The FIFA World Cup is football's most prestigious international tournament, an eagerly-anticipated quadrennial extravaganza that grabs the attention of billions across the globe.
Eight different countries have managed to get their hands on the iconic trophy, with South American giants Brazil winning a record five times.
Over the years, the World Cup has seen some of the greatest contests in football history, with several games remembered for spectacular goals, late drama, controversial decisions or even a penalty shootout.
Here, Sports Mole takes on the challenging task of selecting the top 10 greatest games in World Cup history.
10. France 4-3 Argentina (Last 16, Russia 2018)
A seven-goal thriller in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia saw eventual world champions France secure a 4-3 victory over Argentina.
While plenty of the pre-match focus was on legendary forward Lionel Messi, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe announced himself on the world's biggest stage with a fine display at the Kazan Arena, and it was his surging run from inside his own half that forced Marcos Rojo to bring the Frenchman down inside the penalty area in the 13th minute. Antoine Griezmann then converted the resulting spot kick to open the scoring.
A stunning long-range strike from Angel Di Maria drew Argentina level on the stroke of half time, before the South Americans took the lead for the first time just three minutes after the break when a strike from Messi took a fortunate deflection off teammate Gabriel Mercado, beating Hugo Lloris all ends up.
Benjamin Pavard's exceptional half-volley just before the hour mark then brought France back into the tie before two clinical strikes in the space of four second-half minutes from Mbappe gave Les Bleus what seemed a healthy two-goal cushion. Further drama occurred in the third minute of added time, with Sergio Aguero's glancing header from a fine Messi cross pulling one back for Argentina, but their last-ditch efforts were ultimately in vain.
9. Ghana 1-1 Uruguay - Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties (Quarter-final, South Africa 2010)
An extraordinary quarter-final contest filled with late drama took place in South Africa and saw Ghana's memorable World Cup run brought to an end in heartbreaking fashion by two-time world champions Uruguay.
Sulley Muntari unleashed an audacious 40-yard strike which flew past Fernando Muslera on the stroke of half time, before Uruguay captain and eventual Player of the Tournament Diego Forlan equalised 10 minutes after the interval with a powerful free kick.
Extra time was then required, which was where most of the drama unfolded in the dying embers, with Luis Suarez sent off after swatting the ball off the line with his hands to prevent a certain goal. However, Asamoah Gyan – who had scored two penalties earlier in the tournament – smacked his effort from 12 yards onto the top of the crossbar.
Gyan then bravely stepped up to convert Ghana's first spot kick in the shootout, but captain John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah both had low efforts saved by Muslera, before Uruguay's Sebastian Abreu's coolly-taken Panenka penalty sent the South Americans through to the semi-finals.
8. Uruguay 2-1 Brazil (Final, Brazil 1950)
Sixty years prior to Uruguay's quarter-final triumph over Ghana, La Celeste lifted their second World Cup after securing a famous comeback victory against tournament hosts Brazil in front of a record-breaking crowd, with around 200,000 spectators crammed into the Maracana Stadium.
A different format was in place at the 1950 tournament, with the winners determined by a final group stage between Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and Sweden. The former were sitting one point clear of Uruguay heading into their final fixture and they simply needed to avoid defeat to become world champions for the first time in their history, having previously thrashed Spain (7-1) and Sweden (6-1).
Brazil were so confident of success that morning newspapers had already crowned them as 'champions of the world' while a victory song was also written before the showpiece event. Indeed, the Selecao made a dominant start to proceedings and they eventually broke the deadlock two minutes after the break with a strike from Friaca.
However, Uruguay responded well and Juan Alberto Schiaffino levelled the score midway through the second half to silence the Maracana crowd, before Alcides Ghiggia's low driven shot 11 minutes from time crept under Brazil goalkeeper Barbosa to help La Celeste pull off a miraculous upset.
7. Brazil 4-1 Italy (Final, Mexico 1970)
At a tournament which saw Pele cement his legacy as one of the greatest players of all time, Brazil's 1970 squad sambaed their way to glory and capped off their memorable tournament with a 4-1 triumph in the final over Italy at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Both nations were vying to lift the Jules Rimet trophy for a third time, but it was the Selecao's effortless skill and attacking flair that helped them to prevail. Pele opened the scoring with a majestic header at the far post before Italy's Roberto Boninsegna took advantage of a defensive mishap to equalise eight minutes before the interval.
