II.

Men’s World Cup

In 1904 representatives from seven European soccer associations (France, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland) organized a governing body for soccer, called the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). At that first meeting, FIFA planned to organize a world championship, but 26 years passed before conditions were suitable. Among other considerations, FIFA determined that the level of play was sufficient outside of Europe to support a world championship. In addition, professional leagues had evolved so that the Olympic Games, then restricted to amateur athletes, no longer represented the highest level of competition in the world.

In 1930 the first World Cup tournament was held in Uruguay. It was won by the host nation with a victory over Argentina in the final. Despite being shunned by the stronger European nations, the tournament was a financial success and excited international interest.

By the mid-1930s, the major European countries had become interested—except for the British Isles. England, Scotland, and Wales, which field separate national soccer teams, were not members of FIFA and refused to take part in the World Cup. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist regime organized the 1934 tournament in Italy, which the host nation won. The World Cup proved so popular that 36 nations entered the 1938 tournament, and preliminary elimination games were played to decide the 16 finalists. France hosted the 1938 tournament, and Italy repeated as champion.

World War II (1939-1945) brought a halt to most international sporting activities, and the World Cup was not played again until 1950, in Brazil. England entered for the first time, but suffered the humiliation of losing 1-0 to the United States, and was eliminated in the first round. Uruguay again won the tournament, beating Brazil in the final. West Germany won the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, beating the heavily favored Hungarians who, until the final game, had been undefeated in international competition for four years.

By 1958 the world had become aware of the Brazilian team's technical abilities. The Brazilians displayed an ease with the soccer ball that the Europeans could not match. Although Brazil had qualified for every World Cup thus far, the country had yet to win. The Brazilians finally lived up to their potential at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, when they dazzled the competition and won the championship. The team's star was an astonishing 17-year-old, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who was known worldwide by his nickname, Pelé. He went on to dominate world soccer for the next 12 years. Brazil won again at the 1962 tournament in Chile, even with an injured Pelé sitting on the sidelines for much of the event.

In 1966 the World Cup was played in the sport's birthplace, when England hosted the event. England won the tournament, beating West Germany in an overtime final. The World Cup moved to Mexico in 1970. This was an era in which soccer—particularly in Europe—became increasingly defense-oriented. The Italians had developed a system of play called catenaccio, which featured a packed defense and relied on sudden counterattacks to score goals. However, they were comprehensively outplayed in the final by the more offense-minded Brazilians, who were led by the 29-year-old Pelé. With that victory, Brazil became the first team to win the trophy three times.

The Dutch rose to prominence in the 1970s when they developed a style known as Total Soccer, in which every player was required to be capable of attacking or defending as the occasion demanded. Led by captain and star Johan Cruyff, the Dutch played West Germany, the tournament host, in the 1974 final. The Germans, led by the renowned Franz Beckenbauer, won the game and became the new world champions. The Dutch again reached the final in 1978, and again they lost to the host team, falling to Argentina in the overtime final.

By 1982 the World Cup had become so popular that the number of finalists was increased from 16 to 24. The tournament was played in Spain, and Italy defeated West Germany in the final game to win the championship.

In 1986 Mexico became the first country to stage the World Cup twice. Argentina won the championship, largely on the strength of a masterful performance from the team's captain, Diego Maradona. The first of Maradona's two goals in Argentina's win over England became infamous when television replays revealed that he had punched the ball in with his hand; he later attributed the goal to divine intervention, claiming that “the hand of God” had scored the goal. Four minutes later Maradona dribbled half the length of the field to score one of the greatest goals in World Cup history. In the final, Argentina defeated West Germany, coached by its former star player, Beckenbauer.

West Germany had its revenge at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. The low-scoring final characterized a disappointing tournament that had produced an average of only 2.2 goals per game, the lowest number in World Cup history.

FIFA scheduled the 1994 World Cup in the United States, hoping to increase the popularity of soccer in the one major country where it did not enjoy leading status. It proved a highly successful event, featuring capacity crowds at nine stadiums. For the first time in history, the final went to a penalty-kick shoot-out, in which Brazil became the first four-time World Cup champion with a victory over Italy.

France hosted the 1998 World Cup. The matches were held in ten different cities, and Brazil again advanced to the final, this time meeting France in the title match. France won, 3-0, with midfielder Zinedine Zidane scoring two of the goals. The victory was France's first World Cup championship.

The 2002 World Cup was awarded jointly to Japan and South Korea, the first time the World Cup was played in Asia and the first time it was hosted by two nations. The tournament featured a number of surprises, including the ouster of France in the first round, the United States reaching the quarterfinals, and host South Korea finishing fourth in the best showing ever by an Asian team. The final pitted traditional powers Brazil and Germany, two teams that had never faced each other in a World Cup match. The Brazilians atoned for their 1998 loss by defeating the Germans, 2-0, with striker Ronaldo scoring both goals. It was a record fifth World Cup title for Brazil.

Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup. The final match was played in Berlin at the same stadium where the 1936 Olympic Games were held. Italy defeated France on penalty kicks (5-3) after regulation and overtime ended in a 1-1 tie. It was only the second World Cup final to be decided by penalty kicks. The victory was Italy’s fourth World Cup title, second only to Brazil’s five titles. Host Germany finished third. Both Italy and France were known for their stellar defenses, and the French team boasted one of the sport’s best penalty kickers, Zinédine Zidane. In the overtime period, however, Zidane head-butted an opponent and was ejected on a red card. He was later named the winner of the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player. South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup.