SOCCER - WORLD CUP - 2014
BRAZIL
Qualifier - England (5) @ (0) Moldova - England opened their qualifying campaign with a big win in Chisinau. England led 3-0 at the half with goals from Frank Lampard (2) and Jermain Defoe and sealed the win with goals in the 2nd half from James Milner and Leighton Baines (his 1st goal for his country) (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - Ukraine (1) @ (1) England - An injury and illness-affected England continued their unbeaten start to their qualification campaign but needed a late equaliser to do so. Ukraine played the better football and led 1-0 at the half thanks to a goal from Yevgeni Konoplianka. England finally secured the point with 3 minutes remaining when Frank Lampard scored from the penalty spot but they then lost captian Steven Gerrard to a red card. England were missing John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Theo Walcott and Ashley Cole (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - San Marino (0) @ (5) England - England went back to the top of the qualification table with a big win over San Marino. Goals from Wayne Rooney (2), Danny Welbeck (2) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (his 1st for his country) did the damage as England controlled possession and held San Marino to only 1 shot on goal (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - England (1) @ (1) Poland - England remained top of the qualification group with a tight draw in Warsaw. The game had originally been scheduled for the day before but had been called off due to a heavy rain-storm that flooded the pitch. The re-scheduled game saw England take a 1-0 half-time lead through Wayne Rooney before Poland rescued the game with a 70th minute goal from Kamil Glik. Disc 1 is the coverage of the aborted 1st game. Discs 2 and 3 are the game (10, 3 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
2013
Qualifier - Costa Rica (0) @ (1) USA - In the midst of a snow blizzard in Denver, Colorado, the USA team boosted their chances of qualification for the 2014 World Cup with a hard fought win. Clint Dempsey scored the winner in the 1st half and, as the snowfall got heavier and heavier, the game got harder to play and the USA held on to win. The game was briefly stopped in the 55th minute by the referee but the players agreed to keep playing (10, JIP 2:57 - No scoring missed, 1 Disc, ESPN - Darke/Twellman/Gonzalez, PAL)
Qualifier - England (8) @ (0) San Marino - England kept the pressure on group leaders Montenegro with a big win in San Marino. England dominated the game in all areas (28 shots to 1, 15 corners to 1, 60% possession) and scored at regular intervals to stay on top in the game. The goals came from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jermain Defoe (2), Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Frank Lampard, Daniel Sturridge and an own-goal. The game marked the first time England scored 8 goals in a single match since 1987 (9, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - England (1) @ (1) Montenegro - Inside a raucous Podgorica City Stadium, both teams played out a draw to keep the status quo at the top of the group. England dominated the 1st half and led 1-0 at the break with a goal from Wayne Rooney after 6 minutes. Montenegro dominated the 2nd half, though, and scored the tieing goal in the 77th minute through 2nd half substitute Dejan Damjanovic. Neither team could find the winning goal and honours ended even (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - Moldova (0) @ (4) England - England went back to the top of their qualifying group with a comfortable home win. England enjoyed a 65% possession advantage and had 23 shots on goal compared to 2 for Moldova. Goals from Danny Welbeck (2), Rickie Lambert and captain Steven Gerrard did the damage. Coach Roy Hodgson also gave a debut to Everton's Ross Barkley in the 2nd half (10, 1 Disc, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - England (0) @ (0) Ukraine - In front of a loud, partizan crowd in Kiev, England retained top spot in the group with a draw. England had the better of the shot count (7-4) but couldn't find the breakthrough. England featured Frank Lampard, who earned his 100th cap for England, captain Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere with Rickie Lambert the lone striker (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - Montenegro (1) @ (4) England - England made sure that qualification for the World Cup in 2014 was still in their hands with a big win at Wembley. After the 1st half ended 0-0, England took control with goals from Wayne Rooney, Andros Townsend (on debut), Daniel Sturridge and an Own-Goal. A goal from Branko Boskovic gave the visitors brief hope in the 2nd half but England ran out easy winners in the end (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Qualifier - Poland (0) @ (2) England - England knew that a win would see them qualify for the 2014 World Cup and in a raucous Wembley Stadium, England delivered. A 1st half goal from Wayne Rooney put England in the driving seat and a goal 4 minutes from time from captain Steven Gerrard sealed the win (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
