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Your favourite World Cup

For me it has to be 2002 - was 18 so drinking age and on summer shift work before Uni so could fit work around games and the pub.

A real feeling England could win it, a couple of great nights out after the Argentina and Denmark wins, interesting pieces on the two countries all the time and the hosts' enthusiasm was infectious.

Big shocks like Senegal v France in the very first game, and a lovely story in the final with Ronaldo making up for 4 years earlier.

Remember really getting into USA 94 as the first World Cup I really remember too, and 2014 was really good.
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Comments

  • 1982. Never grow tired of watching the film from the tournament
  • 90 for me. 10 years old and first tournament I remember. Linekar and platt became my heroes. Spent the final in a and e though!
  • 90. All day long.

    Yep, Italia 90 for me too.
  • edited May 2016
    I was just that little bit too young for Italia 90 - remember the fuss over Gazza crying and that's about it!

    To be honest Euro 96 was better than any World Cup I remember! Was 12 and went to Wembley for England v Scotland. Cried my eyes out after the semi final.
  • 1966 - I was 9 and remember the final like it was yesterday.

    But in my adult life it's 1990 by a mile.
  • Probably an obscure one but 2010 for me, more for the time in my life than the actual tournament, being 16 and having just finished school I got to watch nearly every game and really have no worries in the world, looking back it was quite a boring tournament England were dire and you can't watch any game without the vuvuzella's ringing in your ear drums but I bloody loved it.
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  • shirty5 said:

    1982. Never grow tired of watching the film from the tournament

    this, the Brazil side from that tournament are my favourite ever team.

    from an England perspective obviously Italia 90 was superb
  • 1990 by a long shot.
  • 1990 for me; it was absolutely fantastic. It seemed that the game suddenly became universally popular with that world cup.
    People going mad in the street after we won a game. And a bit madder when we lost to Germany...
    A big crowd greeted the England team when they returned at Luton airport; I can't imagine a recurrance of that unless we actually won it.
    Linekar and Gazza were like pop stars. In the first friendly game at Wembley afterwards Vs Hungry I remember loads of girls screaming everytime they touched the ball.
  • Another vote for Italia 90. Wish I'd been old enough to go.

    Loved Bobby Robson, loved the England team - the perfect blend of artists (Waddle, Gazza, etc) and soldiers (Mark Wright, Stuart Pearce and so on).

    World In Motion - best ever England world cup song

    Should've beaten Germany, although they were the best side in terms of consistency across the whole tournament.
  • 1994 - England didn't qualify so there was no dissapointment during the tournament.

    The first one I remember was 1982.
    I enjoyed 2002 and being in the pub early morning for games and stayed there all day.

    Personal favourite though was Mexico 86.
  • edited May 2016
    2002, back when I had a big circle of friends who had no kids or jobs that mattered. Smoking weed and drinking beers while cooking breakfast with a houseful of people at 9am...that was a one-off tournament and I'd give pretty much anything I have now to go back to that time, if only for a day.
  • 1990 was brilliant from an England point of view and I was at the San Siro for the opening match to watch 9 man Cameroon beat Aregntina, so I'll have to go for that. However, it wasn't a great tournament overall - very cynical and defensive.

    I loved 1982 and 1994 as well. England weren't involved, but there were some cracking games
  • 1990 closely followed by 1986
  • Italia 90 for me, watched most of the games in the Trading Post at Bexleyheath. It was carnage after the Cameroon game.
  • Italia 90 for me, watched most of the games in the Trading Post at Bexleyheath. It was carnage after the Cameroon game.

    I was in there. They must have had a shit load of clearing up to do afterwards. Didn't they have flags on the ceiling? (which didn't stay there...)
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  • 2002 or 2014. I was only 7 in 2002 but completely football mad and seem to remember it a lot more clearly then 06 and 10 which is a bit weird! Because we had so many top players who were all favourites of kids. There must have been 5/6 players at least who you would pretend to be when you were playing in the playground. Such a great team and were unlucky not to beat Brazil in the end and could have gone on to the final I think.

    Didn't really enjoy the other two but loved 2014, was so much anticipation for it and was 18 at the time just finished uni so like you said in OP, was out drinking and watching it in pubs. I think there's a little resurgence of your love for international football when you turn 18 and go from watching it at home to being old enough to go to a boozer with your mates. Probably why I'm looking forward so much to the euros too!
  • 1990, as I was only one in '66. I went up to Luton to welcome the team home - amazing atmosphere.
  • 1990 closely followed by 1986

    This

  • 1990 - Went out there , saw England's 3 group games. The worst 3 games of the tournament, England-wise.Only about 7,000 England fans out there at that stage and about 6,500 of them were northerners.........
  • 1990 for obvious reasons. Also liked 2002 with Kinsella involved for Ireland.
  • First memory was 94 and I even remember (in my child-like naivety) cheering the micks on against Italy at a family/friends bbq! :(

    Feel that due to my age I missed a generation of great tournaments (from a match-going fans perspective) like 96,98,2002,2004.

    Loved 2002 as I was 17 but working and could go out on the lash - remember queuing for pubs to open and ordering jugs of larger at 5am esp. for the Brazil game. Great care-free times. I should have gone to 2004 but didn't have the money at the time.

    My first that I attended was 2006 which I thought was very sanitised and didn't do much for me, other than being amazed by the numbers of England at some games. I was in and out for the Eng games (without tickets) which never helps.

    Could not do 2010 or 2014 due to work as it's incredibly hard to get significant time off in June for me, which was required for SA and Brazil.

    This also affected Ukraine 2012 for me and yet again for France this summer I need to go in and out, rather than staying out and soaking up the tournament atmosphere. Grrrrrr.

    Having spoken to many England fans who have travelled to all the major tournaments in the last 30 odd years they nearly to a man say that Japan 2002 was the best (so unique, amazing people and we beat the argies) , but that apart they seems to get worst and more sanitised as time goes on.

    If you're going just from a football perspective then be prepared to be disappointed but if you can go for two weeks and actually see the places then SA and Brazil would have been superb I imagine.

    The next two do not appeal one bit, so I think France will be my last tournament for a long long time (esp. as kids will be imminent) but then I prefer the qualifiers to eastern Europe anyway.
  • Italia 90 for me, watched most of the games in the Trading Post at Bexleyheath. It was carnage after the Cameroon game.

    I was in there. They must have had a shit load of clearing up to do afterwards. Didn't they have flags on the ceiling? (which didn't stay there...)
    The flags ring a bell. Do you remember the guy who used to go in there who had an old Land Rover that people were piling into after the game to drive up and down the broadway?
  • Italia 90 for me, watched most of the games in the Trading Post at Bexleyheath. It was carnage after the Cameroon game.

    I was in there. They must have had a shit load of clearing up to do afterwards. Didn't they have flags on the ceiling? (which didn't stay there...)
    The flags ring a bell. Do you remember the guy who used to go in there who had an old Land Rover that people were piling into after the game to drive up and down the broadway?
    I don't remember him, no. But I do remember driving up and down The Broadway as well. A post office lorry was struck in the traffic outside The Golden Lion and I remember one or two people climbing onto its roof and dancing on it.
  • 1990 of course.

    Watched the Cameroon game in the Drayman. Then launched ourselves up the Broadway dancing round the Clocktower till all hours. Slow day at work that Monday.
  • 1998 for me, it was the first world cup i could watch every game as I could get home from school and a game would be getting ready to kick off.

    That French and Brazilian team were absolute class.
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