NESSUN DORMA

On the 8th July 1990, West Germany (seeded 4th) and Argentina (2nd) played each other in the World Cup Final, the same pairing as in 1986. On this day the Germans beat the holders, Argentina 1-0, in Rome, to become champions for the third time. It was considered the "poorest" of finals. It was the last time a team from "West Germany" featured. Only 2.2 goals per game were recorded, the worst ever at the time. There was a record number of red cards (16) including one in the Final! The "back pass rule" was brought in in 1992 after this finals to encourage positive play and 3 points were brought in for a win. p.s. England beaten by the West Germans on penalties in the semi-final.....

In 2014 Germany played Brazil, causing the "biggest upset" in World Cup history. In the semi-final the two countries met in Belo-Horizonte and Germany beat their hosts 7-1, could have been double figs!

It was the Barzilians worst ever defeat and their first home competitive defeat since 1975. It was the highest score in a World Cup semi-final and the worst defeat suffered by a "host" nation. The Brazilians maintained a sense of humour; I wonder if the Germans would have kept their humour the same if the tables were turned. BUT LOOK at this, only Brazil have a better record.

West Germany and Germany results in World Cup Finals: 1954 v Hungary won 3-2.  1966 v England lost 2-4. 1974 v Netherlands won 2-1. 1982  v Italy lost 3-1. 1986 v Argentina lost 3-2. 1990 v Argentina won 1-0. 2002 v Brazil lost 2-0. 2014 v Argentina won 1-0....not a bad record.