World Cup Rambling

In the final episode of series three, we look at one of the strangest tales in World Cup history – the theft of the Jules Rimet Cup from a stamp exhibition in London in 1966. The holy grail of football has a storied history, carried on an ocean liner to the first World Cup in Uruguay, stashed in a shoebox under a bed during World War Two, before being stolen in London and found by a dog in 1966, t...

It’s time to dip back into the 1986 World Cup, by looking at the match of the tournament, a mighty, midday clash in the Mexican heat between France and Brazil, two of the most iconic teams of that era.  France, the reigning European Champions, had started their campaign slowly but looked to be steadily finding their form.  Brazil, underrated in comparison to their 1982 predecessors, were still cap...

Graham Taylor took over the England job amidst much optimism, following England’s strong Italia 90 campaign.  The expectation was that England would continue to be a force at major tournaments.   However, the optimism evaporated as Taylor struggled to get to grips with the unique challenge of international football.  He failed to develop a playing identity for the Three Lions (beyond a stale versi...

This month we have the final part of the Argentina 78 retrospective.  The format of the competition – a second group stage, with the winners of the two groups reaching the final – is already under scrutiny and this will intensify as this second batch of groups conclude.  In Group A, the Netherlands finally find their form, to reach the final at the expense of Italy, who are unable to build on thei...

We’re back with part 2 of the Argentina 78 retrospective.  This episode will focus on the first group stage.  We have Argentina playing under the weight of domestic expectations, accompanied by a stench of dodgy refereeing.  We also have the relative decline of West Germany, Brazil and Holland, the unexpectedly strong performances of Tunisia, Austria and Peru, the resurgence of Italy. There’s also...

This month sees the return of the World Cup retrospective, with the focus being on the 1978 tournament in Argentina, arguably the most controversial World Cup in history.  In 1966, Argentina were awarded the rights to host the 1978 World Cup – an honour that was long overdue for one of football’s leading nations. However, the deteriorating political, security and economic situation in the twilight...

This month it’s a tribute to Pelé, who died on 29th December 2022.  Pelé burst onto the World Cup scene as a 17-year-old in 1958.  A late addition to the starting eleven, he was awesome for a teenager, scoring six goals to help Brazil win the World Cup for the first time.  Pelé became the world’s best player, a genuine superstar, a global icon yet his next two World Cups ended unhappily. The price...

This month we look back at France’s epic capitulation at the 2010 World Cup. From the start, the French campaign was shrouded in gloom and scandal, courtesy of Raymond Domenech’s haphazard management, Thierry Henry’s handball in the play-off against Republic of Ireland, and a prostitute scandal involving some of the squad. The situation was exacerbated by the self-serving behaviour of both the pla...

When Brazil met Holland in the second group stage of the 1974 World Cup, a place in the final was at stake. It was the reigning champions against the pretenders to the throne.  Johan Cruyff and his colleagues were playing 'Total Football', a fluid, aggressive style of play which had thrilled the world.  The Dutch were nonchalantly brilliant as they swatted away opponent after opponent. &...

A tantalising snippet of what you have to look forward to in the third series of World Cup Rambling, which is due to start on Saturday 4th February 2023. Subscribe to World Cup Rambling on your podcast platform.  Rate and review the podcast. Twitter @MatthewOkot @WorldCupRamble

A nice Christmas surprise for all you dear listeners -  a look back at Argentina versus France, arguably the craziest World Cup Final ever, which ended with Lionel Messi emulating Diego Maradona by captaining the Argentinians to World Cup glory.  As well as this, I cast my eye over Qatar 2022 as a whole and revisit some of my forecasts from the preview episode.  Make sure to rate an...

In this episode we have a look ahead to the 2022 World Cup, the background to the tournament, the controversies, the response to Qatar’s tournament, and a look at some of the teams.   This is the last episode of series 2 so thanks for listening the whole way through 2022.  Go back and listen to all the previous episodes and continue to subscribe to World Cup Rambling on your podcast plat...

