The Weekly Take, Issue 50: 50@50: The 50 Greatest Football Matches of All Time

I’ve decided to do something a little different to mark my 50th post.

Listed here are what I consider to be the 50 greatest football matches ever.

Before I begin the list, I will lay out a few things.

- The matches can be broken down this way: 10 matches from the World Cup, 10 from the European Cup or Champions League, 10 from international continental tournaments, 10 from major domestic leagues, 5 from major domestic cups, and 5 from World Cup qualifiers.

- The matches will be arranged chronologically.

- As there are 50 matches to go through, each will only receive a short description.

So, without any further ado:

Uruguay 2-1 Brazil (July 16, 1950)

What was expected to be a coronation for World Cup hosts and heavy favourites Brazil went sour. Alcides Ghiggia’s goal clinched Uruguay’s second World Cup title in what became one of the tournament’s greatest upsets.

West Germany 3-2 Hungary (July 4, 1954)

The very next tournament also culminated in a stunning upset. West Germany had been taken apart in the group stage by the dominant Hungarians, losing 8-3. However, Die Mannschaft got their revenge, coming back from two goals behind in the final to complete an astonishing turnaround.

Brazil 5-2 Sweden (June 29, 1958)

All three 1950s World Cup finals turned out to be all-time classics. This match is best remembered for being the game where a 17-year-old Pelé broke out as a superstar. Even so, few at the time could have envisioned the career he would go on to have.

Real Madrid 7-3 Eintracht Frankfurt (May 18, 1960)

Real claimed a fifth consecutive European Cup, a feat that may never be repeated, in emphatic style. Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás combined for all seven goals.

Atlético Madrid 3-2 Real Madrid (July 2, 1961)

Just one year later, Real’s city rivals struck an incredible blow against their dynasty by winning the Copa del Generalísimo. Led by former Real head coach José Villalonga, a starless but dogged Atlético held off a legendary team to defend their Copa title.
 
England 4-2 West Germany (July 30, 1966)

Spurred on by a raucous home crowd, England won their first World Cup title on the back of a Geoff Hurst hattrick. A questionable goal called in favour of England proved irrelevant, as the Three Lions went on to win by two goals anyway.

Celtic 2-1 Inter Milan (May 25, 1967)

Inter’s dynastic “Grande Inter” era came to a screeching halt with this upset loss to the Glasgow club in the European Cup final. Stevie Chalmers’ goal sealed a victory hardly any imagined possible before the match.

Italy 4-3 West Germany (June 17, 1970)

A match which had seen little action for most of it sprang to life late on. Karl-Heinz Schellinger’s goal for West Germany sent it to extra time, where a remarkable five goals were scored. Gianni Rivera’s winning goal sent Gli Azzurri through to the World Cup final.

Bayern Munich 4-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach (December 8, 1973)

The two pre-eminent Bundesliga clubs of the era went toe-to-toe in an all-time classic. It proved to be decisive at the end of the season, as Bayern won the league by just one point.

Czechoslovakia 2 (5)-2 (3) West Germany (June 20, 1976)

A pulsating final ended with one of the most iconic football moments ever. Antonín Panenka’s chipped penalty won the shootout and Euro 1976 for Czechoslovakia. To this day, such penalties still bear Panenka’s name.

Italy 3-2 Brazil (July 5, 1982)

The red-hot pre-tournament favourites were stopped in their tracks by an intelligent, disciplined Italian team. Gli Azzurri’s tactics were on point, knocking out the Seleção en route to a first World Cup title in 44 years.

France 3-2 Portugal (June 23, 1984)

With six minutes left, it looked as if Portugal were heading for the final of Euro 1984. However, late goals by Jean-François Domergue and Michel Platini ended up turning the tide in favour of Les Bleus.

Argentina 2-1 England (June 22, 1986)

This was the “Diego Maradona Game”. Maradona’s first goal was the iconic “Hand of God” goal. His second was arguably the finest in World Cup history and knocked England out of the tournament.

AC Milan 5-0 Real Madrid (April 19, 1989)

The dominant club team of the era completely destroyed a strong Real team including the likes of Hugo Sánchez and Emilio Butragueño. Real simply had no answer for an all-time great Rossoneri team.

Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool (May 26, 1989)

Arsenal not only had to win this match to clinch the First Division title; they had to do so by two goals. In shocking fashion, Michael Thomas scored a stoppage-time goal that gave the Gunners the two-goal margin of victory they needed to win the league.

Denmark 2-0 Germany (June 26, 1992)

Against all the odds, a team that was only brought in as a late replacement won Euro 1992. Goals scored by John Jensen and Kim Vilfort gave Denmark its only international tournament victory to date.

