On yesterday… 3rd June 1962

Its official, no major World Cup fixture has ever occurred on the 4th June. And so I’m bending the rules a bit to bring you another highlight from the 3rd June. My defence for doing so is two-fold. Firstly and most flimsy, by the time this game kicked off in the Estadio Carlos Dittburn, it was already the 4th June in Australasia. And secondly it contains within in it  unique occurence, the only goal of its kind ever scored in a World Cup Finals. Ah see now, you’re intrigued. Back to Chile we go and the 1st round group match between the Soviet Union and Colombia.

The Soviet side arrived in South America as the reigning European Champions, and they justified that tag in their opening fixture of the tournament as they defeated Yugoslavia 2-0. Columbia had not started well at all, having been beaten 2-1 by Uruguay in their first fixture and so as the teams came face to face for their second fixture it is safe to say that it was the Europeans who were favourites.

This was justified in a devastating opening spell as the USSR took the lead eight minutes in through Kozmich Ivanov’s neat first time shot from the edge of the area. Within two minutes Igor Chislenko had skipped in from the right and scored a second goal for the Russians, and incredibly, just a minute later a second goal from Ivanov put the Soviet Union 3-0 ahead with just eleven minutes on the clock. The Colombians were given faint hope though a quarter of a way through the match as Germán Aceros found the top corner, but when Viktor Ponedelnik re-established the Russians three goal cushion ten minutes after the break a Columbian comeback looked unlikely.

However, with twenty minutes to go Colombia struck again with what remains the only Olympic Goal ever scored in the World Cup Finals. If you’re wondering what an Olympic Goal is (and I certainly was until I saw the clip), is a goal scored directly from a corner kick. Marcos Coll, is the man to achieve this unique feat albeit with quite a poor delivery, the bounce of the ball confusing the Soviet defender on the near-post and he let it go past him and straight into the net.

With a renewed sense of optimism, and with the South American crowd behind them Columbia found their feet at last and four minutes later they reduced the deficit to a single goal as Antonio Rada turned the ball home from close range. Now only one team looked like scoring and with just four minutes left on the clock, Colombia achieved the unexpected as they levelled the game at 4-4. Rada broke from defence and his excellent through ball was turned home at the second attempt by Marino Klinger to secure a historic draw and send the crowd into the sort of frenzy you just don’t expect to see in black and white.