports – Suggestions are that regular Finalists; Netherlands; will win FIFA World Cup 2026.  This Dutch “Golden Generation” is aging fast.  Last chance for soon-to-be-35 Captain Virgil Van Dyke.  Winning FIFA 2026 will be very difficult.

FIFA WORLD CUPS 1982 – 2002: NEW FACES & NEW PLACES!

1982 FIFA WORLD CUP:  SPAIN:  Perfect for “Mr.  Crofty”, as my county cricket at Lancashire CCC continued.  I salivated at seeing touted Argentinian Diego Maradona, who had been deemed too young, by Argentina’s FIFA 1978 Manager, Cesar Menotti, for FIFA 1978.

FIFA 1982:  Tournament of fouls and games muggings.  Officiating poor.  Match fixings heavily rumored.  Summer.  Spain.  Smaller stadia.  Over-crowding and over-heating.  New Zealand, Kuwait, Cameroon, Algeria, Honduras were newbies.

FIFA 1982:  Hungary beat El Salvador 10 – 1.  FIFA 1954: Hungary beat South Korea 9 – 0.  FIFA 1974: Yugoslavia beat Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) 9 – 0.

Italy Champions.  First since FIFA 1938; beating arch European rivals West Germany 3 – 1 in Final.  Italy’s sturdy defense, with supposed “hatchet men” Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea, held.  Maradona was seriously kicked to pieces; ITA 2 – ARG 1.  Frustrated Diego was later red-carded too, for kicking Brazil’s Joao Batista in the groin.  BRA 3 – ARG 1.

Italy FIFA 1982:  40 year old Captain, (GK) Dino Zoff, oldest FIFA World Cup Winner, Gaetano Scirea, Guiseppi Bergomi, Claudio Gentile, Fulvio Collovati, Antonio Cabrini, Gabriele Oriali, Marco Tardelli, Bruno Conti, Francesco Graziani,  Alessandro Altobelli, Franco Causio, Paolo Rossi (Top scorer – 6 goals).

1986 FIFA WORLD CUP:  MEXICO:  Real “Diego Maradona Legend”.  Argentina’s Captain, eel-like, slipped away from all teams.  Iraq played qualifying games in Saudi Arabia due to Iran-Iraq War, Canada and Denmark, were new.

Maradona scored five goals and had five “assists” overall, none more watched or more notorious than the “Hand of God” goal and the “Goal of the Century”.  Both, amazingly, were against England; Quarter Final; tournament’s most contentious game.  Whenever possible, look at those two famous goals.

FIFA 1986 Final:   Argentina 3; West Germany 2:  Tournament’s best game but extremely bad tempered; six “yellow cards” issued.  Attendance, at venerable Estadio Azteca, a phenomenal new world record: 114, 600.

West Germany losing Finalists, after losing to Italy in FIFA 1982 Final.  Argentina’s FIFA 1986 Final winning goals from Jose Luis Brown, Jorge Valdano, Jorge Burrachaga; “The Three Jays”.

Argentina’s second tournament win since 1978.  Nery Pumpido (GK), Jose Luis Brown, Jose Luis Cuciuffo, Oscar Ruggeri, Ricardo Guisti, Julio Olarticoechea, Sergio Batista, Jorge Burrachaga, Hector Enrique, Diego Maradona (Captain), Jorge Valdano, Marcelo Trobbiani.

1990 FIFA WORLD CUP:  ITALY:  This will always be remembered by citizens of Trinidad & Tobago as “the tournament that never was”.  Tears still flow when T&T remembers the shambles of 19 November 1989.  All T&T’s “Strike Squad” had to do was to draw with USA, to qualify for FIFA World Cup 1990 ITALY.  T&T stumbled badly!

Bedecked everywhere in red, T&T made massive preparations for expected victory.   Married to a “Trini”, I too took “aggro” for the massive disappointment:  T&T 0 – USA 1; T&T’s “Day of Ignominy.  “The goal heard around the world!”  Trinbagonians still cry red for that game!

FIFA 1990 had the poorest output; 2.2 goals per game, still a record low.  Costa Rica, Ireland, United Arab Emirates, were new.  Egypt and Cameroon, with 38 year old forward Roger Milla, represented Africa well.  The best game:  ENG 3 – CAM 2; Quarter Final.

Semi-Finalists:  England, Argentina, Italy, West Germany.  FIFA 1990 Final, described as “dour, cynical and ugly”.  West Germany beat Argentina; 1 – 0; 85^th minute penalty by Andreas Brehme.  Italy’s Salvatore Schillaci “Golden Boots’ – six goals – like Paulo Rossi in 1982.

Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany’s 1990 Manager; the first player to win as Captain; 1974; and Manager.  Second man, after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo, to win as player and Manager.

West Germany 1990 FIFA World Cup Champions:  Bodo Illgner (GK), Klaus Augenthaler, Guido Buchwald, Jurgen Kohler, Thomas Berthold, Andreas Brehme, Thomas Habler, Lothar Matthaus (Captain), Pierre Littbarski, Rudy Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann, Stefen Reuter.

1994 FIFA WORLD CUP:  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:   USA did not have professional soccer then, but it was a wonderfully executed success, bringing broadcast innovations.  Recently deceased sports and television mogul Ted Turner made phenomenal changes in TV broadcasting during this period.

