The 10 greatest games in World Cup history

1. Algeria 2, West Germany 1 - 1982/group stage

As upsets go, this was huge. It was also wonderful entertainment and gave all the underdogs the encouragement to take the game to the big guns and not be intimidated by reputations.

And they didn’t come any bigger than beating West Germany 32 years ago. The defending European champions had Karl-Heinz Rumminigge, Pierre Littbarski and Paul Breitner in their lineup.

It was the opening game of the group and expected to be a stroll for the Germans. But the Algerians gave as good as they got in the opening 45 minutes and went into the break level. Nine minutes into the second half and their swift, counter-attacking style was rewarded with the opening goal as Rabah Madjer pounced on a deflected shot. Rumminigge restored parity on 67 minutes before Algeria broke the game open just 60 seconds later when national hero Lakhdar Belloumi latched onto a cross after some brilliant lead-up work.

2. Portugal 5, North Korea 3 - 1966/quarterfinals

After stunning the world by beating Italy in the group stages, North Korea then looked set to grab another high-profile European scalp – Portugal – in the quarterfinals.

Incredibly, they raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 25 minutes before the Portuguese woke up. The next 65 minutes then belonged to the brilliant Eusebio, who embarked on a personal crusade to get his side into the final four. He reduced the lead in the 27th minute and got Portugal back to 3-2 with his first penalty on the stroke of halftime.

The Koreans still offered resistance in the second half and it took a good 20 minutes before they were finally subdued. Eusebio added two more, including another penalty conceded by the increasingly reckless Koreans, before Jose Augusto completed the amazing comeback with the fifth.

3. Italy 3, Brazil 2 - 1982/second round

This was widely considered the best Brazilian team of all time. Even better than 1970! With stars like Zico, Socrates, Falcao and Junior, it was a worldwide expectation that they would win the whole thing.

But they had major deficiencies as well, particularly in defense and the lack of a renowned goalscorer, and Italy exposed them in ruthless fashion.

The Azzurri came to Spain haunted by domestic scandal and actually only scrapped into the second round after an unconvincing draw against Cameroon.

But they found their form against Brazil as striker Paolo Rossi, coming off two years of national team exclusion, banged in a hat-trick. It was full-on attack as Rossi scored on five minutes before Socrates equalized seven minutes later. Brazil had little time to celebrate before Rossi scored again.

What followed for the next 40 minutes was total Brazilian domination without being able to break down the stubborn Italians. Falcao finally restored parity in the 69th minute, but the Italians weren’t done and Rossi snuck in to grab the winner in the 74th minute.

4. Italy 2, Germany 0 - 2006/semifinal

This showed that goals are not necessarily needed for a game to be considered a classic as for 118 minutes neither side could convert.

It was indeed remarkable how a goal was not scored until Fabio Grosso’s effort in the 119th minute as there were so many chances. The hosts just couldn’t find a way past Gianluigi Buffon, who pulled off two particularly notable saves from Lukas Podolski and Bernd Schneider.

Italy, for their part, hit the post twice early in extra time through Alberto Gilardino and Gianluca Zambrotta and penalties, which seemed to be a common theme in 2006, looked inevitable. But Grosso floated in a superb strike before Aleesandro del Piero hit the second.

5. Argentina 2, England 2 (4-3 PKs) - 1998/second round

Eight years after the heartbreak of Turin came another England World Cup exit courtesy of their inability to meet the pressure of penalty kicks.

This game had everything — a nasty undercurrent dating back to Diego Maradona’s 1986 “Hand of God” goal, the precocious talent of Michael Owen, a David Beckham sending off, some impressive counter-attacking play and another England collapse. In truth, it was a game England should have really won.

Gabriel Batistuta opened the scoring for Argentina on six minutes from the penalty spot before Alan Shearer responded in kind four minutes later. Michael Owen then scored the goal of the tournament on 12 minutes but Javier Zanetti got Argentina back in the match right on halftime. Beckham got his marching orders early in the second half for kicking Diego Simeone, but his early exit only seemed to galvanize England and they missed some golden chances to win it.

When the game went to penalties, there was almost a feeling of inevitability about the result. And it came as no surprise when Paul Ince and David Batty both missed.

6. Belgium 4, Soviet Union 3 - 1986/Round of 16

There is much talk about the current golden generation of Belgium players and the impact they could have in Brazil. But 28 years ago in Mexico, they had a pretty decent side as well and featured in this amazing round of 16 clash with the Soviet Union.

