Is this the least anticipated World Cup ever? Every football fan I talk to thinks so. Qatar should never have been awarded it given its vile human rights record – staging it there feels like a new low in attempted sports washing. Cheering on football teams in stadia migrant workers died building, in a country where it’s illegal to be gay, doesn’t really summon up the joy of the beautiful game. I feel slightly queasy about it at best and I understand those who want no part of it. Factor in the ludicrous decision to move the tournament to mid-season in most countries because Qatar was basically unsuitable to host the summer World Cup they had bid for, and it really does feel like the whole project has been ill-conceived.
But I will watch it and take an interest in the football, just as I’d probably buy a ticket for a Man City or Newcastle match if they were playing my team. As Jurgen Klopp says, none of this is the fault of the players. Many of them have spoken out against the Qatari regime and there are sure to be gestures and protests making clear that watching the football is not in any way an endorsement of its record.
And if this does turn out to be the least celebrated World Cup ever, I will still have a treasure trove of memories of the best ones. The first one I watched properly was 1978 (we had no telly in 1974) – and below is my reverse ranking of all 11 World Cups I’ve watched, replete with England bias and perspective.
11. 1994 (USA). Much to my late father’s annoyance, I support England when it comes to international football because (1) I was born there and (2) they had lots of Liverpool players in the team when I was a kid. They weren’t there in 1994 so I lent my support to Ireland, a team full of players who mostly wouldn’t make the England side and who were never going to win it. Not going to packed pubs full of the familiar hope over expectation atmosphere took away a fair bit from the tournament and aside from a thriller between Brazil and the Netherlands, the tournament had few memorable games. It culminated in a goalless final decided on penalties in favour of Brazil over Italy.
10. 2002 Japan/South Korea. Lunchtime and early morning kick offs derailed some of this tournament for me and there were few great memories. Senegal beating France was a promising start, but South Korea and USA making the semi finals illustrate the standard of the football, which was largely a triumph of organisation over flair. England went out to a moment of Ronaldinho genius or a David Seaman howler, depending on your perspective. Brazil deservedly won, beating Germany in the final, but it wasn’t a tournament to remember.
9. 2018 (Russia). A tournament where many of the best teams, with the exceptions of winner France, seemed to under-perform. England got the luck of the draw and played pretty well to join the French, Croatia and Belgium in the last four. Germany and Portugal crashed out early and classic matches were few and far between. The looming presence of Putin in the background didn’t help – while England fans enjoyed their progress in the easy half of the draw, it wasn’t a tournament that ever really took off.
8. 2014 (Brazil). A World Cup in Brazil should have had us all salivating, but that wasn’t easy in England. Roy Hodgson managing England was always going to end in the curmudgeonly old sod moaning after being outplayed by a supposedly lesser team. While there may have been an inkling of satisfaction in rival fans who had bizarrely thought Liverpool’s dismissal of him harsh getting the full Hodgson experience, his pre-tournament management of expectations was such that it was hard to summon up any excitement about the finals. Some memorable goals from James Rodriguez and Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of Brazil weren’t enough to save the tournament from mediocrity, including a dull final where Germany beat Argentina in extra time.
7. 2010 (South Africa). Most memorable for the remarkable Spain team who won it, elevating tiki-taka to the biggest competition in the game. (These were the days when it was played with energy and flair rather than endless backwards passes and pointless triangles.) There was great drama in the quarter-finals with Luis Suarez’s handball denying Ghana, the Germans grabbing three late goals to beat Argentina and Brazil going out to the Netherlands. The Dutch side were something of a disgrace in the final though, trying to kick their way to victory over a vastly superior Spain. Last call for England’s golden generation, smashed by Germany in the second round.
6. 2006 (Germany). Very few shocks in this one, though the unfancied hosts did better than expected in making the semis and Portugal exceeded expectations doing the same. It felt all along like a tournament lots of teams could win, which is always a positive. The likes of Henry, Ronaldo and Messi had good moments while the world’s best player, Zidane, was outstanding until he lost his head – or used it to butt Matterazzi – in another disappointing final settled on penalties in Italy’s favour. Ronaldo got club mate Wayne Rooney dismissed as England went out on penalties in the quarters, in what was now time-honoured tradition.
5. 1998 (France). That Michael Owen goal against Argentina will live long in the memory, as indeed will the 17 year old’s explosion on to the scene in this tournament. The same thrilling game saw Beckham’s dismissal after an encounter with Diego Simeone (as loveable then as now) and another penalty exit for the English. Elsewhere, Denis Bergkamp’s brilliant goal against Argentina remains one of the best seen on this stage, Nigeria burned brightly in the group stage before crashing out to Denmark and the original Ronaldo won the Golden Ball before playing very poorly through illness in the final . Brazil were red hot favourites that day, but in a memorable match France spanked them 3-0, with Zidane the star of the show as he was the tournament.
