10. Uruguay (1950)
They beat Brazil in a final that everybody expected them to lose. Brazil just needed a draw to win the World Cup on home turf and even took the lead. However, Uruguay not only equalized, but got a shock winner, and all within 10 minutes.
09. Italy (2006)
They were outplayed by Germany, Australia and France, in the run-up to the title, and ended up surviving all of them due to certain moments of magic & luck. They were lucky, and were trying very hard, but if things hadn’t gone their way, Italy would have never gone past the Round of 16.
08. Spain (2010)
They scored 7 goals to win the world cup. Despite playing brilliantly in terms of keeping possession, Spain were outclassed & out-planned by Switzerland, Chile and others. However, they too managed to do just about enough to make it last.
07. Brazil (1994)
The team was one of the dullest Brazilian teams in the history of the tournament. Defensive, physical and boring – characteristics that resembled their captain, Dunga! They went on to win against an Italian side that looked the more skillful of the two. Penalties it had to be, to end the most boring final ever.
06. Argentina (1986)
They came with a team that was built around Diego Maradona. With no one else looking like a world class player, Maradona carried the team solely on his back, creating, scoring and using his hand to help the team reach the finals. West Germany were extremely strong at the time, however, nothing could be done to stop the underdogs from going on to win the finals.
05. West Germany (1974)
They may have been a strong team on their way to the final but they were clearly inferior to Johan Cruyff’s Holland. Sheer luck helped them win and there is no doubt that they would have been, on any other day, thrashed by this Dutch side.
04. Argentina (1978)
The Argentine players, management & fans were clearly vary of the Dutch team’s capability to demolish them. Therefore, they decided to make things simpler by making the Dutch semi-final win celebration quite public. Dutch players were photographed with women in an indoor pool, and these pictures flashed across Holland, sending everybody into a damage recovery spree for the three days before the finals. That the mighty Dutch lost after that, is no surprise.
03. West Germany (1954)
Playing Ferenc Puskas and his Mighty Magyars, West Germany seemed unlikely to create anything, even a spark. Within 8 minutes, the Hungarians were up 2-0, only for the West Germans to equalize within 10 minutes. The West Germans scored another, in the 84th minute, to win against one of the strongest teams ever.
02. England (1966)
They needed several decisions to go their way, to win the world cup. Right from the quarter-final game against Uruguay, where an English referee gave a goal which never was, before sending off two Uruguayans for protesting. In the semi-final, Antonio Rattin was sent off for using abusive language with the referee, by a referee who didn’t even understand Spanish. He refused to go off and had to be escorted off the field by policeman. And of course, who can forget that final where England killed West German hearts & minds with the Geoff Hurst goal that never was. The linesman, a Soviet, claimed it was revenge for the Battle of Stalingrad, against the Germans. So England won thanks to the officials of the World Cup.
01. Italy (1982)
It is universally believed that the Brazilian team of 1982 was the best team, club or country, to step on a football pitch. However, they lost to an Italian side that had a disgraced forward coming back after 2 years away from the game, and scoring a hat trick. Paolo Rossi and Dino Zoff were the main stays in a team that drew all three league games, beat defending champions Argentina and favourites Brazil in the second round and surprised Poland on the way to a final that was won against a better team.