Four months before the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the Jules Rim... | funfact.wiki | funfact.wiki
Four months before the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from a London exhibition. A week later, a dog named Pickles found it wrapped in newspaper under a south London hedge, and his owner received the reward.
In 1994, West Ham United fan Steve Davies was heckling his team's striker from the stands, yelling 'I could do better.' When the striker got injured, coach Harry Redknapp pulled Davies from the crowd and put him on the pitch. Davies scored and led the team to victory.
The first FIFA World Cup final in 1930 used two different balls. Argentina and Uruguay both wanted their own ball, so FIFA split the match: Argentina’s ball in the first half, Uruguay’s in the second. Argentina led 2-1 at halftime; Uruguay came back to win 4-2.
The trophy FIFA World Cup winners lift is a gold-plated replica. FIFA keeps the genuine 18-karat gold original. After Brazil kept the Jules Rimet Trophy outright in 1970, it was stolen in 1983 and never recovered, likely melted for gold. FIFA has never handed over the current original.
In the 1974 World Cup, Zaire defender Mwepu Ilunga bolted from the wall and cleared the ball before Brazil's free kick, getting carded. Not ignorance: dictator Mobutu Sese Seko warned that losing by over 0-4 meant nobody returned alive. He stalled; Zaire held on 0-3.
Only twice in World Cup history has a match ended 0-9: Korea lost 0-9 to Hungary at the 1954 Swiss World Cup, and Zaire lost 0-9 to Yugoslavia in 1974. Zaire's players had all but downed tools, protesting a government that siphoned off their wages and bonuses.