Colombia 5-0 Argentina (September 5, 1993)

This was the greatest result in Los Cafeteros’ history to this point. Colombia’s victory put them into the 1994 World Cup, while Argentina were forced to play a qualifier against Australia because of this crushing loss.

AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona (May 18, 1994)

Milan’s performance was arguably the greatest there has ever been in a Champions League or European Cup final. This dynastic Rossoneri team won its third title in six seasons by taking apart a Barcelona team containing legends such as Hristo Stoichkov, Romário, and Ronald Koeman.

Brazil 2 (4)-2 (2) Argentina (July 17, 1995)

This Copa América quarterfinal was one of the greatest matches of this iconic rivalry. It was only fitting that such a clash would be decided on penalties. Edmundo scored Brazil’s winning penalty.

Germany 1 (6)-1 (5) England (June 26, 1996)

This was another classic rivalry matchup decided on penalties. The shootout was decided with one of the most infamous penalty misses of all time. Gareth Southgate missed the penalty that put Germany in the Euro 1996 final.

Argentina 2 (4)-2 (3) England (June 22, 1998)

A remarkable World Cup round of 16 clash saw three iconic moments take place. David Beckham’s red card, Michael Owen’s spectacular goal, and David Batty’s missed penalty to lose the shootout for England have all become enshrined in World Cup lore.

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal (April 14, 1999)

With the two teams’ original FA Cup semifinal encounter having finished in a draw, United and Arsenal squared off at Villa Park for the right to face Newcastle in the final. It took a sensational goal scored by Ryan Giggs to settle the match.

Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich (May 26, 1999)

Heading into stoppage time, it seemed that Mario Basler’s sixth-minute goal was about to give Bayern its first Champions League or European Cup title since 1976. Then, in a stunning turn of events, United substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored goals to win the Champions League for United, completing a Treble.

AC Milan 6-0 Inter Milan (May 11, 2001)

AC Milan took their city rivals apart in a late-season Serie A match. It was, and still is, the largest margin of victory in Derby della Madonnina history. To make the victory even sweeter, Milan also ended up denying Inter a spot in the next season’s Champions League.

Schalke 5-3 Unterhaching (May 19, 2001)

When the final whistle sounded, it seemed as though Schalke’s win delivered them the Bundesliga title. However, Stefan Andersson’s late goal for Bayern Munich against Hamburg won it for Bayern, making this the most heartbreaking of victories.

Barcelona 3-2 Valencia (June 17, 2001)

Rivaldo absolutely destroyed Valencia on the last La Liga matchday of the season, scoring all three goals including a spectacular last-minute bicycle kick. The victory also put Barça into the next season’s Champions League at Valencia’s expense.

England 5-1 Germany (September 1, 2001)

This was the match that drove the hype for England’s “Golden Generation” through the roof. Michael Owen was the Three Lions’ standout performer in this World Cup qualifier, scoring a hattrick.

Manchester United 4-3 Real Madrid (April 23, 2003)

Despite losing this match, Real had done enough to advance to the Champions League semifinals. Ronaldo’s hattrick for Real would also go down as one of the greatest individual Champions League performances.

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool (May 11, 2003)

This match changed football history forever. Chelsea’s win put them in the Champions League, prompting Roman Abramovich to buy the London club. It wasn’t long before he ushered football into the era of the transfer arms race.

Juventus 2 (5)-2 (4) Inter Milan (April 12, 2004)

This was a Coppa Italia semifinal that had everything – two bitter rivals, a red card issued to Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo, and a dramatic penalty shootout. The Bianconeri held their nerve to reach the final.

Greece 1-0 Portugal (July 4, 2004)

Greece’s victory capped off the most remarkable underdog run in the history of international football. The unheralded Greeks stunned the Portugal team of Luis Figo, Rui Costa, and Deco to win Euro 2004.

Brazil 2 (4)-2 (2) Argentina (July 25, 2004)

Just as in 1995, a Brazil-Argentina Copa América match was decided on penalties. However, this was in the final. In the end, Andrés D’Alessandro and Gabriel Heinze’s missed penalties sealed Argentina’s fate.

Liverpool 3 (3)-3 (2) AC Milan (May 25, 2005)

There’s a reason this match is known as the “Miracle of Istanbul”. Trailing 3-0 at halftime, Liverpool stunned the heavily-favoured AC Milan, taking it to penalties. They then proceeded to win the shootout and the Champions League.

