Last time teams like Uruguay (although in dubious circumstances) made it pretty far as well, which was hugely exciting for those who didn’t imagine a team with such an underdog status taking globally top-ranked teams to the cleaners. Whether you’re football-mad or a partypoker player who put some money on a particular team, you were likely on the edge of your seat for a lot of the matches.

That’s what the World Cup is, really – tension. But on a far higher scale, relative to your everyday league match, primarily because your everyday league match doesn’t feature some of the best football players in the world, if not in history, facing off against each other in a patriotic battle of wits and skill on the pitch. There’s nothing like it.

This upcoming year could see some interesting changes, especially with teams who have an ongoing losing saga, such as England – always coming so close, but never quite pulling it together enough to take home the trophy. However, with world-class players like Wayne Rooney being given another opportunity to finally demonstrate the level of skill abroad that they do at home, it could really be something to watch.

So until 2014, we will argue, discuss, think, predict, and place bets to see what happens when the teams finally take their first steps onto the grass in what we’re sure will be another memorable event for football.

The United States won the game 2–1, and as a result, the heavily favored Colombian side was eliminated from the World Cup in the first round. It is widely believed that he was murdered because of this own goal (supposedly because of gambling losses incurred by several powerful drug lords after Colombia lost the match).

Early in the morning of July 3, 1994, Escobar was reportedly alone in his car in the parking lot of “El Indio” bar, located in a suburb of the Colombian city of Medellín, when three men appeared. They reportedly began arguing with him, and two of the men took out handguns. It was reported that the killer shouted “¡Gracias por el auto gol en la propia puerta!” (Spanish for “Thanks for scoring on your own goal!”) for each of the 12 bullets fired from a .38 caliber pistol. The men then escaped in a Toyota pickup truck. Escobar was taken to a hospital, and was pronounced dead 45 minutes later.

Humberto Castro Muñoz, a bodyguard for members of a powerful Colombian cartel, confessed to killing Escobar, and was found guilty of Escobar’s murder in June 1995. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced to 26 years because of his submitting to the ruling penal code in 2001. He was released on good behavior due to further reductions from prison work and study in 2005 (after serving approximately 11 years). His three accomplices were never charged.

Winners Uruguay

Teams 13

Teams in qualifiers N/A
Notable absentees Of the major European countries, only France took part
Surprises USA , who finished third
Golden Boot Guillermo Stábile ( Argentina ) – 8
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (3.89 per match); Argentina (18) scored the most
Format One group of four and three groups of three in the qualifying stage, with the top from each group going into the semi-finals

Number of matches 18

———–

World Cup 1934

Winners Italy

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 32
Notable absentees Holders Uruguay , England
Surprises Egypt
Golden Boot Oldrich Nejedlý ( Czechoslovakia ) – 5
Stats A total of 70 goals were scored (4.12 per match); Italy (12) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches

Number of matches 17

———–

World Cup 1938

Winners Italy

Teams 15

Teams in qualifiers 37
Notable absentees Argentina , England , Spain , Uruguay
Surprises Dutch East Indies ( Indonesia ), Cuba
Golden Boot Leônidas ( Brazil ) – 7
Stats A total of 84 goals were scored (4.67 per match); Hungary (15) scored the most
Format Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches

Number of matches 18

———–

World Cup 1950

Winners Uruguay

Teams 13

Teams in qualifiers 34
Notable absentees France, Germany , Hungary
Surprises Bolivia
Golden Boot Ademir ( Brazil ) – 9
Stats A total of 88 goals were scored (4.00 per match); Brazil (22) scored the most
Format Four groups, with the winners of each progressing to a four-team round-robin final group. Withdrawals meant there were two groups of four, one of three and one of two

Number of matches 22

———–

World Cup 1954

Winners West Germany

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 45
Notable absentees Spain
Surprises Korean Republic
Golden Boot Sándor Kocsis ( Hungary ) – 11
Stats A total of 140 goals were scored (5.38 per match); Hungary (27) scored the most
Format Four groups of four with two seeded and two unseeded teams in each group. However, the teams played just two matches per group rather than the usual three, with the seeded sides facing unseeded sides. Where teams ended up tied for the second qualifying position by points, they required a play-off. The two teams finishing at the top of their group went through to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 26

———–

World Cup 1958

Winners Brazil

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 45
Notable absentees Italy , Uruguay
Surprises Wales , Northern Ireland
Golden Boot Just Fontaine (France) – 13
Stats A total of 126 goals were scored (3.60 per match); France (23) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 35

