World Cup Classics: Top 10 extra-time clashes

It's often said that matches can peter out in extra-time as both sides tire and the fear factor increases. But the World Cup has seen some of its most dramatic moments come after the end of normal time...

1966 World Cup: England 4 West Germany 2

It’s hard to ignore this one. England’s finest half hour on a football field came courtesy of Sir Geoff Hurst with a little help from an Azerbaijani linesman. History was made. “We didn't realise the importance and magnitude of the occasion, how when you win a World Cup and it affects the national psyche of everyone in the country,” said Hurst last year. “That's when you realise how big it is. It's a long time ago but for many people it's a big part of their lives.”

However, not everyone is convinced it has affected the country in a positive way. Former England manager Glenn Hoddle believes the achievement of Sir Alf Ramsey’s side have shaped everything that has followed. “It could be argued that our greatest moment has actually stopped us winning anything else,” he told the London Evening Standard. “After Ramsey’s success, all our teams started playing 4-4-2. We got stuck in that rigid system.” Talk about a defining moment.

1970 World Cup: Italy 4 West Germany 3

West Germany’s last-minute equaliser to send this semi-final into extra time was a blessing. In front of over 100,000 in the Estadio Azteca, what followed was one of the great games and to date the only occasion in which five goals have been scored during the extra period. Even more extraordinary was some of the defending.

A horrible mix-up between substitute Fabrizio Poletti and goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi allowed Gerd Muller to bundle in from a corner, then another substitute, Siegfried Held, allowed a gently lofted free-kick to bounce off him into path of Tarcisio Burgnich to restore parity. Luigi Riva put Italy ahead only for them to switch off from a short corner to let Muller score again.

The winner came straight from the kick-off. Gianni Rivera sidefooting home after a lung-busting run in the Mexico heat by Roberto Boninsegna. A game that had been 1-0 to Italy after 89 minutes was 4-3 to the Azzurri after 111 minutes. Intense stuff and perhaps no surprise that the Italians looked jaded against the might of Brazil just four days later.

1982 World Cup: West Germany 3 France 3

Regarded as one of the best World Cup matches of all-time, it’s worth remembering that four of the six goals came in extra time. The game looked to be going France’s way when Marius Tresor’s volley deflected in just two minutes into the extra period and Alain Giresse then doubled the lead. But the introduction of Karl Heinz Rummenigge changed things.

It seemed particularly cruel on the French that a substitute should have such an impact. France coach Michel Hidalgo had to use his second and final substitute to replace the previous one. Only 10 minutes after coming on, Patrick Battiston was cynically taken out by West Germany goalkeeper Harald Schumacher. He stayed on the pitch and France faded.

Rummenigge pulled one back before Klaus Fischer came up with an equaliser in the second period of extra time with a trademark bicycle kick. All that remained was for Schumacher to save twice in the penalty shootout for a German win. Naturally.

1990 World Cup: Cameroon 2 Colombia 1

Cameroon versus Colombia provided one of the most memorable moments from Italia ’90. It didn’t look that way in normal time with the score goalless after 90 minutes. Colombia’s charismatic goalkeeper Rene Higuita was among the more impressive performers. But in the final 30 minutes the narrative shift was swift. It was all about Roger Milla.

They were different times in 1990. Milla had scored over 100 goals in French football and been African player of the year in 1976 but the veteran still felt a breath of fresh air in Italy, dancing onto the scene and scoring twice against Romania in the group stage. But it was against Colombia that he provided two moments to really remember.

Milla could have gone to ground under a challenge from Andres Escobar but stayed on his feet to beat Higuita with a left-footed shot. Shortly afterwards came Higuita’s nadir. Robbed by Milla, ITV commentator John Helm could barely hide his contempt. “That is always the danger,” he told the audience. “Made to look an ass.” Colombia pulled one back but the night belonged to the oldest swinger in town.

1990 World Cup: England 1 Belgium 0

England might not have made it to Bologna if Paul Gascoigne had his way. His self-destructive tendencies emerged when invited into the cockpit on the flight from Sardinia. Gascoigne reportedly grabbed at the controls and sent the plane into a sharp nose dive. Sir Bobby Robson’s squad survived that scare but there were others when the game kicked off.

Jan Ceulemans hit the post in the first half before Enzo Scifo repeated the trick with a brilliant effort after the interval. In between that John Barnes had a goal bafflingly disallowed despite not being close to offside and so the game remained goalless. Extra time was a tighter affair with substitutes David Platt and Steve Bull going close before the key moment came.

