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Iconic World Cup Photos

Iconic World Cup Photos

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Every World Cup has iconic images that come to represent unforgettable moments — the good, the bad or just plain fascinating — for which that year’s event will be remembered. While there were hundreds of quality contenders, the following are some of the most iconic World Cup photos of all time.

Sources: DailyMail.co.uk, BleacherReport.com, MensFitness.com, IBTimes.com, UK.Eurosport.Yahoo.com, Slate.com

DailyMail.co.uk PA Archive/Press Association Image
DailyMail.co.uk
PA Archive/Press Association Image

The last time England won a World Cup trophy

The year 1966 marked the last time England was named FIFA World Cup champion. Understandably, the team was exuberant after winning the trophy on home soil. This iconic photo shows England’s captain Bobby Moore, trophy in hand, being carried on the shoulders of teammates Geoff Hurst and Ray Wilson.

DailyMail.co.uk
DailyMail.co.uk

Alf Ramsey says, “Keep your shirts on!”

During the quarterfinal match-up between Argentina and England in 1966, tensions were running high when the Argentinian captain, Antonio Rattin, was sent off by officials for bad language (despite the fact that the referee was German, and spoke no Spanish). Rattin refused to leave the pitch for some time, before eventually acquiescing. England’s manager, Alf Ramsey, famously refused to let his players swap shirts with the Argentinian team after the match due to the hostile way in which the Argentinian team had played, resulting in this photo. The rivalry between Argentina and England has only grown to this day.

LaciudaDeportiva.com
LaciudaDeportiva.com

Gazza’s tears

During the 1990 World Cup semi-final match-up between England and West Germany, English midfielder Paul Gascoigne was booked during extra time, which would have ruled him out of the finals should England had won the match. This emotional photo demonstrates the passion with which football stars play the game for their countries, and the immense pressure of the World Cup.

SportsKeeda.com
SportsKeeda.com

Zinedine Zidane’s coup de tête

The 2006 World Cup in Germany is perhaps best remembered for the incredible head butt that French captain Zinedine Zidane executed on Italian Marco Materazzi in the final match of the tournament. It resulted in a red card, and Zidane’s ejection from the match, which France would go on to lose in penalty kicks. This photo, taken by Martin Rose, captures a dejected Zidane walking past the World Cup trophy as he exited the pitch, a foreshadowing of the final result of the tournament.

Flickr.com Tim Killeen
Flickr.com
Tim Killeen

Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God”

During the 1986 World Cup, Argentina’s Diego Maradona famously punched in a goal, using his hand, to give his team a 2-1 vicotry over England in the quarter-finals. Argentina would go on to win the entire tournament. He later claimed “the hand of God” had helped him score. The controversial goal, and resulting photo, would go down in football history.

TheaGameSite.com
TheaGameSite.com

Bobby Moore and Pele’s shirt swap

The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was a memorable tournament, and the group-stage match between England and Brazil matched English Capt. Bobby Moore against Brazil’s superstar, Pele. Brazil won the match 1-0, but the immense respect between the two players resulted in this famous image of their shirt swap following the match.

kansascitystar.com
kansascitystar.com

Pele’s exuberant celebrating

Netting two iconic photos in the same tournament, the image of Brazil’s Pele being carried by his teammates following Brazil’s championship win in 1970 also goes down in World Cup history. Pele led his team to three World Cup trophies, and is still widely considered to be one of the greatest-ever football players.

DailyMail.co.uk
DailyMail.co.uk

Argentina’s ticker tape

The 1978 World Cup hosted in Argentina introduced celebratory ticker tape into football, as the host country ended up winning the tournament altogether. This image of the pitch clouded by ticket tape demonstrated Argentinians’ intense love of football and pride in their national team.

DailyMail.co.uk
DailyMail.co.uk

Roger Milla’s dancing

Roger Milla, one of the greatest Cameroonian players of all time, helped show the world that Cameroon was a force to be reckoned with in the 1990 World Cup. This photo showing Milla celebrating and dancing around the corner flag was taken after he had scored four goals during the round of 16 to help his team advance to the quarter finals for the first time in the nation’s history.

MensFitness.com
MensFitness.com

The first World Cup and the world’s most dapper referee

This photo, taken July 30, 1930, was shot during the first World Cup ever, held in Uruguay. Though it is meant to show the Uruguayan and Argentinian captains, Jose Nasazzi and Manuel Ferreira, respectively, exchanging pennants, one can’t help but focus on the full suit and tie that the tournament referee was rocking at the time. Oh, how times have changed.