———–

World Cup 1962

Winners Brazil

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 56
Notable absentees Sweden
Surprises Colombia
Golden Boot Garrincha, Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia) , Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (USSR) – 4
Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Brazil (14) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches 32

———–

World Cup 1966

Winners England

Teams 16

Teams in qualifiers 70
Notable absentees None
Surprises North Korea
Golden Boot Eusébio ( Portugal ) – 9
Stats A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Portugal (17) scored the most
Format Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches 32

———–

World Cup 1970

Winners Brazil

Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 75
Number of matches 32

Notable absentees Argentina , France, Portugal , Spain

Surprises Morocco , the first African qualifiers since World War II

Golden Boot Gerd Muller ( Germany ) – 10

———–

World Cup 1974

Winners West Germany

Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 99
Notable absentees England , France, Hungary , Spain , USSR
Surprises Australia , Haiti and Zaire
Golden Boot Grzegorz Lato ( Poland ) – 7
Stats A total of 97 goals were scored (2.55 per match); Poland (16) scored the most
Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group going into a second round of two four-team groups and the winners facing each other in the final

Number of matches 38

———–

World Cup 1978

Winners Argentina

Teams 16
Teams in qualifiers 107
Notable absentees England , Czechoslovakia , USSR
Surprises Iran , Tunisia

Golden Boot Mario Kempes ( Argentina ) – 6
Stats A total of 102 goals were scored (2.68 per match); Argentina and Netherlands (15) scored the most
Format Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group into a second round of two groups of four, the top side in each progressing into the final

Number of matches 38

———–

World Cup 1982

Winners Italy

Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 109
Notable absentees Netherlands , Mexico
Surprises Algeria , Cameroon , Honduras , Kuwait , New Zealand

Golden Boot Paolo Rossi ( Italy ) – 6
Stats A total of 146 goals were scored (2.81 per match); France (16) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the second round, where they split into four groups of three. The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals

Number of matches 52

———–

World Cup 1986

Winners Argentina

Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 121
Notable absentees Netherlands
Surprises Canada , Iraq

Golden Boot Gary Lineker ( England ) – 6
Stats A total of 132 goals were scored (2.54 per match); Argentina (14) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third-place finishers

Number of matches 52

———–

World Cup 1990

Winners West Germany

Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 116
Notable absentees Denmark , France, Portugal
Surprises Costa Rica , Republic of Ireland , UAE
Golden Boot Salvatore Schillaci ( Italy ) – 6
Stats A total of 115 goals were scored (2.21 per match), which was the lowest goals-per-match ratio in World Cup history; West Germany (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third place finishers
Number of matches 52

———–

World Cup 1994

Winners Brazil

Teams 24
Teams in qualifiers 147
Notable absentees England , France
Surprises Greece , Nigeria , Saudi Arabia
Golden Boot Hristo Stoichkov ( Bulgaria ), Oleg Salenko ( Russia ) – 6
Stats A total of 141 goals were scored (2.71 per match); Sweden (15) scored the most
Format Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best 3rd place finishers
Number of matches 52

———–

World Cup 1998

Winners France

Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 174
Notable absentees Russia
Surprises Jamaica , Japan , South Africa
Golden Boot Davor Suker ( Croatia ) – 6
Stats A total of 171 goals were scored (2.67 per match); France (15) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64

———–

World Cup 2002

Winners Brazil

Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 199
Notable absentees Netherlands
Surprises Senegal , South Korea , Turkey
Golden Boot Ronaldo ( Brazil ) – 8
Stats A total of 161 goals were scored (2.52 per match); Brazil (18) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64

———–

World Cup 2006

Winners Italy

Teams 32
Teams in qualifiers 198
Notable Absentees Cameroon , Nigeria
Surprises Angola , Ivory Coast , Ghana , Togo , Trinidad & Tobago
Golden Boot Miroslav Klose ( Germany ) – 5
Stats A total of 147 goals were scored (2.30 per match); Germany (14) scored the most
Format Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches 64

———–

World Cup 2010

Winners Spain

Teams 32
Golden Boot Thomas Mueller (Germany) – 5. Spain’s David Villa, Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan also had five goals, but Mueller won based on his number of assists.

In what must be regarded as the mistake of his life, and with his team leading 1-0, England goalie Robert Green somehow managed  to fumble a tame shot from the USA’s Clint Dempsey, and the ball trickled agonizingly into the back of the net. Several England goalkeepers from the past (including Scott Carson, Paul Robinson and David Seaman) have all had terrible blunders, but none of the lot was quite a hapless as Green’s mishandling of Clint Dempsey’s goal. Video below.