Many of the UFWC goals scored in the past 65 years or so can be viewed online. (In particular, the YouTube collection of sp1873 is absolutely magnificent.) Watching the goals provides further proof of the brilliance of the UFWC – the competition has provided more than its fair share of special goals. I have chosen my favourite 50 goals from those I have seen, in chronological order, with my top ten highlighted along the way. Some of these goals are famous; however, many are not, and they are a treat for all UFWC fans. The numbers in brackets after the description correspond to the approximate time in the video that the ball hits the net – in each case the video should start a few seconds earlier to show the goal in all its glory.

We’re presenting the top 50 over three days, followed by a selection of own goals and oddities as part of UFWC Goals Week. Let’s start with Part 1 of the Top 50, covering 1948 to 1979:

1948 Italy vs England
Stan Mortensen
A thumping drive into the roof of the net, beating the keeper from a very acute angle at the near post. (0.27)

1958 Sweden vs West Germany
Hans Schafer
A controlled half-volley high into the net; the goal gave West Germany the lead in this World Cup semi-final, but the Swedes were to hit back with some superb goals of their own. (1.10)

1958 Sweden vs West Germany
Gunnar Gren
A powerful shot so well placed that it hit the inside of the stanchion in the top corner and bounced out again. (3.33)

1958 Sweden vs West Germany
Kurt Hamrin
Dribbling along the touchline, Hamrin skips past one defender before dinking the ball neatly over the keeper. (3.50)

1958 Sweden vs Brazil
Pele
*TOP TEN*
Arguably the most famous goal on the list. Pele was a hitherto unknown 17-year old suddenly appearing in the World Cup final in front of a global audience. He showed no nerves at all, however, in putting his side 3-1 up with this iconic goal. Shielding the ball from one defender with his chest, he then flicked it over another defender before calmly volleying it into the net. (1.04)

1966 USSR vs Italy
Igor Chislenko
*TOP TEN*
Chislenko brought the ball forward, played a one-two with a backheeled return, cut inside and bent a powerful shot into the far top corner. (0.10)

1967 France vs USSR
Jacques Simon
A perfectly placed left-footed rocket into the top corner. (1.46)

1967 USSR vs Austria
Anatoliy Byshovets
A beautifully-controlled bicycle kick. (1.23)

1969 Sweden vs France
Ove Kindvall
A neat bit of skill saw Kindvall turn his man in the box, before surprising the keeper with a flashing shot high into the net. (2.10)

1970 Switzerland vs Italy
Sandro Mazzola
*TOP TEN*
The TV picture is not the best on this footage, but it is a remarkable goal. Mazzola works himself some space with no fewer than five keepie-uppies, before directing his shot low into the corner from outside the box. (1.10)

1974 Netherlands vs Argentina
Johan Cruyff
To cap perhaps their best performance of the 1974 World Cup, the Netherlands went 4-0 up with this volley from wide on the left by Cruyff. (2.42)

1977 Rep of Ireland vs France
Liam Brady
This goal gave Ireland the UFWC title for the first time in their history, and was neatly finished by Brady after a single touch had taken at least three French defenders out of the game. (0.10)

1978 Italy vs France
Michel Platini
Platini bent a perfect free kick into the top left-hand corner, only to have it disallowed as the referee wasn’t ready. Undeterred, he re-took it, and buried into the bottom right-hand corner this time. (2.53)

1978 Netherlands vs Italy
Arie Haan
*TOP TEN*
The goal that clinched the Netherlands’ place in the World Cup Final, it swerved in off the post from at least 35 yards out. (2.56)

1979 Italy vs Argentina
Franco Causio
*TOP TEN*
Collecting the ball wide on the left from a throw-in, Causio flicked the ball over a defender then hit a sensational looping volley over the keeper and in. (1.00)

1979 Paraguay vs Brazil
Eugenio Morel
Chest control and an overhead kick in this Copa America semi-final. (0.13)

Coming tomorrow, Part 2 of the Top 50, covering 1980 to 1997, as UFWC Goals Week continues.

New to the Unofficial Football World Championships? Try our UFWC Beginner’s Guide.

