This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
HIBAPRESS-RABAT-FIFA
Every week, FIFA shines the spotlight on a new FIFA World Cup™ record. Today, focus on the only two nations to have come back three goals during a final phase.
ABBA, Elvis Presley and Oasis have had theirs. Mohammed Ali, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps and Tiger Woods too, each at their own level. Stars fallen or forgotten due to their state of form, circumstances, scandals or disputes, they have all made a resounding return to the forefront.
Many great sports stories are based on this concept, and more precisely on the conviction that a match or a competition is never lost, on the hope – however small it may be – of achieving success. ‘impossible, sometimes against all logic.
In club football, the examples are legion: in the UEFA Champions League alone, everyone remembers Liverpool’s incredible comeback in the 2005 final, when the Reds gleaned the title on penalties after being led 3-0 at half-time by AC Milan (3-3 ap, 3 tab to 2); or the famous “remontada”, 12 years later, of FC Barcelona, qualified thanks to six goals scored (6-1) after losing 4-0 their round of 16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain; or also the authentic feat of Manchester United, able to score two goals in quick succession in stoppage time in the 1999 final against Bayern Munich (2-1).
When it comes to the FIFA World Cup™, Austria and Portugal particularly stand out. They are in fact the only two countries to have ever overcome a three-goal deficit to finally win on the biggest stage, in 1954 and 1966 respectively.
Austria 7-5 Switzerland (Switzerland 1954)
Returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1934, Austria won its two group matches, against Scotland (1-0) and Czechoslovakia (5-0). She is playing her quarter-final against Switzerland, who needed a play-off against Italy (4-1) to reach this stage of the competition.
Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva, is sweltering on this summer afternoon. Temperatures flirt with 40°C and humidity levels are above 80%. The conditions are therefore far from ideal for a match which will nevertheless establish several goals records, one of which still stands today: that of the most prolific match in the history of the World Cup (12 goals). .
Switzerland, led by the Austrian Karl Rappan, trained a lot in archery during their preparation and it paid off, since they adjusted their sights from the start of the match. Robert Ballaman opened the scoring in the 16th minute, then Josef Hügi scored twice straight away. After 20 minutes, the locals already lead 3-0.
Although his troops had only three days of rest after the barrage against Italy, Rappan fielded an unchanged starting XI and, slowly but surely, the heat and fatigue took their toll, without forgetting the talent of the Austrians . Even before the half-hour mark, they set the record straight thanks to a double from Theodor Wagner and another achievement from Alfred Körner.
Captain Ernst Ocwirk then gave his team the advantage before Körner also scored twice, so much so that Austria found itself 5-3… in the 34th minute. Ballaman reduced the score before half-time, becoming the fourth player in the match to score more than once, and the two teams returned to the locker room with a score of 5-4. Wagner and Hügi then improve their individual statistics, then the Austrian Erich Probst puts an end to the suspense with a quarter of an hour to go. The famous Swiss lock will therefore have finally jumped in this competition where, the next day, the “battle of Berne” rages between Brazil and Hungary (4-2 victory for the Hungarians). Austria would go on to claim third place, before West Germany dominated Hungary 3-2 in an epic final, known as the “Miracle of Berne”.
Portugal 5-3 Korea DPR (England 1966)
After beating – and eliminating – Italy to everyone’s surprise in their last group match of the 1966 edition (1-0), Korea DPR is entitled to a tough quarter-final, since it challenges a Portugal team which has just had three successes against Hungary (3-1), Bulgaria (3-0) and Brazil (3-1) scoring three times each time.
This is the first time that an Asian country has reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup (the next time came in 2002) and against the Portuguese led by the legendary Eusébio, Mário Coluna and other António Simões, observers give him very little chance.
But at Goodison Park in Liverpool, against all odds, the North Koreans found the entry point with a superb strike from Pak Seung-zin, then increased the score through Li Dong-woon and Yang Seung-kook to lead 3-0 after 25 minutes.
It was then that the “Black Panther” showed its claws: Eusébio first brought his team to within a goal before half-time, and it only took him nine minutes to equalize after returning from the locker room. The native of Mozambique transformed three minutes later a penalty that he himself caused to score a quadruple. José Augusto removed all suspense by scoring a fifth goal ten minutes from the final whistle, preventing his country from trembling even more against an outsider who had long believed in his lucky star.
Eusébio would also score in the Seleção das Quinas’ next two matches, first in the 2-1 defeat against the English hosts in the semi-final and then in the third place match won 2-1 in front of Soviet Union, which allowed him to finish top scorer in the competition with nine goals.
