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This weekend England face the ultimate road game at this World Cup.
Sunday’s round of 16 match against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium will present challenges beyond what the Three Lions have faced so far. The altitude, the hostile atmosphere, plus all the extra game that awaits – it’s all part of the experience of taking on El Tri in Mexico City.
It is also poignant theatre.
There’s nothing like a big World Cup match involving the host nation, and when the team has a famously impressive home record – which Mexico certainly does at the Azteca – there’s a real intimidation factor. Six times the men’s tournament has been won by the home country, most recently in 1998. But there is hope for England. Some of the most famous matches in World Cup history were matches that the home team actually lost.
Here’s a look at home field advantage over the years:
Italy, 1934
(Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
The first two World Cups were won by the hosts – Uruguay in 1930 and then Italy in 1934. The latter became infamous due to Benito Mussolini’s use of the tournament as a political tool – and perhaps his influence on referees?
“The Fascist regime misused the event politically,” Italian writer Marco Impiglia said almost 80 years later. “It was a dubious victory and it raised a lot of doubts at the time.”
Admittedly, four years later, Italy became the first team to win a World Cup away from home, triumphing in France.
Brazil, 1950
(Photo credit should read STAFF/AFP via Getty Images)
The Brazilian men have won a record five World Cups but have never won on home soil. The hosts needed only a draw against Uruguay to take the title in 1950 – there was a final group stage rather than a one-off title game – but with perhaps 200,000 on hand at Rio’s Maracanã Stadium, the Brazilians went down to an unthinkable 2-1 defeat.
Alcides Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal, once said that only three people had silenced the Maracana: “The Pope, Frank Sinatra and me.”
That loss in 1950 loomed large when Brazil hosted again in 2014 – and the team’s semi-final loss to Germany may have been even more embarrassing. At least that time, the tension was removed early as the visitors scored a flurry of first-half goals en route to a 7-1 rout.
England, 1966
(Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
England’s solitary World Cup title came on home soil, and not without controversy. In the final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium, Geoff Hurst’s extra-time shot bounced over the crossbar. Did it go in or not? Finish line technology was still decades away.
The officials awarded the goal, which put England 3-2 up. Hurst later scored again to complete a hat-trick and the final score was 4–2.
Argentina, 1978
(Photo by Mirror Syndication International/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
The Netherlands lost back-to-back finals in 1974 and 1978 – both times losing to the host nation. In 1974, the Dutch scored early but lost 2-1 to West Germany. Four years later they had to take on Argentina in front of a crazy crowd in Buenos Aires. The Argentines took the field several minutes after the Dutch, leaving the visitors alone in front of the hostile fans. Then there were arguments about whether Rene van de Kerkhof would be able to play with a cast on. Argentina eventually won 3-1 in extra time.
The Dutch almost met Brazil in that final. Argentina needed at least four goals against Peru in its last match in its second-round group to reach the final. The Argentines won 6-0, leading to plenty of conspiracy theories.
Italy, 1990
(Photo credit should read PASCAL GEORGE/AFP via Getty Images)
Sometimes it’s not entirely clear who the home team really is. At least that’s what Diego Maradona hoped as Argentina prepared to face Italy in the 1990 semi-finals in Naples. A club star for Napoli, Maradona was loved there, but would the local fans really be rooting for him and Argentina against their own country? Maradona certainly tried to create a division between northern and southern Italy.
“After so much racism, they are only now rushing to remember that Naples is part of Italy,” Maradona told Corriere dello Sport. “Now that they have beaten the Neapolitans in every possible way, someone is telling them that they are Italians, that only Italy counts. It is unbelievable, absurd, offensive.”
In the end, fans cheered for Italy, but Argentina became the first team in the entire tournament to score against the Italians, creating a 1–1 draw. Then Argentina won the penalty shootout to eliminate the Azzurri. In the final in Rome, Argentina received an unpleasant reception and lost to West Germany.
France, 1998
(Photo by Bongarts/Getty Images)
The last host nation to win the title was France, who had never gone all the way until 1998. The French had not even qualified for the 1990 or 1994 World Cups, but at home they reached the final, denying Brazil a repeat championship.
South Korea, 2002
(Photo by PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL / AFP via Getty Images)
The 2002 World Cup was hosted by Japan and South Korea, with the latter making a remarkable run to the semi-finals. Italy and Spain saw little to celebrate about the Korean breakthrough.
After the Italians lost to South Korea in extra time in the round of 16, FIFA said they received hundreds of thousands of emails from Italian fans furious at the ruling. In the quarter-finals, South Korea beat Spain on penalties after the Spaniards had several goals disallowed.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter denied any conspiracy but acknowledged some bad calls.
Report from the Associated Press.