England 4-2 West Germany AET
30 July 1966
World Cup Final
Wembley Stadium, England
Scorers: Hurst (3), Peters (England); Haller, Weber (Germany)

1966 and all that was the scene of England’s greatest football achievement. West Germany had beaten the USSR 2-1 at the semi-final stage to take the UFWC title. England then saw off Portugal by the same scoreline to set up an epic encounter. For the final, 93,000 spectators crammed into Wembley Stadium, and an estimated 400 million people tuned in on TV. Then it was game on as England and West Germany contested both the World Cup and the Unofficial Football World Championships.

The Germans took the lead through Helmut Haller after just 16 minutes, but England quickly struck back with a header from Geoff Hurst. Martin Peters gave England the lead in the second half, but an 89th-minute Wolfgang Weber equaliser saw the match go into extra-time.

‘You’ve won it once, now win it again,’ England manager Alf Ramsey told his side. His players didn’t disappoint. Hurst’s controversial crossbar/goal-line strike is still disputed to this day, but his stunning 120th-minute hat-trick goal could not be denied. England won the World Cup and, some might say more importantly, the UFWC to become the undisputed official and unofficial football world champions.

BBC TV viewers were treated to Kenneth Wolstenholme’s legendary ‘Some people are on the pitch…’ commentary. Less famously, ITV viewers heard Hugh Johns describe the final few seconds of the game with: ‘Here’s Hurst. He might make it three. He has! He has! So that’s it!’

The so-called ‘Russian linesman’ famed for allowing Geoff Hurst’s second goal and upsetting an awful lot of Germans, was actually from Azerbaijan. Tofik Bakhramov was a legendary football figure in his home country, and a well-respected international referee. Born in 1926, Bakhramov turned to officiating after injury ruined his playing career. He once described matches as duels, ‘full of unforeseen turns and even real miracles.’ In 2004 a grateful Hurst unveiled a statue of Bakhramov, who died in 1993, next to Azerbaijan’s Tofik Bakhramov National Stadium.

Back in England, the victorious players were whisked off to a boozy reception at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. PM Harold Wilson was in attendance wearing a World Cup tie, but the guest of honour was Pickles, the two-year-old mongrel who had found the trophy under a hedge after it was stolen by mysterious thief ‘The Pole’.

Amid the post match celebrations, German goalscorer Haller made off with the match ball, but kindly returned it to hat-trick hero Hurst a full 30 years later – after The Mirror newspaper coughed up £80,000. And let it be noted that many Germans were gracious in defeat. The Bild am Sontag reported, ‘England are 1966 world champions. Bravo. The players from the Motherland have done it for the first time.’

Many years after the event a group of boffins at Oxford University used computers to prove that Hurst’s second goal had not, in fact, crossed the line. No one in England cared one jot. England were combined official and unofficial world champions.

***

This is the latest in our series of classic UFWC/WC matches during the run-up to Brazil 2014. UFWC champions Uruguay will be online favourites to take the title to Brazil, although they have a couple of tricky title matches to negotiate first. If they remain unofficial champions, they’ll have the chance to unify the unofficial and official football titles, just like England in 1966.

For more classic matches from the UFWC archives check out the brand new edition of the official UFWC book, Unofficial Football World Champions, which is out now.

West Germany 2-1 Netherlands
7 July 1974
World Cup Final
Olympiastadion, Munich
Scorers: Breitner (pen), Muller (West Germany); Neeskens (pen) (Netherlands)

Euro champions West Germany took on UFWC champions the Netherlands in this 1974 World Cup climax. The Netherlands had entered the tournament unbeaten in 14 UFWC matches, and retained the title all the way to the final. The Dutch were all about total football – pioneered by coach Rinus Michels, and personified by captain Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff was named European Footballer of the Year three times, but the UFWC was the only international title he won in his 48 games for his country. A difficult genius, Cruyff ruined the Dutch squad’s unique alphabetic numbering system for the 1974 tournament by demanding to wear his trademark number 14 shirt. The Puma-sponsored star also refused to wear Adidas’s trademark three stripes on his shirtsleeves, playing in a specially altered two-stripe kit. Lining up alongside Cruyff in brilliant orange were the likes of Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep and Ruud Krol.

While the Dutch practised free-flowing total football, the formidable Germans favoured a more guarded mobile sweeper system. Hosts West Germany also had the crowd on their side, not to mention the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller.

