2010 FIFA World Cup – Greatest World Cup Feuds and Rivalries
With every football World Cup, there comes its share of controversies and feuds. These may be humorous for the neutral, but are extremely daunting for the sides which experience them.
Starting off, England is a great footballing nation, and has groomed some of the greatest talents on its soil. However, when it comes to penalty taking in the world cup, the seemingly endless stars of the English clan fail. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard both are quality finishers and penalty takers for their clubs in the premier league. When it comes to taking penalties for their nation, they choke. Having played seven competitive international penalty shootouts, England has only won one, that too against Spain, who themselves have no good record themselves. England lost to Portugal in the 2006 quarter final following a penalty shootout, when Lampard, Gerrard and even Beckham failed to deliver. So, it’s a rivalry between England and the penalty shootout.
Then there’s the Mexico and USA rivalry. When these two met in a CONCACAF qualifier, Mexico were out to prove their superiority to the Americans. It was played at a venue where they have lost only once. Fans were against London Donovan, when he urinated on an important Mexican soccer landmark. He was even spat on when he took corners. USA took the early lead, but Mexican came back stronger, and won the match 2-1. The tension between these two rivals seems to be growing, and if they were to meet in the next rounds of the World Cup, an interesting encounter could’ve been expected.
The England and Argentina rivalry comes next. These two nations have fought a war in 1982 over set of islands off Argentineans coast. England also claims that they introduced football to the Argentineans, which Argentina takes as an insult. The wounds of war were fresh when these two met in 1986 World Cup. Maradona scored his famous “Hand of God” goal, followed by the “Goal of the Century”, where he ran passed eight English players from the half line and scored. It was perhaps the greatest goal ever scored. Maradona denied that he cheated to score the Hand Of God goal, only later to state that cheating made it sweeter. They met in 1998 and 2002, which fuelled further incidents. In the World Cup 1998 that took place in France, Argentina met England in the second round, David Beckham was sent off and England lost on penalties again. These were to meet in the quarter final in what may have been a match for the ages, but following England’s drop out of the World Cup, after losing 4-1 to Germany, this rivalry will have to wait another four years.
Who can ever forget the Argentina and Brazil rivalry? These are the perhaps South America’s greatest, and despise each other to the core. This rivalry is one of the biggest, with both nations out to prove that they are better than each other. Each of the nations have produced quality players, with Maradona from Argentina and Pele for Brazil being the best. These two are always compared, and have been the bone of contention. Then there was the battle of Rosario, where Peru lost to Argentina on purpose, to set up a match against Brazil. In addition, who can forget the Holy water Scandal, where Argentinean medics mixed tranquillisers in Brazilian player’s water. Such is the seriousness and gravity of this rivalry and are perhaps the favourites to meet in this World Cup final.
Last but certainly not the least, there is the North Korea and South Korea rivalry. This rivalry needs no introduction. Having fought numerous battles and wars against each other, this rivalry produces sparks every time these two nations meet. North Koreans are stern, ruthless and harsh as a nation and it reflects in their style of play. South Koreans play a fair game, on the other hand. Call it a political war or a bout to prove supremacy over each other, these two nations promise to produce a spectacular match if they meet in the world cup. This may not be possible in this World Cup as both of teams have bowed out, but this rivalry tops the list.
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