Brazil stepped up a gear in the second half and they regained the lead in the 66th minute when midfield maestro Gerson fired a sweet left-footed strike from outside the area into the far corner, before Jairzinho continued his run of scoring in every game at the 1970 World Cup when he scrambled the ball home five minutes later.
An iconic first-time thunderbolt from captain Carlos Alberto, who was teed up by Pele on the right side of the penalty area, then wrapped up a historic victory for arguably the greatest team to have graced the World Cup stage.
6. Italy 3-2 Brazil (Second group stage, Spain 1982)
One of the greatest attack-minded Brazil sides in World Cup history came up short in the second group phase against a resilient Italian outfit, with Paolo Rossi inspiring the Azzurri to victory in Barcelona with a memorable hat-trick in one of the great World Cup games.
During the 1982 tournament, Rossi received plenty of stick from back home following his return from a two-year footballing ban for match-fixing, and although he made a slow start in the first group phase, he was the star of the show against pre-tournament favourites Brazil and headed the Italians into an early fifth-minute lead.
Socrates finished off a well-worked Brazilian move to restore parity, before Rossi capitalised on a misplaced pass from Toninho Cerezo to put Italy back in front in the 25th minute. Roma's Falcao then fired Brazil level again midway through the second half, but it was Rossi who had the last laugh with a first-time finish from close range beating Waldir Peres all ends up in the 74th minute.
Italy's Giancarlo Antognoni wrongly had a goal disallowed for offside in the closing stages, before Dino Zoff made a crucial save to deny Oscar an equaliser in added time. Brazil required just a draw to progress ahead of Italy into the semi-finals, but the Azzurri held on for a famous victory before going all the way to lift their third world title.
5. Brazil 1-7 Germany (Semi-final, Brazil 2014)
One of the most sensational defeats in World Cup history was ironically suffered by the most successful nation of all. Brazil – who were without injured poster boy Neymar and suspended captain Thiago Silva – were humiliated in their own back yard as they conceded seven goals against eventual 2014 world champions Germany in Belo Horizonte.
The Selecao had conceded only four goals heading into the semi-final, but they were remarkably 5-0 down within the first 29 minutes, with just 179 seconds between the second and fourth goals scored by a rampant Die Mannschaft outfit. Toni Kroos netted a quick brace in this period, while Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose and Sami Khedira were also on the scoresheet.
While both sets of fans watched on in disbelief, Brazil continued to capitulate in the second half, with Andre Schurrle scoring a brace to put Germany seven goals to the good. The damage had already been done before Oscar netted a consolation strike in the 90th minute, with Brazil crashing out of the World Cup in spectacular fashion.
Many Selecao supporters were reduced to tears as the five-time world champions suffered their joint-heaviest defeat and their first in a competitive fixture on home soil for 39 years.
4. England 4-2 West Germany (Final, England 1966)
The greatest game in English football history took place in July 1966 when Sir Alf Ramsey's 'Wingless Wonders' lifted their first – and to date only – World Cup after winning an unforgettable final against European foes West Germany.
Almost 97,000 people were crammed into Wembley Stadium to watch Geoff Hurst – who was preferred up front ahead of the fit-again Jimmy Greaves – become the first and only player in World Cup history to score a hat-trick in the final.
It was West Germany who took a 12th-minute lead through Helmut Haller before England captain Bobby Moore picked out Hurst to head home an equaliser just six minutes later. The ball then kindly popped up for Martin Peters to fire Ramsey's men into the lead towards the back end of the second half, but an 89th-minute equaliser from Wolfgang Weber levelled the score at 2-2 to send the contest into extra time.
The momentum appeared to be with the Germans heading into the additional 30 minutes, but it was England who regained the lead in controversial fashion. Eleven minutes into extra time, Hurst swivelled inside the area and hit a shot that bounced down off the underside of the crossbar, with linesman Tofiq Bahramov deeming the ball to have crossed the line.