Kick-off in soccer’s showpiece final was delayed for several minutes as groundstaff in the Olympiastadion had neglected to set up corner flags. But when play finally got underway, West Germany didn’t seem ready. Indeed, the Netherlands took the lead before a German player touched the ball. Cruyff strolled from his own half through the German defence and into the penalty area, only to be scythed down by Uli Hoeness. Ref Jack Taylor awarded a penalty, causing German libero Beckenbauer to point out, quite accurately, ‘You’re an Englishman!’ The Dutch penalty-taker was the deadly Neeskens, who dispatched the ball into the centre of the goal with minimum fuss.

It was a very early kick in the teeth for the Germans, but they stuck to their patient gameplan – and it paid off 25 minutes later. Bernd Holzenbein squeezed into the Dutch penalty area and was challenged rather innocuously by Wim Jansen. Holzenbein went down like a sniper had taken him out. Jack Taylor again pointed to the spot. Had Beckenbauer’s earlier comment persuaded Taylor to ‘even the score’? Regardless, Paul Breitner buried the penalty – after Cruyff instructed keeper Jan Jongbloed to dive in the wrong direction.

West Germany had the initiative, and just before half-time they had the lead. Muller turned in the box, and knocked the ball past the static Jongbloed. It was Muller’s 14th World Cup goal, making him the tournament’s all-time top goalscorer. The Dutch were rattled. As the half-time whistle blew Cruyff, took his turn at berating ref Taylor, and was booked for his indiscretion. The Netherlands regrouped after the break and piled pressure on the German goal, but to no avail. The game ended 2-1 to West Germany.

The final whistle was greeted with delirium from the home fans. The Germans had reclaimed the World Cup, reclaimed the UFWC title, and unified both titles as undisputed official and unofficial world champions. Adding the European Championships to the mix, West Germany became the first team in history to unify the WC, UFWC and EC titles. A respectful nod should be made, however, in the direction of the Netherlands, who took the UFWC title on a remarkable unbeaten run into the WC tournament and all the way to the final – the first team ever to do so – before being stopped in their tracks.

But it was West Germany who were presented with the brand new FIFA World Cup trophy, the earlier Jules Rimet trophy having been handed permanently to three-time winners Brazil. The Germans held off UFWC challengers Switzerland, Greece, and Malta in subsequent months, then, in March 1975, played out a UFWC rematch with England – and lost 2-0.

***

We’re presenting a series of UFWC World Cup Classics in the build-up to Brazil 2014. The above is an edited extract from the official UFWC book, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains many more classic matches from the UFWC archives. The brand new 2014 edition is out now.

West Germany 2-3 Argentina
29 June 1986
World Cup Final
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Scorers: Rummenigge, Voller (West Germany); Brown, Valdano, Burruchaga (Argentina)

Tumultuous earthquakes killed 20,000 people in Mexico in the run-up to the 1986 World Cup tournament, but the magnificent Azteca remained standing, and the football went ahead. West Germany took the UFWC title into the tournament, but lost it to Denmark in the opening round. The title was then passed to Spain, then Belgium, and then Argentina over the course of a week.

Argentina reached the final largely courtesy of Diego Maradona’s brilliance and cheek, famously seeing off England in the quarter-finals with an assist from the ‘hand of god’, and then beating Belgium in the semis. West Germany got a chance to regain the World Cup and the UFWC after beating hosts Mexico on penalties, and then knocking out an excellent French team with a 2-0 win.

The Germans had strengthened their side since losing out in the 1982 final. Alongside Harald Schumacher and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge were Lothar Mathaus, Andy Brehme, and Rudi Voller. Their coach was a man who knew all about winning the World Cup and the UFWC title – Franz ‘Der Kaiser’ Beckenbauer.

The Germans were favourites, but the Argentinians were sure to give them a game. Although Maradona was certainly the star of the show, Argentina were anything but a one-man team. They had top goalkeeper Neri Pumpido, plus the likes of Oscar Ruggeri, Jorge Valdano and Jorge Burruchaga. ‘Burru’ was a particularly gifted attacking midfielder who would surely have been more highly regarded had he not been somewhat overshadowed by the great Maradona. And while Maradona was instrumental in the match, Argentina delivered a true team performance.

The Germans gave the job of marking Maradona to Matthaus. But Matthaus’s foul on Maradona midway through the first half led to the first goal, when Burruchaga’s free-kick was misjudged by Schumacher, and Argentinian defender Jose Luis Brown headed home. Ten minutes after the interval Argentina doubled their lead, after Maradona set up Valdano to score.

But the Germans were never going to give up without a fight, and they struck back from two Brehme corner kicks. First Voller flicked on for Rummenigge to score, then Voller himself headed in an equaliser.

