{"id":4988,"date":"2026-07-04T19:04:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T19:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4988"},"modified":"2026-07-04T19:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T19:04:52","slug":"home-field-advantage-has-been-a-big-part-of-world-cup-history-now-mexico-hosts-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4988","title":{"rendered":"Home field advantage has been a big part of World Cup history. Now Mexico hosts England"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>This weekend, England faces the ultimate road game at this World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday\u2019s round of 16 matchup against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium will present challenges above and beyond what the Three Lions have faced so far. The altitude, the hostile atmosphere, plus whatever extra gamesmanship might await \u2014 it\u2019s all part of the experience of taking on El Tri in Mexico City.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4986\">England faces Mexico at \u2018monster\u2019 stadium where El Tri has yet to concede a goal at this World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also gripping theatre.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing quite like a big World Cup match involving the host nation, and when that team has a famously impressive home record \u2014 which Mexico certainly does at the Azteca \u2014 there\u2019s a real intimidation factor. Six times the men\u2019s tournament has been won by the country playing at home, most recently in 1998. But there is hope for England. Some of the most famous matches in World Cup history were games the home team actually lost.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a look at home field advantage through the years:<\/p>\n<h3>Italy, 1934<\/h3>\n<p>The first two World Cups were won by the hosts \u2014 Uruguay in 1930 and then Italy in 1934. The latter gained infamy because of Benito Mussolini\u2019s use of the tournament as a political tool \u2014 and perhaps his impact on the officiating?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fascist regime made a political abuse of the event,\u201d Italian writer Marco Impiglia said nearly 80 years later. \u201cIt was a questionable win and it raised many doubts at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It should be acknowledged that four years later, Italy became the first team to win a World Cup away from home, prevailing in France.<\/p>\n<h3>Brazil, 1950<\/h3>\n<p>The Brazilian men have won a record five World Cups, but have never triumphed at home. The hosts needed only a draw against Uruguay to take the title in 1950 \u2014 there was a final group stage instead of a singular title game \u2014 but with maybe 200,000 on hand at Rio\u2019s Maracana Stadium, the Brazilians went down to an unthinkable 2-1 defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Alcides Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal, once said only three people had silenced the Maracana: \u201cThe Pope, Frank Sinatra and me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That 1950 loss hovered over the proceedings when Brazil hosted again in 2014 \u2014 and the team\u2019s semifinal loss to Germany may have been even more embarrassing. At least that time, the suspense was removed early when the visitors scored a flurry of first-half goals on their way to a 7-1 rout.<\/p>\n<h3>England, 1966<\/h3>\n<p>England\u2019s lone World Cup championship came on home soil, and not without controversy. In the final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium, Geoff Hurst\u2019s shot in extra time bounced down off the crossbar. Did it go in or not? Goal-line technology was still decades away.<\/p>\n<p>Officials awarded the goal, which put England up 3-2. Hurst later scored again to complete a hat trick, and the final score was 4-2.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4984\">72-year-old man found dead after  Cumberland County disappearance during heat advisory Friday<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Argentina, 1978<\/h3>\n<p>The Netherlands lost back-to-back finals in 1974 and 1978 \u2014 both times losing to the host country. In 1974, the Dutch scored early, but lost 2-1 to West Germany. Four years later, they had to take on Argentina in front of a frenzied crowd in Buenos Aires. The Argentines took the field several minutes after the Dutch, leaving the visitors by themselves in front of the hostile fans. Then there was a row over whether Rene van de Kerkhof would be able to play with a cast on. Argentina eventually won 3-1 in extra time.<\/p>\n<p>The Dutch nearly faced Brazil in that final. Argentina needed at least four goals against Peru in its final match in its second-round group to make the final. The Argentines won 6-0, leading to plenty of conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n<h3>Italy, 1990<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes, it\u2019s not all that clear who the home team really is. At least that\u2019s what Diego Maradona was hoping when Argentina prepared to face Italy in the 1990 semifinal in Naples. A club star for Napoli, Maradona was beloved there, but would the local fans really cheer for him and Argentina against their own country? Maradona certainly tried to stoke divisions between northern and southern Italy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter so much racism, only now they scurry to remember that Naples is part of Italy,\u201d Maradona told Corriere dello Sport. \u201dNow that they have slapped the Neapolitans in every possible way, someone tells them they are Italians, that only Italy counts. It is incredible, absurd, offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, fans cheered for Italy, but Argentina became the first team all tournament to score against the Italians, forging a 1-1 draw. Then Argentina won the penalty shootout to eliminate the Azzurri. In the final in Rome, Argentina received an unpleasant reception and lost to West Germany.<\/p>\n<h3>France, 1998<\/h3>\n<p>The most recent host country to win the title was France, which had never gone all the way until 1998. The French hadn\u2019t even qualified for the 1990 or 1994 World Cups, but at home they reached the final, where they denied Brazil a repeat championship.<\/p>\n<h3>South Korea, 2002<\/h3>\n<p>The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, with the latter making a remarkable run to the semifinals. Italy and Spain saw little to celebrate about the Korean breakthrough.<\/p>\n<p>After the Italians lost to South Korea in extra time in the round of 16, FIFA said it received hundreds of thousands of emails from Italy fans furious about the officiating. In the quarterfinals, South Korea beat Spain on penalties after the Spaniards had multiple goals disallowed.<\/p>\n<p>FIFA president Sepp Blatter denied any conspiracy, but acknowledged some bad calls.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4981\">How did 16 hidden Ohio kids go undetected for years? Experts weigh in<\/a><\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>\n                See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here\n              <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This weekend, England faces the ultimate road game at this World Cup. Sunday\u2019s round of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Home field advantage has been a big part of World Cup history. 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