After four turbulent years, Diego Maradona returned for one last shot at World Cup glory in 1994. After leading a bedraggled Argentina through a qualification play-off against Australia, Diego went all out to regain his fitness for USA ’94. A remarkable physical transformation took place as Diego shed the excess pounds. Looking trim and sharp, Diego declared himself ready to captain Argentina for...

In the summer of 1986, for the first and only time, Alex Ferguson took a team to a major international tournament. Ferguson had been Scotland’s assistant manager, working alongside the legendary Jock Stein. Ferguson regarded Stein as a mentor figure and was delighted to be working alongside him. When Stein died tragically at the end of a pulsating World Cup qualifier against Wales, Ferguson took u...

"Not so much a football match as an international incident," was how legendary sports write Hugh McIlvanney described the 1966 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina.  England came into the match after a series of solid but unspectacular performances in the group stages - par for the course for an England team.  Argentina were in an incendiary mood after some robust displa...

Chile feels a burning sense of national pride as World Cup hosts, having suffered a traumatising earthquake in 1960, before losing their key organiser in the weeks leading up to the 1962 tournament. However, some Italian journalists have been disparaging about the host country. This leaves the Italian team in a difficult situation when they face Chile in the group stage. What follows is one of the...

After a mammoth 48 group matches, dragged out over two stages, the 1982 World Cup finally remembers that it’s supposed to be a knockout competition. A resurgent Italy, with Paolo Rossi having found his shooting boots, sweep past Poland. Then in Seville, there’s a night of intense drama as France meet West Germany. It’s billed as a clash between artists and artisans. The match swings one way and th...

The first group stage is over, but the unusual format of this competition means it’s time for another group stage. Poland reach the semi-finals for the second time in three tournaments, after shutting out the Soviet Union – a popular result. Elsewhere, the French find their form, ending Northern Ireland’s dream in the process. England, with goals in short supply, scramble Kevin Keegan and Trevor B...

Here is the long-anticipated (yeah right) start of series two. We’re going back in time to the 1982 World Cup. Joao Havelange’s conception of the ‘biggest World Cup ever’ came to fruition, as the 24-team extravaganza rolled into Spain, a country that was facing the first global test of its new democratic era. Things didn’t start too well, with an error-strewn draw ceremony and scepticism from the...

A tantalising snippet of what you have to look forward to in the second series of World Cup Rambling, which is due to start on Friday 4th February 2022. Subscribe to World Cup Rambling on your podcast platform.  Rate and review the podcast. Twitter @MatthewOkot @WorldCupRamble

Time to provide you all with some much-needed Christmas cheer.  This episode is a snappy look back at the 2014 World Cup, through an article that I wrote at the time. Twitter:  @MatthewOkot @WorldCupRamble

Deep political shadows lay across the 1974 World Cup. This was epitomised by the Group 1 meeting between West Germany, the hosts, and their brothers from over the border, East Germany. The stage was set for a tense encounter in Hamburg, which was riven with plots and subplots. West vs East, capitalism vs communism, liberty vs authoritarianism. For Helmut Schön, manager of the West Germany, there w...

With one game remaining, Brazil and Chile were level on points in their qualifying group. Brazil had a superior goal difference, which meant they required just a draw to reach the 1990 World Cup. Chile needed a win, but Brazil hadn’t lost a competitive match on home soil since 1975. The Maracanã Stadium was packed to the rafters with Brazilian fans, who expected their team to extend their 100% rec...

A tribute to the late great Gerd "Der Bomber" Müller, who died on 15th August 2021, at the age of 75.  Here, I reflect on the goals that Müller scored at World Cups, the 10 at Mexico 70 (which put him in an exclusive club of players who hit double figures at a single World Cup), then the four he added on home soil in 1974, which set a record of 14 which stood for 32 years.  Has there eve...

A bit leftfield here. In this edition, I will be reviewing the novel ’30 Days Across America’ by Christopher Dwyer, a story of two friends who take off across the United States to follow the 1994 World Cup. It’s a fun book to read if you’re a football fan and if (like me) you love USA 94. Follow me on Twitter @MatthewOkot Follow @WorldCupRamble Subscribe to World Cup Rambling on your podcast platf...