West Germany pushed their defenders forward in search of a late equaliser, but Moore and Hurst combined once again, with the latter racing through on goal before mis-hitting a left-footed shot which flew into the top-left corner, with Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous BBC commentary line, "They think it's all over... it is now" accompanying the historic strike which sealed victory for the Three Lions.
3. Italy 4-3 West Germany (Semi-final, Mexico 1970)
Five goals were scored in extra time when Italy locked horns with West Germany at the 1970 World Cup in an enthralling semi-final clash in Mexico City which has been dubbed the 'Game of the Century'.
The Azzurri were seemingly on course to claim a slender 1-0 win after Roberto Boninsegna netted in the eighth minute, but a dramatic 92nd-minute equaliser from Karl-Heinz Schnellinger – his first and only international goal – forced both nations into extra time.
In a topsy-turvy additional 30 minutes – which saw Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer forced to continue with a dislocated shoulder after Die Mannschaft had used up their two substitutes – three goals were scored in the first half of extra time, with Tarcisio Burgnich cancelling out a strike from Gerd Muller before a superb effort from Gigi Riva put Italy in front.
Muller then headed home from close range in the 110th minute to level the score at 3-3, but Italy immediately went up the other end from their kickoff to regain the lead, with Boninsegna teeing up Gianni Riviera to net the winning goal and send the Azzurri through to the final.
2. West Germany 3-3 France - West Germany win 5-4 on penalties (Semi-final, Spain 1982)
Six goals, back-and-forth drama, controversial refereeing and a nervy penalty shootout. The 1982 semi-final showdown between European juggernauts West Germany and France had everything, with the former eventually edging through to the final.
France icon Michel Platini converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half to cancel out Pierre Littbarski's opener, before the game's most infamous moment on the hour mark saw Les Blues defender Patrick Battiston forced off unconscious with a damaged vertebrae, three cracked ribs and two missing teeth following a horrific challenge from Germany goalkeeper Harald Schumacher that somehow went unpunished.
Both nations were eventually forced into extra time and it was France who came out the blocks quickly, with Marius Tresor and Hans-Peter Briegel netting within the opening six minutes. However, Germany began their fightback in the 102nd minute courtesy of a strike from substitute Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who began on the bench due to a troubling hamstring injury.
An acrobatic equaliser from Klaus Fischer then restored parity for the Germans and the thrilling contest was eventually decided on penalties. Schumacher saved two France spot kicks before Horst Hrubesch scored the decisive penalty to help Die Mannschaft win 5-4 in the shootout and progress to the final, where they ultimately lost to Italy.
1. Argentina 3-3 France - Argentina win 4-2 on penalties (Final, Qatar 2022)
Not only were Qatar the first nation from the Arab world to host a World Cup in 2022, they were also fortunate to stage arguably the greatest game - recency bias aside - the tournament has ever seen in its 22nd edition.
Over 88,000 supporters watched an all-time classic in Lusail Stadium and can say 'I was there' when Argentina icon Lionel Messi - now an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner - successfully led his nation to victory against defending champions France.
Les Bleus, managed by Didier Deschamps and bidding to become the first back-to-back World Cup champions since Brazil in 1962, found themselves two goals down inside the first 36 minutes after Messi's opener from the penalty spot was followed by a brilliant counter-attacking move finished off by Angel Di Maria.
Lionel Scaloni's Argentina appeared to be in control heading into the final 10 minutes, but two strikes in the space of just 90 seconds from French sensation Kylian Mbappe - a composed penalty followed by a superb volley into the far corner - restored parity in remarkable fashion to take the showpiece event to extra time.
The battle between two Paris Saint-Germain attackers continued in extra time, as Messi put Argentina back in front before Mbappe equalised and completed his hat-trick - becoming only the second man after England's Geoff Hurst in 1966 to score a World Cup final treble - with his second spot kick of the night in the 118th minute.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez then made a crucial saves to deny Randal Kolo Muani in the dying embers, sending the thrilling contest to a penalty shootout. The Aston Villa shot-stopper went on to deny Kingsley Coman from 12 yards, shortly before Aurelien Tchouameni missed the target, and Gonzalo Montiel was the man who tucked home Argentina's winner to secure their third World Cup trophy and first since the days of Diego Maradona in 1986.
Oliver Thomas