Côte d’Ivoire 3-1 Sudan (October 8, 2005)

A dramatic finish to the World Cup qualifying campaign saw Côte d’Ivoire qualify for the tournament for the first time ever. Aruna Dindane’s two goals helped Les Éléphants beat Sudan, knock out Cameroon, and seal their World Cup spot.

Australia 1-0 Uruguay (November 16, 2005)

The Socceroos’ victory put them in the World Cup for the first time in 32 years. Australia also gained revenge over Uruguay, as it had been Uruguay who had denied them a spot in the 2002 World Cup.

Brazil 2 (5)-2 (4) Uruguay (July 10, 2007)

This Copa América semifinal had more than just a place in the final at stake. The other semifinal would be won by Argentina, the arch-rival of both teams in this match. In the penalty shootout, it was Gilberto’s penalty that made the difference, sending Brazil into the final.

Barcelona 1-1 Chelsea (May 6, 2009)

This game would go on to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Chelsea were denied four obvious penalties, and thus a Champions League final rematch against Manchester United. To make matters even worse for the Blues, Barça went on to win the tournament.

Alcorcón 4-0 Real Madrid (October 27, 2009)

Segunda División B club Alcorcón pulled off the greatest shock there has ever been in a domestic cup. A Real side boasting the likes of Raúl, Karim Benzema, and Ruud van Nistelrooy were thoroughly outplayed by the underdogs, who advanced to the Copa del Rey’s round of 16.

Uruguay 1 (4)-1 (2) Ghana (July 2, 2010)

Few World Cup matches have had as dramatic an ending as this feisty quarterfinal. After Luis Suárez was sent off for a deliberate handball to deny a Ghana goal, Asamoah Gyan missed what would’ve been the winning goal from the penalty spot. Uruguay went on to win on penalties.

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (November 29, 2010)

A rampant Barcelona could not be stopped. The Blaugrana completely took apart their bitter rivals en route to the La Liga title. Although David Villa scored two goals, it was Xavi who shone brightest of all.

Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Bayern Munich (May 12, 2012)

Die Schwarzgelbe completed their first domestic double with aplomb. Robert Lewandowski’s hattrick highlighted a sensational victory. It was Dortmund’s first DFB-Pokal title since 1989.

Manchester City 3-2 QPR (May 13, 2012)

As stoppage time began in this match, City needed to score two goals to win the Premier League and deny Manchester United the title. Just when all hope seemed lost for City, Edin Džeko and Sergio Agüero scored the decisive goals to clinch the league title in astonishing fashion.

Spain 4-0 Italy (July 1, 2012)

Spain won back-to-back Euro titles with a dominant, one-sided victory. La Furia Roja showed why they may have been the greatest international football team ever. Head coach Vicente del Bosque’s unorthodox decision to play Andrés Iniesta and David Silva as centre-forwards paid major dividends.

Portugal 3-2 Sweden (November 19, 2013)

A duel between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović ended with Ronaldo coming out on top. The two superstars scored all the goals for their respective countries. Ronaldo’s hattrick put Portugal into the World Cup.

Atlético Madrid 1-1 Barcelona (May 17, 2014)

Against all the odds, Atlético’s draw against Barça gave them their first La Liga title in 18 years. Diego Godín’s 49th-minute goal was enough to seal the league title for Atlético.

Real Madrid 4-1 Atlético Madrid (May 24, 2014)

Just one week later, Atlético were in the Champions League final and minutes away from completing a historic double. However, Sergio Ramos’ stoppage-time equalizer took the game to extra time. Real went on to score three more goals and win the Champions League.

Germany 7-1 Brazil (July 8, 2014)

This was the greatest single-game team performance in football history. Neymar’s absence due to injury put Brazil on the back foot before this World Cup semifinal even started. Germany took full advantage, scoring five goals in an 18-minute span.

Chile 0 (4)-0 (2) Argentina (June 26, 2016)

Chile successfully defended their Copa América title by stunning Argentina. Certainly, the defining moment of the match was Argentina legend Lionel Messi’s penalty shootout miss, which almost certainly ended the Albiceleste’s hopes of a first continental title since 1993.

Barcelona 6-1 PSG (March 8, 2017)

Barça looked dead in the water after having lost the first leg of this Champions League round of 16 tie by a 4-0 scoreline. However, the Catalan club turned it around, scoring three late goals in seven minutes to complete an incredible comeback and advance to the quarterfinals.

Inter Milan 3-2 Lazio (May 20, 2018)

An utterly ridiculous Serie A match had two red cards, an own goal, and a late winning goal scored by Matías Vecino. As if all of the above weren’t already enough, it took place on the final matchday of the season. To top it off, Inter’s win put them in the Champions League at Lazio’s expense.