2014
Group A - Brazil (3) v (1) Croatia - Brazil opened the World Cup with a comeback win in Sao Paulo. Croatia took a shock lead with an own-goal from Marcelo but goals from Neymar (2) and Oscar turned the game around and gave Brazil the win (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group A - Brazil (4) v (1) Cameroon - Brazil booked their place in the next round, and finished top of their group, with a big win in Brasilia. Neymar was the star, scoring 2 goals and steadying Brazil when Cameroon levelled the scores at 1-1 in the 1st half. 2nd half goals from Fred and Fernandinho completed the scoring. The Cameroon goal came from Joel Matip (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Matterface/Carlisle, PAL)
Group B - Spain (1) v (5) Netherlands - In a re-match of the 2010 World Cup Final, the Dutch stunned the Champions with an explosive 2nd half, and handed the Spanish their worst World Cup loss since 1950. Spain opened the scoring with a Xabi Alonso penalty in the 1st half before the Netherlands reeled off 5 unanswered goals, including 4 in the 2nd half, to take the win. The Dutch goalscorers were Robin Van Persie (2), Arjen Robben (2) and Stefan de Vrij (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Wilson/Lawrenson, PAL)
Group B - Australia (2) v (3) Netherlands - In a shootout in Porto Alegre, the Dutch booked their place in the next round with a tight win over the Australians. The teams were tied 1-1 at the half and the Aussies made it 2-1 early in the 2nd half before the Dutch pulled away with 2 goals in 10 minutes that finished off the Aussies. The Dutch goals came from Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie and Memphis Depay. The Australian goals came from Mile Jedinak and a sensational volley from Tim Cahill (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Matterface/Carlisle, PAL)
Group B - Chile (2) v (0) Spain - In a sensational result at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Chile knocked the holders Spain out of the World Cup. 1st half goals from Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz did the damage and Chile held on in the 2nd half to book their place in the next round. It was Chile's first competitive victory over Spain in 11 matches. Spain's elimination meant they became the fifth defending champions to fail to progress from the group stage at the World Cup (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Brotherton/Murphy, PAL)
Group C - Greece (2) v (1) Ivory Coast - In a dramatic game in Fortaleza, Greece stunned the Ivory Coast with an injury time goal to advance to the next round. The Ivorians only needed a draw to reach the next round and seemed on course to do so when they conceded a penalty in the 92nd minute that Georgios Samaras smashed home to give the Greeks the win. They reached the next round for the 1st time ever in their history. The other Greek goal came from Andreas Samaris. The Ivory Coast goal came from Wilfried Bony (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Brotherton/Keown, PAL)
Group D - Uruguay (1) v (3) Costa Rica - Costa Rica stunned Group D with a comeback win in Fortaleza. Widely tipped to finish last in the group, Costa Rica overcame a 1st half penalty from Edinson Cavani to score 3 goals in the 2nd half and take the win. The goals came from man-of-the-match Joel Campbell, Oscar Duarte and Marcos Urena. Uruguay were missing star striker Luis Suarez to injury (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group D - England (1) v (2) Italy - Italy started their campaign with a big win in Manaus, seeing off England in the heat of the Amazon. Both teams were level 1-1 at the half with an Italian goal from Claudio Marchisio off-set by an England goal from Daniel Sturridge. Italy re-took the lead early in the 2nd half with a goal from Mario Balotelli which they defended to the end to take the win. England out-shot the Italians 18-13 but couldn't find the breakthrough to turn the game around (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/P.Neville, PAL)