With just five minutes remaining, the match was heading for extra-time. Then Maradona poked a great ball through to Burruchaga. Burru nipped clear of the German defence and slipped the ball under Schumacher to score the winner. The underdogs had pulled off a famous and deserved victory.

This was a final UFWC appearance for West Germany. East Germany’s communist regime collapsed in 1989, leading to the reunification of Germany in 1990. The East and West Germany teams were also reunified, as were their FIFA and UFWC records. A final match between East and West Germany was scheduled for 14 November 1990, but it was cancelled due to rioting by East German fans. The reunified German team wouldn’t play a UFWC title match until 1996.

Meanwhile, UFWC champions Argentina had a 12-month hiatus, returning to action in June 1987 – and losing 3-1 to Italy.

***

We’re presenting a series of UFWC World Cup Classics in the build-up to Brazil 2014. The above is an edited extract from the official UFWC book, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains many more classic matches from the UFWC archives. The brand new 2014 edition is out now.

Netherlands 0-0 Argentina (Arg win 4-2 on pens)
9 July 2014
Arena Corinthians, São Paulo
World Cup Semi Final

Another 0-0 draw after extra-time and another penalty shoot-out, but a different result as the Netherlands lost the UFWC title and crashed out of the World Cup, with Argentina becoming the new Unofficial Football World Champions and claiming a place in the World Cup Final. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was the hero, saving shoot-out kicks from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to give his side victory. Argentina will play Germany on Sunday with the official FIFA and unofficial UFWC titles both at stake.

The Dutch were unable to repeat their remarkable penalty shoot-out win over Costa Rica, which was notable for coach Luis van Gaal’s bold decision to substitute goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen ahead of the shoot-out. His replacement Tim Krul saved two penalties, and won that match for the Netherlands. However, van Gaal kept faith with Cillessen, who started today’s match. And, having made three substitutions, the Dutch were unable to bring on Krul. Cillessen, who has never saved a penalty in his career, failed to stop any of the Argentine kicks as his team crashed out of the World Cup.

The Netherlands (some say Holland) had started the match with only one change from the 11 that beat Costa Rica, with Nigel de Jong returning from injury in place of Memphis Depay. In a 5-3-2 formation, Stefan De Vrij, Vlaar and Martins Indi played across the back, with Daley Blind and Dirk Kuyt as wing backs. De Jong, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sneijder were in the middle, with Arjen Robben supporting captain Robin van Persie up front. Van Persie had overcome a stomach bug to play, but he would be substituted in extra time having failed to make an impression.

Argentina were last UFWC champions in October 2013, when they lost to Uruguay without the injured Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Mascherano. All three stars were present and correct for this match. Enzo Perez replaced the injured Angel Di Maria, and Marcos Rojo came in for Jose Basanta. Alejandro Sabella set his team up as a familiar-looking 4-3-3. Romero kept goal in front of a back four of Ezequiel Garay, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Rojo. Mascherano, Perez and Lucas Biglia made up the three-man midfield, with Ezequiel Lavezzi and captain Messi supporting Higuain up front.

It was an incredibly tight match, with little space for either side to work in. Argentina tried to work the ball down the right hand flank, but the Dutch eventually closed this avenue down, leaving nowhere to run for either side. The best chance of the first half was a Messi free-kick that was comfortably smothered by Cillessen. The second half was similarly short of goalscoring opportunities until the last minute, when Robben was denied by a great tackle from man-of-the-match Mascherano.

Extra time saw more of the same, with Messi a peripheral figure, and Robben failing to create anything else of note. Argentine substitute Rodgrigo Palacio had the best chance, but headed weakly into Cillessen’s hands. The poor game inevitably headed into a penalty shoot-out.

The pressure was on the Dutch from the moment the otherwise excellent Vlaar missed the first kick. Maxi Rodriguez scored what was Argentina’s winning penalty to secure the UFWC title and a place in the final. This was Argentina’s 58th UFWC title match victory. They are third in the all-time rankings, eight wins clear of the fourth-placed Dutch.

The next UFWC title match is of course the World Cup Final, on Sunday, 13 July, at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. Argentina will face Germany, who humiliated Brazil 7-1 in their semi final. Germany have won 27 UFWC title matches, and are ranked eighth in the world. The Germans were last Unofficial Football World Champions during Euro 2000 tournament, where they lost the title to England. They last contested a UFWC title match in 2002, when they lost 3-1 to the Netherlands.

