Alan Hansen on top form last night as he was sneeringly patronising about New Zealand. His failings as a pundit are being highlighted this year by the excellent performance of new BBC signing Clarence Seedorf. Seedorf is everything Hansen could have been, maybe once was, if he hadn't settled for the lazy route of interminable banter with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.

10th September 1985.
Scotland clinch a draw with Wales to get to the play offs for the 1986 World Cup final. A typically Scottish story. Needing a point we go behind, lose a goalkeeper when he loses a contact lense and need a late penalty to get the job done.
And then the world seemed to collapse.

The 1982 World Cup semifinal in Seville between France and West Germany was a stunning game of football. It finished 3-3 after extra time, and then West Germany won (as usual) on penalties. Despite those six goals, the semifinal is mostly remembered for just one thing.

When Raymond Domenech leads the French team onto the field on Sunday, in their World Cup friendly versus Tunisia tomorrow, he will equal Michel Hildago's record of 75 matches in charge of Les Bleus. But unlike Domenech, Hildago is a revered figure in France's footballing history. He led the France team of the midfield "magic square" of Michel Plantini, Jean Tigana, Alan Giresse and Luis Fernandez to the 1984 European Championship and the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup, where France lost to West Germany.

In the latest New Statesman there's an interesting article by Gary Younge on his relationship with the England team. In it he notes that, in the international arena, Scotland have "found a way to enter into the spirit of being lovable fuck ups." It's easy to recognise what he's talking about, the sing and drink at all costs mentality that I'm not entirely comfortable with and which found its

Today's Group A game between Uruguay and Mexico seems to be attracting conspiracy theories already. With both teams needing just a point to progress is there a risk that they'll both settle for a draw? It's a tricky one. Our collective memory of such things is coloured by the footage of West Germany and Austria and their 1982 farce.

The obligatory YouTube round up.
The big game was the final of Euro 2008 when Spain took the trophy but will restrict ourselves to the World Cup.
We begin with the glamour of Birmingham in 1966. And a German win:
1982 and the hosts are on the losing side as Germany repeat their 2-1 win from 1966:
And 1994.

It's not penalties, it's art This is pretty impressive in a geeky sort of way. A group of French artists took it upon themselves to re-enact France's penalty shootout defeat to Germany in the 1982 World Cup. The ambitious lot had initially hoped to do the entire match before spotting a few tiny logistical problems.

It's not penalties, it's art This is pretty impressive in a geeky sort of way. A group of French artists took it upon themselves to re-enact France's penalty shootout defeat to Germany in the 1982 World Cup. The ambitious lot had initially hoped to do the entire match before spotting a few tiny logistical problems.

Today, Italy and the Football world mourn Enzo Bearzot, the man who lead Italy to victory in the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain. Bearzot, 83, died in Milan after battling a long illness.
Bearzot, a defender, began his playing at Pro Gorizia in 1946 and went on to play for Inter, Catania, and Torino before retiring as a player in 1964.