These epic international football matches are the stuff of legend! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best international matches ever played in men’s football.
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00:00This is quite astonishing! It's all over now!
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best international matches ever played in men's football.
00:20Described by the press afterward as the match of the century, England took on Hungary in a friendly match in 1953.
00:27Now a chance for Hitler, Guti! It's a goal!
00:31On one side, the legendary Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, and Billy Wright.
00:35And for Hungary, the golden team, with Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kucsis, and Zoltán Szibor.
00:40The 105,000 in attendance were in for a treat. Within 28 minutes, Hungary was up 4-1.
00:47Take the kick.
00:49It's a goal, my goodness!
00:51By the end, they had hammered England 6-3, giving them their second loss ever on home soil to a non-British side since the Republic of Ireland in 1949.
01:02The result was a turning point for English football, which had stagnated.
01:06Some experts pinpoint this result as the spark that led to the side winning the World Cup in 1966.
01:12It's all over, England 3, Hungary 6.
01:21From 2008 to 2012, Spain's Golden Generation won two UEFA European Championships and one FIFA World Cup,
01:28the latter against the Netherlands in the final of 2010.
01:32By the 2014 edition, the two finalists were drawn in the same group.
01:36And when the two battled, no one was expecting this result.
01:40After falling behind, the Netherlands leveled before halftime with a magical Robin van Persie diving header.
01:45Oh, the header! Oh my word! Van Persie!
01:49And in the second half, it got even better for the Dutch as they fired in another four, making the result 5-1.
01:56This was the first time Spain had conceded five international goals in a match since 1963.
02:01Robin! Robin! Easy!
02:04This disaster massively contributed to Spain being knocked out at the group stages while the Netherlands reached the semis.
02:10It has been a Dutch masterclass.
02:13Number 8. Romania vs. Argentina, 1994.
02:17Leading up to this round-of-16 clash between Romania and Argentina,
02:21news of the legendary Diego Maradona being banned from the tournament for failing a drug test threatened to overshadow the fixture.
02:27But instead, it produced an all-time classic.
02:30With an explosive start, Ili Dimitrescu's curling free kick opened the scoring before Gabriel Batistuta fired in a penalty.
02:37However, with the iconic Gheorghe Hagi pulling the strings, he beautifully assisted Dimitrescu's second.
02:43In the second half, Dimitrescu returned the favor by setting up Hagi.
02:46Dimitrescu in for Hagi!
02:49But when Abel Balbo scored for Argentina, Romania held their breath as the South Americans threw everything at them.
02:55However, the Europeans survived and came out 3-2 winners,
02:59reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.
03:02And the Romanians have held on!
03:05Number 7. Argentina vs. England, 1986.
03:09With the Falklands War having ended four years previous,
03:12Argentina and England in the quarterfinal of the World Cup was always going to be an intense battle.
03:17But no one expected it to have two magical moments from Diego Maradona, which became the big talking point.
03:23First, the legendary player performed the controversial Hand of God,
03:26as he infamously knocked the ball in with his fist.
03:29"...hard of the midfield, it's hooked back over the top, and Maradona has scored!"
03:34Then, not long after, Maradona scored what's been described as the goal of the century.
03:39Collecting the ball in the Argentine half, he beat multiple England players before slotting past Peter Shilton.
03:44"...it's Diego Maradona, and it is quite magnificent!"
03:49Gary Lineker's late goal added further tension.
03:51However, Argentina held on to take the famous 2-1 win, and go on to win the whole tournament.
03:57"...Argentina are through!"
04:00Number 6. Italy vs. Brazil, 1982.
04:04When Italy faced Brazil in the second group stage of C in the 1982 World Cup,
04:09both sides had everything to play for, whoever won would go through.
04:12On one side, Italy had icons Dino Dzoff, Marco Tartelli, and Paolo Rossi,
04:17but only scraped through the first group stage.
04:19Brazil had a star-studded and dominant attacking midfield featuring Zico, Socrates, and Falcao.
04:25But Italy showed a defensive masterclass against the Brazilian siege.
04:29"...ball from left back, and Rossi!"
04:32After Rossi scored early, Socrates drew it level,
04:35then Rossi fired in again before Falcao equalized in the second half.
04:38"...space for it, which it is kept and lies on quite superbly!"
04:44Not long after, the ball fell to Rossi in the box, who slotted in for his hat trick,
04:48knocking out the South Americans as Italy went on to win the tournament.
04:52"...it's victory for Italy! They're through to the semifinals!"
04:57Number 5. Argentina vs. France, 2022.
05:01The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France was one of the most dramatic matches,
05:06let alone finals, in recent history, and two of the best players in the world stole the show.
