1. If someone is injured, the car will be started
If a player is injured during a match, the team doctor generally has two tools to transport the player off the field, on a stretcher or in an open-top trolley. This golf-cart-like convertible medical car first appeared at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. However, at the beginning of its use, the medical service vehicle was heavily criticized. While it allows injured players to be comfortably carried off the field, the process of the car entering the field and leaving is far from faster than that of a few people on a stretcher, which seriously affects the rhythm of the game. Since then, medical vehicles have not been very widely used, but americans still retain it in major league games.
Pictured: Injured Italian star Baresi is transported off the field by a medical car
2. Go to the bathroom with Beckham
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, England drew in the group stage with Algeria, the weakest team in the same group. Just as the players returned to the dressing room in despair, an uninvited guest was spotted. An England fan named Pavlo Joseph yelled at the England internationals in the dressing room and quickly fled the scene. A few days later, Joseph was arrested at the hotel and sent back to his home country, where FIFA punished Joseph for not being allowed to watch the World Cup for life. However, to his surprise, Joseph was treated heroically when he returned home due to the poor performance of the England team. In an interview with the media, he said: "I just wanted to go to the toilet, but I didn't expect the staff to show me the way to the players' locker room. I saw Beckham changing clothes inside, so I went up to him and said, 'David, we've spent so much money here, you're responsible for kicking like this.' ’”
Pictured: Joseph was still smiling when he was arrested
3. If you don't do math well, don't want to be an international
Since the 1950s, the Brazilian national team has invented a bizarre set of rules for selecting players. During the national team call of each major competition, the Brazilian Football Association organizes a test of the candidate players. It includes a series of IQ questions such as logical reasoning and mathematical application questions, and also analyzes the psychological conditions of the players, so that players with IQ and emotional intelligence standards have the opportunity to play for the national team. Just before the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, Brazilian star "Birdie" Galincha took the selection test twice, and failed to meet the standard twice. However, under the pressure of domestic public opinion, the Football Association finally approved Garincha to compete in the World Cup. As a result, in the two World Cups in which Garrincha participated, Brazil won the championship.
Pictured: Garrincha scored four goals at the World Cup in Chile
4. Hipster man on the field
In ancient times, FIFA did not have uniform requirements for referees' attire. As a result, the referees at the early World Cup dressed in a variety of ways. The first World Cup final in 1930 was enforced by Belgian John Langonus. When he heard that he would be enforcing the final of the first World Cup, he immediately excitedly pulled out a valuable set of clothing at the bottom of his pressure box, including a suit jacket, a pair of bloomers that were the most popular at the time, and a bright red tie. So, on July 30, 1930, Langonus presided over the first World Cup final in a dress that still seems fashionable.
Pictured: Rangonus is simply much more handsome than the players
5. Politics is higher than football
In 1973, in the intercontinental play-offs of the tenth World Cup qualifiers, the Soviet Union met Chile. Chile's political situation was still in turmoil, with the overthrow of the Salvadoran-Allende socialist party and the execution or imprisonment of large numbers of communists in concentration camps. However, the play-off was held at the Santiago stadium in Chile. The stadium allegedly carried out a large number of massacres and persecutions of members of socialist parties. For this reason, the USSR resolutely resisted the game at the Santiago Stadium. FIFA's top management efforts were fruitless, and both sides refused to compromise. The Soviet Union asserted its political stance and announced that it would abandon the play-offs. As a result, Chile won without a fight and entered the 1974 World Cup in Germany.
Pictured: Hundreds of Chilean communists were shot at the Santiago stadium
6. Pre-race diet is important
At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the host team Chile played a small game for themselves. Before each match, they eat some food represented by the opponent's country to show their determination to defeat their opponent. They ate cheese before playing against Switzerland and pasta before playing against Italy. Sure enough, Chile won 3-1 and 2-0 respectively. In the third game of the group stage, the players did not eat grilled sausages before playing against West Germany due to the team's logistics not keeping up in time, and Chile did lose 2-0 like a curse. The team staff realized the importance of pre-match dietary therapy and sent vodka to the players before the elimination match. As a result, Chile defeated the Soviet Union 2-1 to advance. However, this "whoever eats wins" tradition did not continue into the semi-finals. Although the Chilean players all drank coffee before the game, they still lost at the feet of Brazil. In the end, Chile won the third place in the World Cup on their doorstep.
Pictured: Real Madrid legend Raul Sanchez blocked his opponent's shot
7. Swarms move together
In 2009, in the World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, Mexico played Salvador. Less than 3 minutes into the game, salvador's goalkeeper suddenly fled in a panic. It turned out that just in front of the Salvadoran team, a large swarm of bees suddenly broke in. The timid Salvador goalkeeper complained to the referee as he ran. At this time, the bees gathered more and more, and the buzzing sound even exceeded the noise in the audience. Off-site workers rushed into the field carrying fire extinguishers and attacked the swarms. For this reason, the game was suspended for 6 minutes before the Salvadoran goalkeeper was able to return to the goal. In the end, Mexico defeated El Salvador 4-1.
Pictured: Workers use fire extinguishers to drive away bee colonies
8. The king comes to brush a gift
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Saudi Arabia was the leader of Asian football, winning the Asian Cup in 1984 and 1988 and runners-up in 1992. In 1994, Saudi Arabia played the World Cup in the United States as the hegemon of Asia. In the first game of the group stage, Saudi Arabia once led the Netherlands, and finally regretted to lose 1-2; in the second game, Saudi Arabia defeated Morocco to win the initiative to qualify from the group. In the final group match against Belgium, just five minutes into the opening, Saudi striker Seyed Ovilland scored one of the most spectacular goals in World Cup history. He attacked from midfield, ran 60 metres with the ball, and scored the ball into the goal by four men in a row. After scoring, Ovilan was unusual, not praying to Allah as all Muslim players do, but running to the sidelines to dance to the fans. ESPN's live commentator shouted excitedly: "Americans are finally feeling the charm of football, and their children will imitate such goals and celebrate in the backyard of their homes!" With this goal, the Saudi team qualified from the group for the first time in the World Cup. After the game, the Saudi king told the media: "We also have a Maradona in Saudi Arabia" and immediately announced that Oviran would be rewarded with a Rolls-Royce sedan. By 1996, Ovilan was photographed by the media smoking, drinking, and living in luxury. According to Islamic religious law, Ovilam was flogged, and it was the Saudi king who came to his rescue and pardoned him.
Pictured: Ovilland's dribbling heroism is a classic moment in the history of the World Cup