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The Hurst “Goal”- In the 1966 Cup Final, West Germany and England were deadlocked at 2-2 in extra time when Englishman Geoff Hurst kicked a hard shot on goal as he fell backwards. The ball beat the keeper but then struck the crossbar before bouncing down and being cleared by the Germans. The German team insisted that the ball didn’t cross the line, while the English argued that they had scored. The referee and linesman consulted with one another and awarded the goal to England. The furious German team’s arguments then fell on deaf ears as the Soviet linesman could not speak German. Hurst then proceeded to score another goal in the waning seconds of the match, giving him the only hat-trick in World Cup Final history. However, Hurst’s second goal remains one of the most widely debated and scrutinized World Cup plays to this day.

The “Hand of God”- In the 1986 quarterfinal, a miscue by the English defender allowed a ball that should have been cleared to roll into the penalty and in the direction of Argentinean Diego Maradona. English goalkeeper Peter Shilton burst out of the goal in an attempt to beat the Argentinean to the ball, and it appeared that Shilton, who had a considerable size advantage over Maradona, would succeed in clearing the threat. However, Maradona reached the ball first- with his left fist. The ball was punched into the goal and the referee, having not seen the handball, allowed the goal to stand. Maradona went on to score what is widely regarded as the greatest World Cup goal ever en route to an Argentinean victory that set the stage for another win against West Germany in the Final.

Walk-Off- The 1982 World Cup contest between Kuwait and France provided one of the most bizarre happenings in sports history. With France leading 3-1, Kuwaiti defenders suddenly stopped playing and stood still after thinking they had heard a whistle. However, this didn’t stop Frenchman Alain Giresse from breezing past the motionless players to blast in a fourth goal for the French. Prince Fahd Al-Ahmed Al-Jabar, the president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, threatened to have his players walk off the field if the goal wasn’t taken back. The referees surprisingly disallowed the goal and play continued, but further debate was averted as Franc e eventually won 4-1.

Late Whistle- Welsh referee Clive Thomas inadvertently penciled himself into World Cup lore after denying Brazil a late goal against Sweden in 1978. Locked in a 1-1 tie, Brazil floated in a corner kick which was then headed into the goal by Zico for an apparent score. However,Thomas disallowed the goal after blowing the whistle for full-time while the ball was in flight and the match ended 1-1.