THE LOWDOWN — THE FULL HISTORY
THE IDEA
The final is the party; the semi-final is the murder. A five-minute film through every World Cup semi-final from 1930 to 2026.
THE EARLY YEARS
In Montevideo in 1930, both semi-finals finished 6-1. Mussolini's Italy won in 1934 and 1938. In 1950 there were no semi-finals at all, just a final group. A 17-year-old Pelé scored three in the 1958 semi-final.
THE CLASSICS
Bobby Charlton scored twice as England beat Portugal 2-1 at Wembley in 1966. Italy beat West Germany 4-3 at the Azteca in 1970, five goals in extra time. For 1974 and 1978 a second group stage replaced the semi-finals. Seville 1982 brought the first World Cup penalty shootout.
THE MODERN ERA
Lilian Thuram's only France goals, two of them, in 1998. Grosso in the 119th minute in Dortmund, 2006. Puyol's header in 2010. The 7-1 in Belo Horizonte, 2014. Croatia, a nation of four million, in 2018, and Morocco, Africa's first semi-finalist, in 2022.
NOW
Forty semi-finals in 96 years, with two more in 2026.
MORE FROM WORLD CUP 2026
THE TERRACES — DISCUSSION
The argument also lives in the YouTube comments ↗.