World Cup Collection

France's focus this year was the qualifying campaign for the 1972 European Nations Cup which had started strongly with home and away wins over Norway and a draw in Budapest against Hungary. Things went off the rails in the autumn, however, thanks to a...

A strong qualifying campaign saw Portugal edge out the Soviet Union to reach the finals of the 1984 European Championships, the nation's first international tournament participation since 1966. At the tournament proper the players quickly proved they were destined to light up the tournament....

The first half of the 1970s was hardly memorable for the Colombian national team, but there were moments of interest outside the failed World Cup qualification campaigns. A team led by the attacking flair of Ernesto Diaz and Willington Ortiz participated in the 1972...

American soccer was enjoying a very high profile in 1976 thanks to the success of the North American Soccer League, but that success had not extended as far as the US national team. Former 1960s international Walt Chyzowych had the role of Director of...

As the 1950s drew to an end the Dutch national side was under the management of Romanian Elek Schwartz and enjoying varying fortunes. The calendar year of 1959 brought a heavy defeat in West Germany, but also crushing home wins over Belgium and Norway....

For so long Australia's modern World Cup history was all about the near misses in qualification. The Aussies would habitually reach the last play-off stage only to fall at the final hurdle - as they would on six occasions between 1966 and 2002. So,...

There were fine players like Paul Van Himst, Leon Semeling, Jef Jurion, Wilfried Van Moer, and Raoul Lambert, but there was little to cheer for the Belgian national team during the 1960s. A failure to qualify for any significant international tournament meant Belgium's only...

Throughout his lengthy career, Brazilian legend Pelé dazzled and inspired wherever he played around the globe for Santos, New York Cosmos, or Brazil. For many starstruck opponents, the most memorable moment of their careers was sharing a pitch with the great man, and for...

All our ‘Designed by…’ T-shirts have football as inspiration and the collection consists of over 125 different styles. We create our T-shirts in collaboration with some of the greatest graphic artists and famous football photographers from all over the world. The superior quality ‘Made...

The 1960s was a decade when Scotland fans would declare their national side as unofficial World champions on the strength of a 3-2 victory in 1967 over the actual World Champions, England. Very much in keeping with its modern history, on good days Scotland...

A number ten, a playmaker, an unerring finisher, a devastating set-piece taker, a physical powerhouse, endlessly brave, a leader of men, an inspiration, an otherworldly talent. Quite simply Diego Armando Maradona was all of these things and one of the few footballers in history...

Dick Advocaat led the Dutch into the 1994 World Cup for what would be the first of his three spells in charge of the national team. A new and exciting side was emerging with a thrilling attack led by Dennis Bergkamp who had burst...

With the powerhouse midfield presence of Johnny Giles leading a fine generation of talented defensive players like Hurley, Meagan, Dunne, and Cantwell; the 1960s was the decade when for the first time the Republic of Ireland's national team looked set to make a name...

France's first 'golden generation' emerged in the immediate post-war years and peaked with a wonderful showing at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Featuring a brilliant forward line with playmaker Raymond Kopa, winger Jean Vincent, and Just Fontaine at center forward, France played delightful...

The Olympic gold medal won in Montreal in 1976 aside, the shock 1-0 victory that the East German national team recorded over their neighbours, bitter rivals, and tournament hosts West Germany at the 1974 World Cup was the greatest achievement in the state's 38-year...

Determined to go one better than the runners-up spot earned at the 1974 tournament, the Dutch qualified comfortably for the 1978 competition ahead of local rivals Belgium and traveled to Argentina in confident mood. Form was slow to build, however, and qualification from the...

The football revolution that Danish football underwent in the 1970s paved the way for the nation's emergence onto the world scene in the following decade. Despite the many good players produced in Denmark, football there had long and resolutely stuck to its amateur principles...

Under the stewardship of coach Paul Wolfisberg, Switzerland set out on their 1982 World Cup qualifying campaign eager to earn a place at an international tournament for the first time since 1966. Two of the most celebrated players in the nation´s history, midfielder Heinz...

A number ten, a playmaker, an unerring finisher, a devastating set-piece taker, a physical powerhouse, endlessly brave, a leader of men, an inspiration, an otherworldly talent. Quite simply Diego Armando Maradona was all of these things and one of the few footballers in history...

Qualification for the 1986 World Cup was secured by Portugal in their final group match thanks to a Carlos Manuel winner against West Germany. This famous victory in Stuttgart ensured that the José Torres-led team edged out Sweden and would travel to Mexico the...

The East German national team set out on their qualifying campaign for the 1986 World Cup hoping to reach what would have been just their second-ever major tournament. Although ultimately unsuccessful, East Germany did come very close indeed, and their total of ten points...

Czechoslovakia had missed out on qualification for the major summer tournaments of 1972 and 1974, so determination to make the finals tournament of the 1976 European Championships in Yugoslavia was high. Václav Ježek‘s team duly qualified from a tough group that featured England and...

The 1970s was a decade that featured two standout moments for Moroccan football: the participation and strong performances at the 1970 World Cup and the winning of the African Cup of Nations six years later. Competing in the finals of a World Cup for...

Champions of the world, champions of Europe, and always the most formidable of opponents thanks to the sheer quality and quantity of top-class talent being created - the 1970s was a wonderful decade for West Germany. The national teams that won the 1972 European...

The outstanding success in finishing in third place at the 1958 World Cup with world class stars like Vincent, Kopa and Fontaine pointed to a bright future for the French game in the coming years. None of those hopes would come to pass however...

Holland was producing fine players from its earliest days and under English coach Bob Glendenning the national team would first thrust itself onto a grander stage when qualifying for the World Cup in 1934. Experienced players like Puck van Heel, Wim Anderiesen and Leen...

The enormous impact that Algeria made on the 1982 World Cup was all the more remarkable considering the country had only officially established a national team two decades earlier upon independence from France. When the north Africans turned up in Spain, most of the...

The best decade in East Germany's modern football history is remembered for that famous World Cup group stage win over West Germany in 1974, but probably more should have been achieved. With many of the state's greatest players like Jürgen Sparwasser, Joachim Streich, Hans-Jürgen...

Missing out on the 1990 World Cup was a disappointment for Portugal's international team and in the autumn of that year they started to build towards the next European Championships. A very credible draw against the new World Champions West Germany suggested promise and...

As South Korea continued to develop as a footballing force, appearances at World Cup tournaments were becoming more frequent, and they duly contested the 1994 edition in the USA under coach Kim Ho. Drawn in a tough group, the Tigers Of Asia drew 2-2...