Group D - England (1) v (2) Uruguay - Uruguay effectively knocked England out of the World Cup with a big win in Sao Paulo. The hero for the Uruguay team was striker Luis Suarez, who scored both goals, with the winner coming 5 minutes from the end of the game. The England goal came from Wayne Rooney, his 1st World Cup Finals goal (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group D - England (0) v (0) Costa Rica - England wrapped up their dismal World Cup with a goal-less draw in Belo Horizonte. Costa Rica already knew they were through to the next round and were happy to concede the game to England (56% possession, 8 shots to 4) but England couldn't find the breakthrough. Frank Lampard captained England in his last game for his country (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group D - Italy (0) v (1) Uruguay - Uruguay booked their place in the bext round with a late winner against the Italians. Italy needed only a draw to go through instead of Uruguay and looked on course to do so until Uruguayan captian Diego Godin scored with 9 minutes left. Italy couldn't find the equaliser and Uruguay claimed the win. Just before the winning goal, Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was seen biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini and even though the referee missed the incident, FIFA used the video evidence to ban Suarez for 9 games, including the remainder of the World Cup (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Mann/Hinchcliffe, PAL)
Group E - France (5) v (2) Switzerland - In a shootout in Salvador, France booked their place in the next round with a big win. France led 3-0 at the half and 5-0 after 73 minutes before the Swiss scored 2 late goals to make the score more respectable. The French goals came from Olivier Giroud, Blaise Matuidi, Karim Benzema (who also missed a penalty), Mathieu Valbuena and Moussa Sissoko. The Swiss goals came from Blerim Dzemaili and Granit Xhaka (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Matterface/Carlisle, PAL)
Group G - Ghana (1) v (2) USA - The USA opened their World Cup with a sensational win. USA topped-and-tailed the win with an opening goal in 29 seconds from Clint Dempsey and the winning goal with 4 minutes left from substitute defender Jonathan Brooks. The Ghana goal came from Andre Ayew. Ghana dominated the stats (62% possession, 21-8 shots) but suffered from poor finishing (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/Savage, PAL)
Group G - Germany (2) v (2) Ghana - Ghana kept their hopes alive of making the next round with a shootout draw in Fortaleza. All the goals came in the 2nd half with Germany taking a 1-0 lead through Mario Gotze before Ghana toook the lead by scoring twice in 9 minutes through Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan. The stage was then set for substitute Miroslav Klose to score the equaliser with 19 minutes left that tied the record for most goals scored in World Cup Finals (15), the same as Brazilian Ronaldo. Neither team could find the winner after that and the game ended with honours even (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/Murphy, PAL)
Group G - Portugal (2) v (2) USA - Portugal kept their hopes alive of making the next round but needed a goal with the last play of the game to rescue a draw. The Portuguese led 1-0 at the half before the USA clawed their way back into the game with 2 unanswered goals, with the 2nd coming 9 minutes from time. But with the last play of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo sent a sensational cross into the USA penatly area that subtitute Silvestre Varela nodded in to rescue a draw. The USA goals came from Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey with the other Portugal goal coming from Nani (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Brotherton/Lawrenson, PAL)
Group H - Algeria (1) v (1) Russia - Algeria made it through to the next round for the 1st time in their history with a comeback draw against Russia. Russia took a 1-0 lead in at the half with a goal from Aleksandr Kokorin but Algeria equalised in controversial fashion on 60 minutes with a goal from Islam Slimani. The Russian goalkeeper seemed to be distracted by a laser being shone in his face from the crowd just before the free-kick came into the penalty area. With the Algeria win, Russia were knocked out (10, 2 Discs, ITV - White/Hinchcliffe, PAL)
Last 16 - Brazil (1) v (1) Chile - In a shootout in Belo Horizonte, Brazil finally managed to shake off Chile but needed a Penalty Shootout to do so. Both teams scored in the 1st half but neither team could find the breakthrough in the 2nd half or Extra-time (even though Brazil had a goal ruled out for handball and Chile hit the bar with almost the last kick of the game), so the game went to a Penalty Shootoout. Brazil held their nerve and when the final Chile penalty hit the bar, Brazil claimed the win and the place in the Quarter Finals. The Brazil goal came from David Luiz and the Chile goal from Alexis Sanchez (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/Keown, PAL)
Last 16 - Netherlands (2) v (1) Mexico - The Netherlands overcame the stifling heat of Fortaleza to stage a remarkable comeback and deny Mexico their 1st ever Quarter Final berth. Mexico held a 1-0 lead with 2 minutes left in the game, thanks to a 2nd half goal from Giovani Dos Santos, but the Dutch fought back, equalising 1st through Wesley Sneijder then clinching the win with an injury time penalty from substitute, Klass-Jan Huntelaar. The game also saw the introduction for the first time of a "Cooling Break" in each half, as the temperature soared to 39 degrees Centigrade (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Matterface/Carlisle, PAL)
