Does Home Field Advantage Exist At The World Cup? A Look Through The Years

This weekend, England faces the eventual roadworthy crippled astatine this World Cup.

Sunday's circular of 16 matchup against Mexico astatine the Azteca Stadium volition contiguous challenges supra and beyond what the Three Lions person faced truthful far. The altitude, the hostile atmosphere, positive immoderate other gamesmanship mightiness await — it's each portion of the acquisition of taking connected El Tri successful Mexico City.

It's besides gripping theatre.

There's thing rather similar a large World Cup lucifer involving the big nation, and erstwhile that squad has a famously awesome location grounds — which Mexico surely does astatine the Azteca — there's a existent intimidation factor. Six times the men's tourney has been won by the state playing astatine home, astir precocious successful 1998. But determination is anticipation for England. Some of the astir celebrated matches successful World Cup past were games the location squad really lost.

Here's a look astatine location tract vantage done the years:

Italy, 1934

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The archetypal 2 World Cups were won by the hosts — Uruguay successful 1930 and past Italy successful 1934. The second gained infamy due to the fact that of Benito Mussolini's usage of the tourney arsenic a governmental instrumentality — and possibly his interaction connected the officiating?

"The fascist authorities made a governmental maltreatment of the event," Italian writer Marco Impiglia said astir 80 years later. "It was a questionable triumph and it raised galore doubts astatine the time."

It should beryllium acknowledged that 4 years later, Italy became the archetypal squad to triumph a World Cup distant from home, prevailing successful France.

Brazil, 1950

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The Brazilian men person won a grounds 5 World Cups, but person ne'er triumphed astatine home. The hosts needed lone a gully against Uruguay to instrumentality the rubric successful 1950 — determination was a last radical signifier alternatively of a singular rubric crippled — but with possibly 200,000 connected manus astatine Rio’s Maracanã Stadium, the Brazilians went down to an unthinkable 2-1 defeat.

Alcides Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal, erstwhile said lone 3 radical had silenced the Maracana: "The Pope, Frank Sinatra and me."

That 1950 nonaccomplishment hovered implicit the proceedings erstwhile Brazil hosted again successful 2014 — and the team's semifinal nonaccomplishment to Germany whitethorn person been adjacent much embarrassing. At slightest that time, the suspense was removed aboriginal erstwhile the visitors scored a flurry of first-half goals connected their mode to a 7-1 rout.

England, 1966

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England's lone World Cup title came connected location soil, and not without controversy. In the last against West Germany astatine Wembley Stadium, Geoff Hurst's changeable successful other clip bounced down disconnected the crossbar. Did it spell successful oregon not? Goal-line exertion was inactive decades away.

Officials awarded the goal, which enactment England up 3-2. Hurst aboriginal scored again to implicit a chapeau trick, and the last people was 4-2.

Argentina, 1978

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The Netherlands mislaid back-to-back finals successful 1974 and 1978 — some times losing to the big country. In 1974, the Dutch scored early, but mislaid 2-1 to West Germany. Four years later, they had to instrumentality connected Argentina successful beforehand of a frenzied assemblage successful Buenos Aires. The Argentines took the tract respective minutes aft the Dutch, leaving the visitors by themselves successful beforehand of the hostile fans. Then determination was a enactment implicit whether Rene van de Kerkhof would beryllium capable to play with a formed on. Argentina yet won 3-1 successful other time.

The Dutch astir faced Brazil successful that final. Argentina needed astatine slightest 4 goals against Peru successful its last lucifer successful its second-round radical to marque the final. The Argentines won 6-0, starring to plentifulness of conspiracy theories.

Italy, 1990

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Sometimes, it's not each that wide who the location squad truly is. At slightest that's what Diego Maradona was hoping erstwhile Argentina prepared to look Italy successful the 1990 semifinal successful Naples. A nine prima for Napoli, Maradona was beloved there, but would the section fans truly cheer for him and Argentina against their ain country? Maradona surely tried to stoke divisions betwixt bluish and confederate Italy.

"After truthful overmuch racism, lone present they scurry to retrieve that Naples is portion of Italy," Maradona told Corriere dello Sport. "Now that they person slapped the Neapolitans successful each imaginable way, idiosyncratic tells them they are Italians, that lone Italy counts. It is incredible, absurd, offensive."

Ultimately, fans cheered for Italy, but Argentina became the archetypal squad each tourney to people against the Italians, forging a 1-1 draw. Then Argentina won the punishment shootout to destruct the Azzurri. In the last successful Rome, Argentina received an unpleasant reception and mislaid to West Germany.

France, 1998

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The astir caller big state to triumph the rubric was France, which had ne'er gone each the mode until 1998. The French hadn't adjacent qualified for the 1990 oregon 1994 World Cups, but astatine location they reached the final, wherever they denied Brazil a repetition championship.

South Korea, 2002

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The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, with the second making a singular tally to the semifinals. Italy and Spain saw small to observe astir the Korean breakthrough.

After the Italians mislaid to South Korea successful other clip successful the circular of 16, FIFA said it received hundreds of thousands of emails from Italy fans furious astir the officiating. In the quarterfinals, South Korea bushed Spain connected penalties aft the Spaniards had aggregate goals disallowed.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter denied immoderate conspiracy, but acknowledged immoderate atrocious calls.

Reporting by The Associated Press.