World Cup 2014 countdown: Italy and West Germany take part in the 'game of the century' in 1970

Counting down the 100 greatest moments in the history of the World Cup

Simon Rice
Tuesday 18 March 2014 22:00 EDT
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The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past.

That won't be easy though, as this series will testify. In the run-up to the tournament, we're counting down the 100 greatest World Cup moments.

Check out our latest instalment below, and for any you missed, see the gallery at the end of the article.

Italy and West Germany take part in the 'game of the century' in 1970

The 1970 World Cup tends to conjure images of Gordon Banks' save and the imperious Brazil squad that would go on to win the tournament in Mexico.

Yet arguably the greatest moment of the tournament was the semi-final between Italy and West Germany - now referred to by the countries involved as the 'Game of the Century'.

The huge Aztec Stadium, with an attendance of 102,000, was the venue for the game. Italy took an early lead through Roberto Boninsegna and looked to have done enough before Karl-Heinz Schnellinger scored an injury-time equaliser for the Germans.

The endurance test that was extra-time was a real roller-coaster. Gerd Muller put the Germans ahead before two goals from the Italians gave them back the advantage. Muller was on target again to level the scores at 3-3, but as television replays were showing the goal, Gianni Rivera scored the decisive goal for the Italians.

Almost straight from the restart, the Italians moved the ball down the left flank before Rivera was found unmarked in the box. He hit it first time and it was enough to send his team to the final.

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