Last 16 - Germany (2) v (1) Algeria - The Germans booked their place in the Quarter Finals with a tough win in Extra-time in Porto Alegre. Algeria were the better team during regulation but failed to take their chances. In extra-time, the Germans over-powered the tiring Algerians and goals from Andre Schürrle and Mesut Ozil put them ahead. Algeria did score in the last minute through Abdelmoumene Djabou but the Germans held on to win (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Last 16 - Belgium (2) v (1) USA - In a back-and-forth game in Salvador, the Belgians held on in Extra-time to beat the USA. Both teams attacked from the start but, thanks to great goal-keeping and poor finishing, the game remained scoreless and went to extra-time. Belgium owned the 1st period, scoring goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, but the USA fought back in the 2nd Period and a goal from substitute Julian Green set up a frantic finish. The Belgians held on and booked their place in the Quarter Finals. Both teams combined for 56 shots on goal (Belgium 39, USA 17) and USA goalkeeper Tim Howard set a World Cup record for the number of saves in a single match (15) (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Wilson/Murphy, PAL)
Quarter Final - Brazil (2) v (1) Colombia - Brazil booked their place in the Semi-Finals with tight win in a very physical game in Fortaleza. Both teams combined for 54 fouls which contributed to a stop-start game. Brazil led the game 2-0 after 80 minutes and seemed in control but Colombia won a penalty, that they converted, and pressed hard for the final minutes but Brazil held firm to take the win. The Brazil goals came from Thiago Silva and a great free-kick from David Luiz. The Colombian goal came from James Rodriguez, his 6th of the tournament. Brazil's top-scorer Neymar left the field on a stretcher in the final minutes after a knee in the back fractured his spine (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Quarter Final - Netherlands (0) v (0) Costa Rica - The Dutch won through to the Semi-Finals with a Penalty Shootout win over Costa Rica. The Netherlands controlled the game statistically (67% possession, 20 shots to 6, 11 corners to 1) but couldn't find the breakthrough goal despite hitting the woodwork twice. Neither team could find a goal in normal or extra-time so the game went to penalties. The Dutch brought on back-up Goalkeeper Tim Krul in the last minute of extra-time to face the penalties, and he saved 2 kicks to win the game (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/Murphy, PAL)
Semi-Final - Brazil (1) v (7) Germany - Germany sensationally knocked out the hosts in a record-breaking match in Belo Horizonte. Germany dominated the game and were 5-0 after 29 minutes of the game, including 4 goals in a 6 minute spell. The 2nd German goal came from Miroslav Klose who set the record for most goals scored in the World Cup Finals (16). The other German goals came from Thomas Muller, Sami Kedhira, Toni Kroos (2) and Andre Schurrle (2). The lone Brazil goal came in the last minute of the game from Oscar. The loss was Brazil's 1st competitive home defeat in 39 matches and their worst ever World Cup defeat (10, 2 Discs, BBC - Wilson/Keown, PAL)
Semi-Final - Netherlands (0) v (0) Argentina - In a tight game in Sao Paulo, Argentina won through to their 1st World Cup Final since 1990 with a Penalty Shootout win over the Dutch. Argentina had the better of the 1st Half while the Dutch had the better of the 2nd Half but neither team could find a goal, with both teams only combining for 11 shots on goal. After a scoreless Extra-Time the game went to Penalties where Argentine Goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved 2 Dutch kicks to win the game (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Final - Germany (1) v (0) Argentina - Germany claimed their 4th World Cup and their 1st as a unified country with a tight Extra-Time win over Argentina in Rio De Janeiro. In an open game, both teams had chances to score during regulation and Extra-Time, but the game wasn't settled until 7 minutes from the end when substitute Mario Gotze volleyed home a great goal. Argentina had 9 shots in the game but none were on target. Argentina's Lionel Messi had a quiet game and missed his only clear shot on goal (10, 3 Discs, BBC - Mowbray/Lawrenson, PAL)
World Cup - BBC Hi-Lites of every game - As shown on the BBC interactive channel. Approximately 3 minutes per game (10, 4 hours on 3 discs, BBC, PAL)
World Cup 2014 Review - A review of the 20th World Cup held in Brazil. Germany won their 4th World Cup with an extra-time win over Argentina (10, 47 minutes, 1 Disc, ITV, PAL)