51 games down, one to go – the World Cup Final. It’s a historic occasion.  Whoever comes out on top – Italy or Brazil – will be the first nation to win the World Cup four times.   Memories of 1970 are evoked but the idea of Brazil’s pragmatic class of ’94 emulating Pelé and co is laughable.  Italy, meanwhile, seem to be running out of players, with Roberto Baggio playing despite carrying a hamstring injury that blunts his effectiveness.  The much-hyped showdown between Romario and Baggio fails to materialise.  The blistering heat is inimical to quality football.  The match turns out to be a dull, disappointing climax to a great tournament.  It finishes goalless and goes to penalties – a tiebreaking method that almost creates a moral panic from journalists and commentators as the greatest competition in the world is reduced to a shootout.

Italian and Brazilian national anthems are from https://nationalanthems.info/

Thanks for your listening support in 2024.

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I’m joined by Jon Spurling, a football author who has been a fixture on my bookshelf over the last two decades. Some of Jon’s books are “All Guns Blazing:  Arsenal in the 80s”, “Top Guns: Arsenal in the 90s”, “Rebels for the Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal FC”, “Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup” and “Get It On: How the 70s Rocked Football”.

Here we discuss Jon’s latest book, “Go To War: Football on the Brink in the '80s”, which was released on 29th October 2024.  We take an overview of a tumultuous decade in the sport, with a specific focus on England’s World Cup campaigns of 1982 and 1986, as Ron Greenwood leads England on a bumpy road back to the international stage, after the lost decade of the 1970s.  Then, we discuss Bobby Robson’s first major tournament – Mexico 86 – where his England team was stopped by the Hand (and left foot) of God.

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The penultimate episode of the series and we’ve got the semi-finals.  Roberto Baggio produces one of the best

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We’ve reached the quarter-finals of USA 94, a set of games which feature dramatic late twists. It’s The Baggio Show in Boston as Italy beat Spain, with Dino opening the scoring and Roberto grabbing a late winner. Brazil unveil a famous celebration but their march to glory is threatened by a Dutch comeback until Branco (liberated from the subs bench) produces a thunderbolt free-kick. Sweden versus Romania is an intriguing battle between two dark horses, with the game exploding into life late in the second half and going all the way to penalties. However, the tournament’s ultimate shock comes at the Giants Stadium where Germany, the reigning World Champions, are sent packing by a double whammy from Bulgaria.

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We're back with the last 16 of USA 94.  Klinsmann and Voller come up with the old magic as Germany find their touch.  Spain produce a performance that suggests they might finally be ready to end their decades of underachievement (yeah right).  Sweden’s Three Amigos – Brolin, Dahlin, Andersson – end Saudi Arabia’s dream run.  Romania and Argentina produce a match for the ages.  Packie Bonner’s butter fingers end Ireland’s hopes of a second successive quarter-final.  Independence Day is memorable in more ways than one as Team USA face the might of Brazil. Roberto Baggio’s divine intervention finally kickstarts Italy’s campaign.  Bulgaria break new ground as Mexico break the goal frame.  Hanging over the last 16 is the brutal murder of Andres Escobar and arguments over refereeing standards, as some games are plagued by controversial decisions, with FIFA giving several referees their marching orders.  

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This month, the group stage of USA 94 reaches a conclusion with many teams jockeying for position.  Stefan Effenberg efffectively ends his international career as the Germans have a narrow escape against South Korea, the Group of Death reaches gridlock, Saudi Arabia come up with arguably the goal of the tournament, Oleg Salenko and Roger Milla produce a day of records in San Francisco.  However, the real scandal and drama is saved for Group D, where Diego Maradona fails a drug test (a shocking moment yet, with hindsight, almost inevitable) and a pair of injury-time goals completely change the complexion of the final standings.

Thanks for listening.  World Cup Rambling will return in September.

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This month we’ve got the second set of group games, which produced some notable matches and moments.  Team USA triggering a soccer boom with a victory that will have fatal consequences elsewhere, Roy Hodgson’s swaggering Swiss putting the skids under Romania, a touchline explosion involving Jack Charlton and John Aldridge, Bulgaria ending one of the most embarrassing streaks in World Cup history, Arrigo Sacchi gambling his

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This month we’ll look at the opening pair of matches in each group at USA 94.  There was a raft of new laws on tackling, offside and the back pass, which FIFA hoped would liven up the show, after the stodginess of Italia 90.  The gaudy opening ceremony, and Diana Ross’s penalty miss (which foreshadowed the climax of the tournament), fuelled the scepticism about taking the World Cup to a country that knew nothing of soccer but everything of crass hype and empty razzmatazz.  Yet once the actual football got under way, all the fears fell away.  A memorable first set of games saw dark horses Romania stun the much-hyped Colombians, Jack Charlton’s Republic of Ireland enjoy their finest hour, the rise of new forces from Asia, Nigeria’s Super Eagles swooping down in style, Diego Maradona returning in typically exuberant fashion, and much more.

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Series 4 of World Cup Rambling and it's time to get in the DeLorean and go back thirty years for a mammoth odyssey through USA 94 - a very underrated tournament. We start the series by looking at why football (or "soccer") failed to take a hold in the United States, then having a look at the rise and fall of the North American Soccer League, America's failed bid to host the 1986 World Cup and, ultimately, the successful bid to host the 1994 World Cup, with the pitfalls on the path as the American organisers tried to deliver on the promises they made to FIFA. There will also be the customary whistle-stop tour through the 24 finalists.

Thanks to https://nationalanthems.info for the national anthems.

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A snippet of what you have to look forward to in Series 4 of World Cup Rambling, which starts on 2nd March 2024.

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