Led by 20-year-old protégée Enzo Scifo, who appeared in four World Cups over a 15-year career for his country, Belgium pulled off a shock win over a team that had scored nine goals in their previous three matches.

Certainly Belgium had given no indication previously that a performance of this stature was coming, but once Soviet Union striker Igor Belanov opened the scoring in the 27th minute, they responded impressively. Scifo equalized early in the second half before things heated up in the last 20 minutes. A mistake let Belanov in for his second on 69 minutes, but Jan Ceulemans got Belgium back on level terms on 75 minutes.

Belgium took control in extra time as Stephane De Mol put Belgium ahead before Nico Claesen, who would earn a transfer to Tottenham on the back of his tournament performances, added a fourth.

Belgium sprang another surprise over Spain in the quarterfinals before bowing out to Argentina in the semifinals.

7. Brazil 1, England 0 - 1970/group stage

Many have lamented that this game was played so early in the tournament. It was certainly worthy of a final — such was the breathtaking levels of skill on display.

England were seen as even better than the squad that won the tournament four years earlier, built on rock-solid defense and an intuitive counter-attacking style. And of course, the Brazilian team has been roundly rated as the greatest ever.

The attacking was ceaseless, the defense immaculate and goalkeeping superb. The game featured a bit of everything, including what is widely agreed upon as the greatest save of all time as Gordon Banks touched Pele’s goal-bound header around the post.

Ultimately it was decided by a solitary Brazilian goal from flying winger Jairzinho in the 59th minute, but England had their chance to force the equalizer and were actually the better team, which is really saying something.

Brazil went on to win the tournament while England were knocked out in the quarterfinals by West Germany in a match they led 2-0 and could have also entered this top 10 list.

8. West Germany 1, England 1 (4-3 PKs) - 1990/semifnals

The origins of England’s nightmare with penalties can be traced back to this fateful game in Turin.

After dominating the previous 120 minutes and only being rewarded with a 1-1 draw, England famously self-destructed as first Stuart Pearce and then Chris Waddle went down in infamy.

Pearce blasted his penalty into the legs of Bodo Ilgner before Waddle skied his attempt well over the bar. Waddle’s misfortune and subsequent reaction wasn’t the only unforgettable image of the match.

Earlier, Paul Gascoigne was left in tears after he realized he would be ineligible for the final after being booked.

9. Romania 3, Argentina 2 - 1994/Round of 16

Most countries can lay claim to at least one golden generation of talent. In Romania’s case, they had the talent to build around one of the most gifted playmakers in the game’s history — Gheorghe Hagi — 20 years ago.

The Real Madrid and Barcelona midfielder was at his undisputed peak in 1994 — and a Diego Maradona-less Argentina were on the receiving end.

Maradona had been thrown out of the tournament just days earlier for a positive drug test — and with fellow frontman Claudio Canniggia also out, Argentina were rattled.

In the steaming cauldron of the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles, the two teams turned on an exhilarating display of counter-attacking football as defense became somewhat of an afterthought.

Ultimately, it was Hagi and former Tottenham striker Ilie Dumitrescu who decided the match.

Dumitrescu opened the scoring with a curling free-kick the goalkeeper really should have done better with before Batistuta equalized five minutes later from the penalty spot.

Two minutes later and Romania were back in front through Dumitrescu, with help from Hagi, and Argentina were forced to chase the game.

Romania’s beautiful ball movement and the inexhaustible energy proved too much for Argentina and Hagi put the game beyond doubt in the 58th minute — although Abel Balbo put a few hearts in Romanian mouths with a consolation goal 10 minutes from time.

10. South Korea 2, Italy 1 - 2002/Round of 16

Led by the inimitable Guus Hiddink and backed by an adoring, passionate fan base, South Korea knocked them out as the much-maligned Ahn Jung-hwan went villain to hero with an extra-time winner.

And it wasn’t as if Italy were under-strength in any way. With the likes of Del Piero, Buffon, Maldini, Totti and Inzaghe, they almost had an embarrassment of riches.

Korea missed a golden chance to open the scoring on five minutes when Buffon beat away Ahn’s spot-kick and were punished 13 minutes later when Christian Vieri opened the scoring with a near-post header.

South Korea pushed for an equalizer and were finally rewarded in the 88th minute with a Seol Ki-hyeon goal. Totti was then sent off for simulation, when a penalty should have been awarded, before Ahn flicked in a far post header to seal the game for the hosts.

In an amazing aftermath to the match, Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci canceled Ahn’s club contract and was quoted as saying, “I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football.”

This story originally appeared on News.com.au