The Disgrace At Gijon: Have A Look At This World Cup Match That Changed Football

In the year 1982, the FIFA World Cup held in Spain saw 24 teams rather than 16 teams and the new teams were Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand. Many teams failed to qualify, therefore leaving vacancies for others.

This tournament of 1982 was also considered as the first tournament where the shoot-out penalty was introduced to break a tie. The World Cup tournament began with a great disappointment because on the third day of the tournament, Algeria defeated the dominant force in the football world, West Germany.

West Germany had won the UEFA Euro 1980, winning all the eight qualifying matches and hence considered the match against Algeria as a cakewalk. However, they failed to recognize what a formidable team they were up against. The match held on 16 June 1982 was deemed to be a revelation. The first half of the tournament was completed without a goal and Algerians played better than the Germans had expected. However, the second half was a shining moment for Algerians.

In the 54th minute, a well-deserving lead was given by the amazing footballer Rabah Madjer. When Karl-Heniz Rummenigge scored an equalizer after thirteen minutes, everyone thought that the game was under the control of Germany and they would soon achieve their victory.

The match took a huge twist in the very next minute when Belloumi restored the lead with a note-worthy goal which was enough to win any match. This was the first World Cup match where an African team defeated a European one. As the match advanced, West Germany thrashed Chile by 4-1 and Algeria managed to get 3-2 against Chile after faltering against Austria.

The progression of the two teams to the second round was supposed to be decided by the match between Austria and West Germany. If Austria managed to beat West Germany, the Germans would have to pack up and go home whereas if West Germany beats Austria, then Algeria was to be knocked out. The both teams would therefore be qualified for a knockout stage.

However, if West Germany beats Austria with more than three goals then Austria would have to go home. As the match proceeded in the El Molinón stadium in Gijón on 25th June 1982, within ten minutes of furious goals from West Germany, it came to a virtual halt.

The ball was passed around for 80 minutes as if neither team were eager to score. It displayed as if the two teams decided to deny the African team the second round. The protest by the Algerian officials was futile but it did trigger a change in the tournament’s structure.

Since then, in all FIFA tournaments, to avoid manipulation, the final two games in each group were played simultaneously.

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