Gascoigne bought a free-kick in the final moments and dinked it into the box himself. Platt hooked his volley into the corner. Cue Gary Lineker’s wild-eyed celebration and Robson’s jig. Not a classic but a classic moment for English football as a nation rediscovered its love for the sport. And it all could have been so different. As Matthew Engel wrote in The Guardian: “Robson would then have been a tactical bungler whose fear and indecision had ruined England’s chances.” Fine margins.

2002 World Cup: South Korea 2 Italy 1

The words Byron and Moreno remain ones of the dirty variety in Italy after his officiating in the 2002 World Cup match between the Azzurri and hosts South Korea. A dubious penalty and a controversial second yellow card for Francesco Totti angered Italy but more was to come. Damiano Tommasi had a goal ruled out in extra=time before Ahn Jung-Wan enjoyed the sweetest of moments.

The South Korea forward had been playing his club football in Italy for Perugia, later claiming he was “an outcast” in the dressing room and bullied by Marco Materazzi. Revenge was brutal as he outjumped Italy’s captain Paolo Maldini to score the golden goal – winning the match in an instant.

Perugia president Luciano Gaucci promptly sacked Ahn – “I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who as ruined Italian football” – leading South Korea coach Guus Hiddink to accuse him of “a childish reaction”. All this from one flick of the head.

2006 World Cup: Argentina 2 Mexico 1

James Rodriguez’s volley against Uruguay has already been hailed as one of the best goals of the 2014 World Cup. So it’s something of a curiosity that it’s not even the best left-footed volley from the outside the box scored by a guy called Rodriguez for a Jose Pekerman side in the round of 16 at the World Cup. Esteban Cambiasso’s team goal for Argentina against Serbia was widely regarded as the most memorable effort of the World Cup 2006, coming as it did after 26 passes, but Maxi Rodriguez’s howitzer was a different beast entirely.

After making light of the group stage, Argentina were struggling to find a way past a stubborn Mexico side with the scores level at 1-1 going into extra time. Juan Pablo Sorin’s crossfield pass was hit more in hope than expectation but Maxi chested the ball away from his marker on the right edge of the penalty area before connecting perfectly with his supposedly weaker left foot. The sight of an Argentina supporter in the crowd with his head in his hands, too stunned to celebrate, seemed to sum it up.

2006 World Cup: Italy 2 Germany 0

The 2006 World Cup semi-final between Germany and Italy was a classic so good that it didn’t really need a goal for it to be regarded as the game of the tournament. And yet, after two hours of play it not only got one iconic goal but two as Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero left the hosts devastated in Dortmund.

This was a high-quality game that had an astonishing amount of drama crammed into extra time alone. Alberto Gilardino hit a post, Gianluca Zambrotta found the crossbar and Lukas Podolski drew a brilliant one-handed save out of Gigi Buffon as the contest flowed one way then the other.

Ultimately, Marcelo Lippi was rewarded for his ambition in throwing on Del Piero for midfielder Simone Perrotta in the first half of extra time. After Grosso had his Marco Tardelli moment, Del Piero caressed the ball into the top corner following a smooth breakaway. The final against France had further drama but it was the extra-time period of this game that showed why Italy were worthy winners.

2010 World Cup: Uruguay 1 Ghana 1

Other countries have their history, so the saying goes, and Uruguay has its football. We’ve heard a lot about the Uruguayan psyche in recent days with some keen to explain away the actions of Luis Suarez as symptomatic of a desire to do anything to win. That hardly explains biting an opponent – instead that’s proven to be an effective way of damaging his country’s hopes. But it does help understand the events when Uruguay took on Ghana in the 2010 quarter-final.

Suarez’s handball on the goal-line in the final moments of extra time denied Ghana the winner that would’ve made them the first African semi-finalists at the first African World Cup. Instead Asamoah Gyan squandered the chance from the penalty spot, sparking shameless celebrations from Suarez in the tunnel. Uruguay, of course, won the shootout. Villain of the piece or a heartwarming tale of self-sacrifice? Suarez has been dividing opinion for years.

2010 World Cup: Spain 1 Netherland 0

If England cannot reach World Cup finals, there is always the possibility of getting referees to spoil them instead. Howard Webb united the Netherland and Spain in their condemnation of his efforts to control the 2010 World Cup final – most notably failing to adequately punish Dutch aggression in the early stages. “You can referee wrong, make a mistake,” said Johan Cruyff. “But what you cannot do is create your own sense of justice and, even worse, invent a very personal application of the rules.”

Webb did send off Heitinga in extra time but then missed a clear deflection that would’ve given the Netherlands a corner with five minutes remaining. Spain went down the other end to score the winner. It was fitting that the unassuming Andres Iniesta – so often the facilitator for others – got the goal and the midfielder celebrated by unveiling a shirt dedicated to Dani Jarque, his former Spain Under-21 team-mate who’d died the previous year. Naturally, Webb booked him. It was that sort of night.