05:13"...Argentine gold!"
05:15After leading 2-0 at halftime thanks to Argentina's Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria,
05:20France's Kylian Mbappe turned on the magic with a quick late double,
05:23forcing the game into extra time.
05:26With Messi scoring again, it looked like he'd won it for his nation,
05:30but Mbappe slotted home a penalty to secure his hat trick.
05:33After a penalty shootout, Argentina managed to edge out the French,
05:37and the emotionally shattered audience could finally catch their breath
05:41as Messi held the trophy aloft.
05:43"...Argentina, champions of the world!"
05:50Number 4. West Germany vs. France, 2022.
05:54Number 4. West Germany vs. Hungary, 1954.
05:58In 1942, Germany had their last international football match until 1950,
06:03when they were allowed to reform as West Germany after World War II.
06:07By 1954, Hungary, armed with the Golden Team,
06:11hammered West Germany 8-3 during the group stage of the World Cup.
06:14With the two nations in the final, everyone expected Hungary to win,
06:18and that seemed to be the case after scoring twice in the first eight minutes.
06:24But West Germany responded with a quick double 10 minutes later.
06:29Hungary threw everything at Germany.
06:31They had balls cleared off the line and hit the bar and post.
06:39With six minutes left, Helmut Hahn scored,
06:41winning the trophy for West Germany for the first time,
06:44nicknaming this stunning event the Miracle of Bern.
06:47"...football boots would never be the same again."
06:49Number 3. Brazil vs. Germany, 2014.
06:53Sometimes the greatest games are the ones that leave you in complete shock.
07:02Coming into the semifinal of the 2014 World Cup,
07:05Brazil and Germany had gone undefeated.
07:07Even with the South Americans missing Neymar and Thiago Silva,
07:10considering they were the host nation as well, a competitive bout was expected.
07:14Instead, it was an absolute dismantling of Brazil.
07:18Within 29 minutes, Germany was 5-0 up.
07:21"...they're queuing up. They're all gonna score at this rate."
07:25By the time the referee put Brazil out of their misery with the final whistle,
07:29Germany had walked away with a 7-1 win, smashing several World Cup records too,
07:34including replacing Brazil as the highest-scoring nation at the prestigious tournament.
07:38"...they might have number 7 here now. They have got 7."
07:41After that performance, it's no surprise the Europeans went on to lift the World Cup.
07:46Number 2. Brazil vs. England, 1970.
07:50This bout has been described as the World Cup final that never was.
07:54After all, Brazil had one of the strongest teams at the 1970 tournament,
07:58while England won the previous event in 1966.
08:01Facing off in the group stage, the battle between England's Bobby Moore
08:04and Brazil's Pelé lived up to expectations. But goalkeeper Gordon Banks took center stage
08:10when he pulled off the greatest save as he somehow tipped Pelé's header over the bar.
08:14"...Pelé! What a save!"
08:18It took a Jairzinho finish in the second half for Brazil to take the win,
08:22but England came close to scoring several times too.
08:28In the end, the image of Pelé and Moore showing respect encapsulated everything
08:32great about not just the match, but football overall.
08:36Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
08:39France vs. Italy, 2006.
08:42Known for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt, this World Cup final match was an intense battle.
08:47Uruguay vs. Brazil, 1950.
08:52Underdogs Uruguay turned the tides with a 2-1 victory to win the World Cup.
08:56West Germany vs. France, 1982.
09:00With six goals, a horrendous collision, and penalties, this game had it all.
09:11Belgium vs. Japan, 2018.
09:14Belgium's stunning comeback secured them a place in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
09:21Australia vs. American Samoa, 2001.
09:24To date, still the biggest scoreline in international football,
09:28with Australia winning 31-0.
09:30I think today it's really just sunk in that, you know,
09:33I've got a world record and I scored 13 goals."
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09:56Not every game is immortalized with the description game of the century,
10:00but not every fixture was Italy against West Germany in the semi-final of the 1970 World Cup.
10:05With eight minutes, Italy went ahead thanks to Roberto Bonisegna.
10:09It's fallen to Posenaga, and it's there!
10:13Famously and incredibly, Franz Beckenbauer used a sling after dislocating his shoulder
10:18to continue playing after West Germany had used up their substitutes.
10:21He took a last-minute goal by Karl-Heinz Schnellinger,
10:24who played club football in Italy to send the match into extra time.
10:28Here, the drama amped up tenfold.
10:30The lead switched between the nations three times as a further five goals were fired in,
10:35including two by the legendary striker Gerd Müller.
10:38In the end, Italy came out winners with a 4-3 scoreline.
10:50What's the worst international football match you've ever seen and why was it terrible?
10:54Let us know below.
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