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 and West Germany 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'' in Mexico City. 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 game. The result eliminated West Germany from the tournament while Italy went on to lose to Brazil in the final.

The match

Italy led 1–0 for the majority of the match, after Roberto Boninsegna 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 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, at A.C. Milan (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 who had just come into the game as a substitute, but Tarcisio Burgnich tied it back up only four minutes later, and then striker Gigi Riva 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 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

Match overview

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 June 1970 sports events in North America Nicknamed sporting events sv:Världsmästerskapet i fotboll 1970#Århundradets match

The match

Match overview

See also

References

External links