Razzmatazz and color mixed brilliantly to produce great enjoyment.  FIFA 1994 was first to award three points per win, up from two, to encourage productive play.  England, France and Japan did not qualify.   Africa had three representatives for the first time:  Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco.  Mexico and hosts USA represented CONCACAF.

Incidents were like Warner Brothers “Looney Tunes”.  After just welcoming all to FIFA World Cup 1994, television mogul Oprah Winfrey fell off the stage.  She had just introduced singing legend Diana Ross, who, more strangely, also slipped while attempting her planned, demonstration-like, penalty kick, to open game proceedings.  “Heah!  What’s up, Doc?”

“Uncle Bill”, then USA President William Jefferson Clinton, opened FIFA 1994.  Record, still, nearly 3, 600, 000 attended; almost 69, 000 per game.  Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia were new.  Independent Russia’s first appearance. Germany; unified; first time since FIFA 1938.

Major disappointment for us all.  Argentina’s Diego Maradona; played in 1982; starred in 1986, as Captain; played in 1990; banned by FIFA in 1994, for apparently failing a weight-loss drugs test: “Ephedrine”.

Colombia were seriously backed; suggestions of organized crime; to win FIFA 1994.  Then Andres Escobar scored an own-goal.  Colombia’s early exit: USA 3 – COL 1.  It was the tournament’s best game but with serious repercussions.  Andres Escobar was permanently eliminated; shot dead near Medellin ten days after returning home.  Winning is everything!

FIFA 1994 Final:  Brazil beat Italy on penalty kicks; 0 – 0; after 120 minutes.  First Final penalty shoot-out.  Brazil dedicated their win to late country-man Ayrton Senna, who had just died in a fiery crash at Imola, Italy, while leading the San Marino Formula One Grand Prix.

New Brazilian Legends:  Claudio Taffarel (GK), Jorginho (sometimes Cafu), Aldair (sometimes Ricardo Rocha), Marcio Santos, Branco, Mauro Silva, Dunga (Captain, sometimes Rai or Muller), Mazinho, Zinho (sometimes Viola or Paulo Sergio), Romario, Bebeto, Leonardo.

1998 FIFA WORLD CUP:   FRANCE:  Excitement for Croatia, South Africa, Japan, and new CONCACAF representative; Jamaica.  French Organizing Committee Members implicated in fixing teams and matches positions.  Suggested FIFA Executive Committee shenanigans and voting briberies; properly investigated with devastating, still lasting, effects.

Corruption suggested in entire FIFA 1998:  Expanded participants 32; up from 24.  African Football Federation had five:  Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia.  CONCACAF had three:  USA, Mexico, Jamaica.

FIFA 1998’s best game:  Argentina 2; England 2.  Round of sixteen.  Argentina won on penalties.  Semi-Finalists:  France, Croatia, Brazil, Netherlands.

FIFA 1998 Final:  France 3 v Brazil 0.  Thiery Henry, of Caribbean (Guadeloupe and Martinique) heritage, and Zinedine Zidane, of Algerian heritage, were France’s superstars.  It was Brazil’s second heaviest World Cup defeat.

France:  Colorful FIFA 1998 Champions:   Fabien Barthez (GK), Lillian Thuram, Frank Leboeuf, Marcell Desailly, Bixente Lizarazu, Didier Deschamps (Captain), Christian Karembeu (sometimes Alain Boghossian), Thiery Henry (sometimes Emmanuel Petit), Zinedine Zidane, Youri Djorkaeff (sometimes Patrick Vieira), Stephane Guivarc’h (sometimes Christophe Dugarry).

2002 FIFA WORLD CUP:  SOUTH KOREA & JAPAN:  First joint hosting.  First held in Asia.  First held outside of Americas and Europe.  Japan spent US $ 4.6 billion to build six new stadia and to refurbish four.  South Korea spent US $ 2.7 billion to build ten new stadia.  Time differences left western audiences bleary-eyed; mostly late night or early morning viewing.

First tournament for China, Ecuador, Senegal, Slovenia.    Surprising Semi-Finalists:  South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, Germany.  Defending champions France and previous champions Argentina eliminated early.  USA, Mexico, Costa Rica represented CONCACAF.

Very serious controversies, called “human errors”; favoritism towards hosts in two games.  South Korea v two of FIFA’s best footballing nations; Italy and Spain.

One of FIFA 2002’s best games:  Brazil 5; Costa Rica 2.  Infectious energy.  Germany beat Saudia Arabia 8 – 0.  Third-place match was excellent too:  South Korea 2; Turkey 3.  Turkey was 3^rd in their 2^nd FIFA World Cup.

FIFA 2002 Final:  The cream rose to the top.  Fantastic game.  Germany were tough.  Brazil 2; Germany 0; Brazil’s fifth FIFA World Cup Title.  Renaldo scored both goals, winning “Player of the Final” and “Golden Boot”; eight goals overall.

Brazil:  FIFA 2002 Champions:  Exclusively five-time FIFA World Cup Champions.  Marcos (GK), Lucio, Edmilson, Roque Junior, Cafu (Captain), Roberto Carlos, Gilberto Silva, Kleberson, Ronaldinho (sometimes Juninho Paulista), Renaldo (sometimes Denilson).

END   OF   PART   TWO – (Continued   in FINAL / PART THREE)

 

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