(Who’ll Buy My) World Cup Memories

Borrowing from the title of one of Willie Nelson’s early ’90s albums, I have to admit that the last World Cup (while the most vivid) was not one of my favourites. From ‘86 to ‘02, most of my favourite memories stem from the victories of relative minnows in the tournament, and though they’ve been documented countless times, I thought it’d be great to revisit those moments.

In no particular order:

1) Cameroon vs. England (Italia ‘90)

What a great match-up. Cameroon stunned defending champs Argentina in the group stages, and unluckily fell at the hands of England due to a few unnecessary fouls, but defeat is/was not enough to spoil the richness of their performances. Freeze frame: Ekeke makes it 2-1 for Cameroon, who owned the crown from then on.

2) Holland Vs. West Germany (Italia ‘90)

Sheer end-to-end lunacy. 20 minutes into the match, and Rijkart and Voeller are each ejected from the game, opening up the pitch for 10 on 10. Near misses by Littbarski, Gullit, Klinsmann, and Winter preceed the opening re-direction from Klinsmann in the second half. A fantastic volley by Andy Brehme just outside the Dutch penalty area give Germany their second goal in a 2-1 win.
Freeze frame: Klinsmann smashes a one-time effort against the post and can’t believe it.

3) Bulgaria vs. Germany (USA ‘94)

A classic David and Goliath matchup, and one that shocked more people than the embarassing final that would take place in the end. Freeze frame: Bulgaria takes the lead with Letchkov’s diving header; one of the goals of the tournament.

4) France vs. Croatia (France ‘98)

My vote for the match of the tournament, with Davor Sukor giving the Eastern Europeans the lead, and the dizzying drama of French defender Lilian Thuram scoring both French goals to give them the win. Freeze frame: Thuram dropping to his knees a la Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ upon scoring the winning goal.

5) England vs. Romania (France ‘98)

Though just a group match-up, an amazing goal by Dan Petrescu in the final minute of play gives Romania the win over a heavily-favoured English squad. Freeze frame: the ensuing sport-hump by the rest of the Romanian team at the ‘91 minute.