The
semi-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
of the
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May t ...
between
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
has been called the "Game of the Century" ( es, Partido del Siglo; it, Partita del secolo; german: Jahrhundertspiel). It was played on 17 June 1970 at the ''
Estadio Azteca
Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...
'' in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Italy won 4–3 after five of the seven goals were scored in
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, the record for most goals scored during extra time in a
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
game. The result eliminated West Germany from the tournament while Italy went on to lose to Brazil in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
The match
Italy led 1–0 for the majority of the match, after
Roberto Boninsegna
Roberto Boninsegna ( born 13 November 1943) is an Italian former football player, who mainly played as a forward. After retiring, he worked as a football manager. As a player, he represented the Italian national side at two World Cups, reaching ...
scored in the 8th minute. West German defender
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
dislocated his shoulder after being fouled, but stayed on the field carrying his dislocated arm in a sling, as his side had already used their two permitted substitutions.
Defender
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (born 31 March 1939) is a German former footballer who played as a defender. An athletic and hard-tackling player, with a strong physique, he was nicknamed the "Volkswagen" for his continuity of performance, both in qua ...
equalised for West Germany in the 90th minute. German television commentator Ernst Huberty famously exclaimed ''"Schnellinger, of all people!"'' (in German: ''"Schnellinger! Ausgerechnet Schnellinger!"''), since Schnellinger played in Italy's professional football league,
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
, at
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
(for whom he had never scored). It was also his first and only goal in a career total of 47 matches for the West German national team. At the end of regulation time, the score was level at 1–1, forcing the match into extra time. Had the match remained drawn after extra time, lots would have been drawn to decide which team would progress to the final.
Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalsco ...
put West Germany ahead in the 94th minute following a defensive error by
Fabrizio Poletti
Fabrizio Poletti (; born 13 July 1943) is a former Italian football manager and former player who played as a full-back.
He is remembered for his career with Torino, where he played for nine seasons, and won the Coppa Italia twice. He also repr ...
who had just come into the game as a substitute, but
Tarcisio Burgnich
Tarcisio Burgnich (; 25 April 1939 – 26 May 2021) was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a defender.
Throughout his career, Burgnich played for Udinese, Juventus, Palermo, Internazionale, and Napoli; although he won title ...
tied it back up only four minutes later, and then striker
Gigi Riva
Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward.
Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoyed ...
put the Italians in front again with a superb goal. Müller scored yet again, this time with a header, for West Germany to tie the score at 3–3. Yet, as the live television coverage was still replaying Müller's goal, Italian midfielder
Gianni Rivera
Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera (; born 18 August 1943) is an Italian politician and former footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career as a footballer he was mostly utilised as an attacking midfielder.
Dubbed Italy's "Golden Boy" by the ...
scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 111th minute. Being left unmarked near the penalty area, Rivera had connected perfectly with a fine cross made by Boninsegna, clinching the victory for Italy at 4–3.
1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico. Match report. Italy - Germany FR
FIFA.com
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was founded ...
Match overview
See also
*Germany–Italy football rivalry
The Germany–Italy football rivalry (; ) between the national football teams of Germany and Italy, the two most successful football nations in Europe, is a long-running one. Overall, the two teams have won eight FIFA World Cup championships (fo ...
*1970 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 1970 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. It featured the eight national teams that had finished in the top two in each of the four groups, and so advanced to compete ...
References
External links
* Motson, John (2006
Motson's World Cup Extravaganza GREAT GAMES: ITALY 4-3 WEST GERMANY, 1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italy 4-3 West Germany (1970 FIFA World Cup)
1970 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup matches
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
Germany–Italy relations
West Germany at the 1970 FIFA World Cup
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
June 1970 sports events in North America
Nicknamed sporting events
sv:Världsmästerskapet i fotboll 1970#Århundradets match