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Italy World Cup Rewind: Paolo Rossi Silences His Critics, 1982
Published: April 25, 2014
Today, we look at the game that sent the Azzurri catapulting to their first World Cup title in 44 years—and that legitimized both Italian soccer and forward Paolo Rossi after a major betting scandal. The finale of the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup is our destination today. Let's enjoy the ride.
The Tournament
The mid-1970s and early 1980s saw FIFA devise some bizarre formats for the World Cup. The format for 1982 has (mercifully) never been repeated.
The newly expanded field of 24 teams was drawn into six four-team groups. The winners and runners-up from each group were then divided into four groups of three teams each. The winners of those four groups would then qualify for the semifinals.
Some familiar flags were conspicuously absent from the competition in 1982. The Netherlands, runners-up two times running, finished fourth in their qualifying group behind Belgium, France and Ireland. The 1981 round-robin CONCACAF Championship—which doubled as the region's qualifying tournament—saw Mexico, the kings of the region at the time, draw the final game of the competition to champions Honduras, allowing El Salvador to qualify.
CONMEBOL divided into three groups of three who determine who would accompany Argentina—automatic qualifiers as defending champions—to the tournament in Spain. The winners of the groups were Brazil, Chile and Peru.
Africa played a knockout tournament to determine their two representatives. After four two-legged rounds, Algeria and Cameroon defeated Nigeria and Morocco, respectively, by identical 4-1 aggregates.
Asia and Oc...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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