On this day… 11th July 1982

And so here we are, at the tournament’s end, the sixty-fourth game of the 2010 World Cup, and after all the expectation and excitement surrounding Argentina and Brazil, it is an all European Final between Netherlands and Spain. The 1982 tournament also saw a much-fancied Brazil side bow out earlier than expected to give way to an all European denouement; West Germany and Italy who faced each other in the World Cup final, on this day twenty-eight years ago.

On this day… 10th July 1994

Germany play in the third place play-off tonight, and if any nation’s presence in the last four should come as no surprise it should be theirs. The 2010 World Cup represents the twelfth time Germany (or West Germany) has appeared in the semi-finals, that’s one more occasion than the rest of this year’s semi-finalists combined. Only twice in the last eight tournaments have Germany failed to reach the World Cup semi-finals, the first of which came courtesy of a shock quarter-final defeat to Bulgaria which happened on this day sixteen years ago.

On this day… 9th July 2006

The 2006 World Cup was an odd one for me. Having followed the tournament intently from the start, I flew to the United States the morning after England’s quarter-final exit (incidentally seeing the passenger next to you produce a newspaper with the headline of End of the World just before take-off does not lead to carefree flying) and subsequently the semi-finals and final itself barely registered with me. I watched the final flat-out on a motel bed in San Antonio, air conditioning on full, as I wilted in the early afternoon Texan heat on this day, four years ago.

On this day… 8th July 1982

A quick quiz question to start, what has happened to the following fourteen nations that has not happened to any other; Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia? The answer is that they have lost a World Cup Finals penalty shoot-out. Prior to the introduction of the penalties, drawn knockout matches were replayed, as happened several times at the 1938 World Cup. With concerns over scheduling FIFA introduced penalties as a method of separating drawn World Cup ties in 1978, but it was not needed, indeed not since the 1938 tournament had a match remained level at the end of scheduled play. And so the first ever World Cup finals penalty shoot-out took place at the end of an epic semi-final, four years later, on this day in 1982.

On this day… 7th July 1974

And so the Netherlands have made it through to their third World Cup Final. Having faced West Germany in Munich in 1974 and Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1978 the Dutch are already in a much better position than their previous two finals, in that for once they will not be the ‘away’ side.  Should Germany defeat Spain later this evening then we will be set for (political reunification of one of the constituent nations considered) a replica of one of those previous finals which took place on this day, thirty-six years ago.

On this day… 6th July 1974

The World Cup third place play-off match is often the tournament’s forgotten game. Played out by the losing semi-finalists to little fanfare or acknowledgement outside of FIFA’s own headquarters the matches are very rarely talked about beyond the tournaments themselves. However, these positional play-offs have provided a number of nations with their greatest ever footballing achievements. Only eleven different nations* have contested the eighteen World Cup Finals to date, whilst twenty-one different countries have ended a World Cup in third or fourth spot. Third in the World is as good as its ever gotten for Austria, Chile, Portugal, Croatia, Turkey and Poland who first achieved that feat on this day thirty-six years ago.

On this day… 5th July 1982

The 1982 World Cup was the last to feature a second round group stage. The six group winners and six runners-up from the first round had progressed to be placed into four groups of three, the winners of which would advance to the semi-finals. The draw for the second round produced arguably the most daunting grouping possible, the ultimate ‘Group of Death’ as holders Argentina, favourites Brazil and strongly fancied Italy all placed together in Group C. Only one of the three could progress and the match which decided who, took place twenty-eight years ago today.

On this day… 3rd July 1990

Our plan from the start with Twinty Tin was to be non-partisan in our coverage of the World Cup. Unlike ITV, on this site England are England and never ‘we’ or ‘us’, although admittedly this is made easier by the fact that fifty percent of the team behind this blog is Welsh. However, despite this pledge, it seems that this feature has begun to follow Clive Tyldsley’s lead. Having already looked back at England’s second round and quarter-final matches from Italia ’90, we now complete the set with a look back at the denouement of that campaign; West Germany and a semi-final which took place twenty years ago today.

On this day… 1st July 1990

Tomorrow Ghana face Uruguay in Johannesburg, becoming in the process only the third African side to contest a World Cup Quarter Final. Despite Peter Drury’s pre-rehearsed histrionics each time they score or win a game The Black Stars have advanced to this stage in a fairly understated fashion, won one, drew one and lost one in their group, before an extra-time victory over the USA in the second round. Had this tournament not have been in Africa, Ghana’s progress would hardly have been remarked on. Their continental predecessors at this stage grabbed decidedly more headlines. Senegal of course defeated the holders and the hosts route to the 2002 Quarter Finals, where they were beaten in extra-time by Turkey. And before them came arguably the most impressive of all African World Cup showings, Cameroon, who having also beaten the hosts in their opening game, made it through to a quarter-final with England, played twenty years ago today.

On this day… 30th June 1974

As the 2010 World Cup moves towards the quarter-final stage there remains four South American sides in the competition and each in a different tie. It’s all edging towards that World Cup Final match-up we’ve all envisaged, but never actually seen. Brazil against Argentina. So, it seems only right to take the opportunity to look back at a past meeting between these two nations as it arises. On this day thirty-six years ago Brazil and Argentina met in West Germany.