Football World Cup 1970

The 1970 Football World Cup was held in Mexico. It was won by Brazil, who beat Italy 4-1 in the final. It was Pelé's third and final World Cup victory.

Related Topics:
1970 - Football World Cup - Mexico - Brazil - Italy - Pelé

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The format of the competition stayed the same as 1966: 16 teams qualified, divided into four groups of four. Top two teams in each group would advance to the quarterfinals.

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Since this was the third win for the Brazilian team (they had already won 1958 and 1962), they were entitled to keep the Jules Rimet trophy. Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo was the first footballer to become World champion as a player (1958, 1962) and a coach.

Related Topics:
1958 - 1962 - Jules Rimet trophy - Mario Zagallo

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Brazilian right winger Jairzinho scored at least one goal in each of the six games that Brazil played in the World Cup (in the first game, against Czechoslovakia, he scored two), a feat which has never been repeated. However, the striker of the tournament was West Germany's Gerd Müller, with impressive 10 goals in the competition. Müller incredibly scored a hat-trick in two consecutive games, against Bulgaria and Peru in the Group Stage. But he didn't score in Germany's last game (the 3rd place match) against Uruguay.

Related Topics:
Jairzinho - Czechoslovakia - West Germany's - Gerd Müller - Hat-trick - Bulgaria - Peru - Uruguay

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The most memorable match of the tournament, and by many regarded as one of the greatest matches in World Cup history, was the Italian 4-3 win after extra time over West Germany in the semifinal. Italy led by 1-0 until the 90th minute when Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, then a professional player at Italy's AC Milan, scored the equaliser during injury time. Then, during extra time, the lead changed from a German 2-1 to an Italian 3-2, when Gerd Müller equalized again before Gianni Rivera scored the winning goal in the 111th minute. It is worth noting that Franz Beckenbauer refused to stop playing after a very serious foul during extra time: Germany was not allowed to replace him and thus, Beckenbauer kept playing with a sling and a broken clavicle.

Related Topics:
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger - Injury time - Gianni Rivera - Franz Beckenbauer - Beckenbauer

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The match is known as the Jahrhundertspiel in Germany, and there is even a marker at the Aztec stadium in Mexico City for it.

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The qualification tournament for this World Cup was the cause of the brief Football War between Honduras and El Salvador.

Related Topics:
Football War - Honduras - El Salvador

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