10 craziest moments in World Cup history - Ranked

From stolen trophies and midnight bites to the most famous headbutt in human history, the World Cup has never failed to deliver the utterly unbelievable.

The World Cup does something to people. It strips away reason, scrambles logic, and turns even the most composed footballers on the planet into headline-generating chaos machines. Maybe it's the pressure. Maybe it's the spotlight. Maybe it's the sheer weight of carrying an entire nation's hopes on your shoulders for 90 minutes. Whatever it is, the beautiful game's biggest stage has consistently produced moments so wild, so unthinkable, so delightfully unhinged that no scriptwriter would dare put them in a film.

In 96 years of World Cup football, we have witnessed a goalkeeper put a man in a coma and walk away without so much as a free kick. We have watched a living legend headbutt a defender in the final game of his career, on the grandest stage in sports. We have seen a country's best player bite an opponent not for the first time and somehow still look surprised when he got banned. We have watched Brazil, at home, concede seven goals to Germany in a semi-final while a billion people looked on in stunned silence.

And somehow, it keeps getting madder.

These are the 10 craziest moments in World Cup history—ranked, revisited, and every bit as unbelievable as the day they happened.

1. Zidane's Headbutt—2006 Final

The greatest of them all. Final game of his career, a World Cup final, and Zinedine Zidane, one of the best to ever play, floors Marco Materazzi with a headbutt because Materazzi made a remark about his sister. Jaws dropped worldwide. Nothing will ever top it.

2. Maradona's Hand of God — 1986

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He punched the ball into the net with his hand; the referee gave it, and England was out. Then just four minutes later the same man scored arguably the greatest goal ever. The nerve. The audacity. The genius.

3. Brazil 1-7 Germany—2014

At home. In a World Cup semi-final. Four goals in six first-half minutes. An estimated billion people watching. David Luiz crying during the anthem before a ball was even kicked. Absolutely stunning to witness in real time.

4. Schumacher Puts Battiston in a Coma—1982

German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher launched himself into French defender Patrick Battiston with such force that Battiston was knocked unconscious, lost teeth, damaged his vertebrae, and slipped into a coma. The referee didn't even give a foul.

5. Suarez Bites Chiellini—2014

Not the first time Suarez used an opponent as a snack. He sank his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder in a group stage game and earned himself a four-month ban. The man had a biting habit so well known that Google autocompletes "Suarez bites…" with multiple incidents.

6. Roy Keane Walks Out — 2002

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Ireland's captain flew home from the World Cup before it even started over a training camp dispute with manager Mick McCarthy. Photos of him walking his dog became front-page international news. It was so mad; they recently made a film about it.

7. Rijkaard Spits on Voller—In 1990

Frank Rijkaard spat into Rudi Völler's curly mullet mid-match. Both were sent off. Then Rijkaard spat on him again as they walked off the pitch together. Absolutely rank. They later appeared together in a butter commercial, which somehow makes it madder.

8. France Players Go on Strike—2010

Nicolas Anelka reportedly told the manager where to go at half-time and got expelled from the squad, and his teammates responded by boycotting training in protest. They crashed out of the group stage anyway, getting beaten by South Africa. A complete and utter meltdown.

9. The Actual World Cup Trophy Was Stolen—1966

Three months before the tournament, someone nicked the Jules Rimet trophy from a public display in London. It was eventually found wrapped in newspaper under a hedge by a dog named Pickles. The dog was later invited to the England team's celebration dinner. Pickles, unquestionably, was the real hero of 1966.

10. Three Yellow Cards, One Player — 2006

Croatian defender Josip Simunic was shown two yellow cards during a group game against Australia and was somehow not sent off—because the referee forgot to write down the first booking. He was shown a third yellow immediately after the final whistle, followed by a very belated red. Referee Graham Poll later philosophically remarked that "you have to deal with the cards you've been dealt." Mate.