Wild World Cup trivia — Part I: goal fests, red cards and a match that turned into a boxing bout

The World Cup is like that: every four years, some game delivers a scene no one could have imagined. Video-game scorelines, referees handing out cards like flyers at a subway exit, a mid-sized city crammed inside a stadium. In this first part, three stories that still sound made up — but really happened.

12 goals in a single game — is this the World Cup or a video game?

In 1954, at the World Cup held in Switzerland, Austria and Switzerland decided 90 minutes weren't enough for a quiet match. The final score was Austria 7, Switzerland 5 — 12 goals in total. It is the record for most goals in a single game in World Cup history.

For perspective: the average number of goals per game at the 2022 World Cup was 2.7. That single match packed in roughly four and a half regular games in one afternoon. The ironic detail is that Austria, even after winning the goal fest, was knocked out in the semifinal by West Germany. They scored seven and went home right after.

The Battle of Nuremberg — World Cup or boxing ring?

The 2006 World Cup in Germany had many great matches. It also had one that the referee probably still has nightmares about: Portugal 1–0 Netherlands, in the round of 16. Russian official Valentin Ivanov left the pitch with a frightening stat line.

• 16 yellow cards handed out
• 4 red cards (2 for each side)
• A lone goal from Maniche, almost forgotten in the chaos

That's more cards than many entire tournaments produce. Players sent off, others limping around, and the referee reaching for his pocket at every hard challenge. The press dubbed it the 'Battle of Nuremberg' — and not as a compliment. To this day it remains the record for most red cards in a single World Cup match.

"I've never seen a referee work so hard and achieve so little."

— Commentators on Valentin Ivanov's performance in Portugal vs Netherlands, 2006

The penalty shootout that stopped half the world's heart

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar delivered one of the most nerve-wracking penalty shootouts in recent memory: Argentina vs Netherlands in the quarterfinals. After a bruising match that ended 2–2 in extra time, the spot kicks came. And what happened there was almost cinematic.

Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano 'Dibu' Martínez turned into a horror-movie villain for the Dutch: he danced on his line, taunted before every kick and made saves at the right moments. Argentina went through 4–3, and the atmosphere in the stadium was heart-attack level — for those watching and, especially, for those taking the kicks.

Worth remembering the final of that World Cup too, between Argentina and France: 3–3 through regulation and extra time, 4–2 in the shootout for the Argentines, with Gonzalo Montiel converting the last kick and handing Messi the title. Epic barely covers it.

Continued in Part II

In the next installment of the compilation: the biggest attendance in World Cup history, the silence of 200,000 people at the Maracanã all at once, and the statistical battle between Brazil and Germany for the crown of top-scoring nation in World Cup history.