4. 1986 (Mexico). This was 100% Maradona’s World Cup. The greatest player of all time dominated the tournament in a way arguably nobody has, scoring incredible solo goals and just looking head and shoulders above anyone else in the competition – and pretty much anyone we’d ever seen. England fans whine about the Hand of God goal, but the chutzpah of it honestly deserved admiration too. Gary Linker had a great tournament and came as close as anyone to denying Argentina in a thrilling quarter final, but it was a World Cup where the two best teams – Argentina and West Germany – contested the final and the best of the two won a great game 3-2, with Maradona assisting the late winner.
3. 1990 (Italy). I am pretty certain there is an England bias in this choice, but there seemed much to love about Italia 90 beyond England’s Gazza and Lineker inspired run to the last four. Roger Milla and the exciting Cameroon side who beat champions Argentina in the group stages before exiting in a last 8 thriller against England; Jack Charlton’s Ireland storming to the quarter-finals, Romario, Baggio, Baresi, Van Basten, Gullit and Matthaus. Maradona not quite what he was but still remarkable, running screaming at the camera after scoring a goal. The Pavarotti soundtrack and again, that feeling that there was no clear favourite. But above all for me, love had the world in motion. After a shaky start, England came through their group, then beat Belgium in the last minute of extra time – a moment captured in the Three Lions songs but also memorable for me leaping so high in to the air that I broke my mum’s sofa when I landed. This was the brief period when Paul Gascoigne threatened to be a truly great player, a youngster who didn’t start the tournament as first choice but became central to England’s surge – along with Gary Lineker and David Platt. The thriller against Cameroon was followed by another penalty exit after a semi final in which they largely outplayed Germany, who went on to beat Argentina in an ill-tempered final.
2. 1982 (Spain). This was a great tournament from start to finish – Algeria’s shock win over West Germany, who would bounce back led by the talismanic Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to contest the final, Northern Ireland stunning the hosts, Bryan Robson inspiring England through the group stages before going out in a three-team second phase without conceding a goal. But above all, I remember this World Cup for the fantastic Brazil side on Socrates, Falcao, Eder, Zico and Junior. They looked unbeatable and imperious at the outset, memorably swatting aside a Scotland team who had the temerity to take an early lead. Then somehow they went out to Italy in a game for the ages, Paulo Rossi scoring a hat trick in an incredible 3-2 win. Another classic followed in the Germany-France semi final – 3-3 after extra time, with the German keeper somehow getting away with an assault on Patrick Battiston – before emerging the hero in the penalty shoot out. Italy – now playing the handbrake off after years of negativity – deservedly won a pulsating final 3-1.
1. 1978 (Argentina). I may be biased again here as it was the first one I saw. I was only dimly aware of my Dad’s rants about the Argentinian military junta. and only later understood the controversies around some of the results. Everything felt exotic, from the ‘Argentinian welcome’ to the ‘down the line’ commentary to the sudden preponderance of long range goals. Argentina, in their iconic strip, fascinated and beguiled me – Kempes, Luque, Passarella, Ardiles and the keeper, Fillol . To my father’s alarm, I adopted them over the Netherlands after the Scots went out. Yes, this was another tournament England didn’t make, but I didn’t care at that age – I was happy to support the Scotland of Dalglish, Souness and Hansen. The tragicomic story of Ally’s Army will live long in the memory – the stunning defeat against Cubillas-inspired Peru, Willie Johnstone sent home in disgrace, then that never to be forgotten game against the Netherlands where we actually thought Archie Gemmill’s brilliant goal was going to help them pull off the impossible. Alongside Italy’s group stage win v the hosts, it was probably the game of the tournament. Scotland aside, it was a tournament full of amazing players and characters that you didn’t see week in week out as we do now . Not just the Argentinians, but Rensenbrink, Neeskens and Rep of the Netherlands, Bettega, Zoff and the hilariously misnamed Gentile of Italy, Quiroga, the ultimate eccentic keeper of Peru. Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 in a terrific final, though their 6-0 win over Peru to get there on goal difference and a number of decisions in their favour throughout the tournament raised questions. As a boy, I wasn’t interested; I just thought their football was glorious. I still can’t move this World Cup down the rankings even one place; I loved it.
Rory writes 