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This weekend, England faces the most important away game in this World Cup.
Sunday’s round of 16 match against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca will present challenges beyond those the Three Lions have faced so far. The altitude, the hostile atmosphere and any additional skills you can expect – it’s all part of the experience of taking on El Tri in Mexico City.
It is also exciting theater.
There’s nothing like a big World Cup game involving the host country, and when that team has an impressive record at home (which Mexico certainly has at the Azteca) there’s a real intimidation factor. The country has won the men’s tournament six times at home, the last time in 1998. But there is hope for England. Some of the most famous matches in World Cup history were matches that the home team lost.
Here’s a look at the home field advantage over the years:
Italy, 1934
(Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
The first two World Cups were won by the hosts: Uruguay in 1930 and then Italy in 1934. The latter gained infamy due to Benito Mussolini’s use of the tournament as a political tool, and perhaps because of its impact on refereeing?
“The fascist regime politically abused the event,” said Italian writer Marco Impiglia almost 80 years later. “It was a questionable victory and it raised a lot of doubts at the time.”
It must be recognized that four years later, Italy became the first team to win a World Cup away from home, winning in France.
Brazil, 1950
(Photo credit should go to STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)
The Brazilians have won a record five World Cups, but they have never triumphed at home. The hosts needed only a draw against Uruguay to take the title in 1950 (there was a final group stage rather than a singular title match), but with some 200,000 spectators present at Rio’s Maracana stadium, the Brazilians suffered an unthinkable 2-1 defeat.
Alcides Ghiggia, scorer of the winning goal, once said that only three people had silenced the Maracana: “The Pope, Frank Sinatra and me.”
That 1950 defeat loomed over the proceedings when Brazil hosted again in 2014, and the team’s semi-final loss to Germany may have been even more embarrassing. At least that time, the suspense dissipated early as the visitors scored a flurry of first-half goals on their way to a 7-1 rout.
England, 1966
(Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
England’s only world championship was held at home, and not without controversy. In the final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium, Geoff Hurst’s shot in extra time hit the crossbar. Did he enter or not? Goal-line technology was still decades away.
The referees awarded the goal, which put England up 3-2. Hurst later scored again to complete a hat trick and the final score was 4-2.
Argentina, 1978
(Photo by Mirror Syndication International/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
The Netherlands lost consecutive finals in 1974 and 1978, both times against the host country. In 1974, the Dutch scored early, but lost 2-1 to West Germany. Four years later, they had to face Argentina in front of a frenzied crowd in Buenos Aires. The Argentines took the field several minutes after the Dutch, leaving the visitors alone in front of a hostile crowd. Then there was a discussion about whether Rene van de Kerkhof could play with a cast. Argentina eventually won 3-1 in extra time.
The Dutch were about to face Brazil in that final. Argentina needed at least four goals against Peru in their final match in their second-round group to reach the final. The Argentines won 6-0, giving rise to many conspiracy theories.
Italy, 1990
(Photo credit should go to PASCAL GEORGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Sometimes it’s not so clear who the home team really is. At least that’s what Diego Maradona hoped when Argentina prepared to face Italy in the 1990 semifinal in Naples. Maradona, a Napoli club star, was loved there, but would the home fans really cheer him and Argentina against their own country? Maradona certainly attempted to stoke divisions between northern and southern Italy.
“After so much racism, only now are they quick to remember that Naples is part of Italy,” Maradona told Corriere dello Sport. “Now that they have slapped the Neapolitans in every possible way, someone tells them that they are Italians, that only Italy counts. It is incredible, absurd, offensive.”
In the end, fans cheered Italy, but Argentina became the first team in the entire tournament to score against the Italians, forging a 1-1 draw. Argentina then won the penalty shootout to eliminate the Azzurri. In the final in Rome, Argentina received an unpleasant reception and lost to West Germany.
France, 1998
(Photo by Bongarts/Getty Images)
The last host country to win the title was France, which had never reached it until 1998. The French had not even qualified for the 1990 or 1994 World Cups, but at home they reached the final, where they denied Brazil a repeat championship.
South Korea, 2002
(Photo by PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL / AFP via Getty Images)
The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, with the latter making a remarkable run to the semi-finals. Italy and Spain saw little to celebrate about the Korean advance.
After the Italians lost to South Korea in extra time in the round of 16, FIFA said it received hundreds of thousands of emails from Italian fans furious about the refereeing. In the quarterfinals, South Korea beat Spain on penalties after the Spanish had multiple goals disallowed.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter denied any conspiracy but acknowledged some bad decisions.
Information from The Associated Press.