The winner of Sunday’s match will be the official FIFA champions and the unofficial UFWC champions, and therefore the undisputed champions! The last team to unify the official and official titles was Spain, at the last World Cup in 2010. The current World Cup tournament will be the ninth at which the official and unofficial titles have been unified. (The titles have also been unified outside of World Cup competitions.) The previous eight tournaments that provided undisputed champions were:

1958 Brazil
1966 England
1974 West Germany
1978 Argentina
1982 Italy
1986 Argentina
1998 France
2010 Spain

Who will be crowned Undisputed Football World Champions on Sunday? We’ll have full coverage right here. You can also keep right up to date with all things UFWC via Twitter or Facebook.

You can find out everything you need to know about the UFWC in our official handbook, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains a complete history of the unofficial competition. The 2014 edition, updated for the World Cup, is out now.

Germany 1-0 Argentina AET
13 July 2014
Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
World Cup Final
Scorer: Goetze

A wonderful goal by wunderkind Mario Goetze secured Germany their fourth World Cup title. In defeating Argentina, the Germans also took the UFWC title and became Unofficial Football World Champions. Having unified the FIFA and UFWC titles, Germany can claim to be the ‘undisputed’ champions. This was the fourth successive UFWC title match to go to extra time, but unlike the previous three it didn’t go to penalties. Substitute Goetze’s 113th minute strike was all that was required to win the game, as a fantastic World Cup came to an end.

Germany’s path to this final had seen them defeat Portugal and the USA and draw with Ghana during the group stage, then beat Algeria and France, before humiliating hosts Brazil 7-1 in the semi final. They suffered a blow before kick-off, losing Sami Khedira to injury during the warm-up. He was replaced by Christophe Kramer, but a nasty concussion meant Kramer also had to be replaced before half-time.

Germany started the match with a 4-5-1 formation, spearheaded by all-time record World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose, supported by Toni Kroos, Mesut Oezil and Thomas Mueller, with Kramer and Bastian Schweinsteiger in holding roles. Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng played in central defence, with Benedikt Hoewedes and captain Philipp Lahm as attacking full-backs. Manuel Neuer kept goal, and would subsequently be awarded the golden gloves trophy as the tournament’s outstanding goalkeeper.

Argentina had won all of their previous matches during the tournament, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium and then the Netherlands, from whom they took the UFWC title. They lined up with the same team that had beaten the Netherlands, in a familiar-looking 4-3-3. Sergio Romero kept goal in front of a back four of Ezequiel Garay, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Rojo. Mascherano, Enzo Perez and Lucas Biglia made up the three-man midfield, with Ezequiel Lavezzi and captain Lionel Messi supporting Higuain up front.

As expected, this was a tight game, with little to chose between the sides. It was Higuain who had the best chance of the match, presented with the ball at his feet and the keeper to beat following an errant back-header. Remarkably, though, the striker mis-hit his shot wide of Neuer’s goal. Higuain subsequently had the ball in the net, and wheeled away in celebration, only to be (correctly) flagged offside. Substitute Rodgrigo Palacio also had a decent chance, but his attempt to lift the ball over the advancing Neuer went wide.

Although all eyes were on Lionel Messi, the star was unable to exert much influence on the game. His one chance, when it came, was dragged wide of the post, as he was outshone by team-mate Mascherano and opponent Schweinsteiger, who were the pick of the players on view. Surprisingly, Messi was subsequently awarded the golden ball as player of the tournament, although it seemed that decision must have been made before this match had been played.

The winning goal was forged by two substitutes. First the energetic Andre Schuerrle barrelled down the left wing and cut in an excellent cross. But there was still plenty for Mario Goetze to do, as he controlled the ball on his chest, then stroked it across Romeros and into the far side of the goal. The celebrations were long and loud, and even Sepp Blatter’s botched trophy presentation couldn’t spoil the occasion.

It was Germany’s fourth World Cup win, and their 28th UFWC title match win, moving them up to 7th in the all-time rankings alongside Sweden. And it was the ninth time the official and unofficial titles have been unified at the World Cup Final:

1958 Brazil
1966 England
1974 West Germany
1978 Argentina
1982 Italy
1986 Argentina
1998 France
2010 Spain
2014 Germany

Over the course of the last month in Brazil we’ve had seven UFWC title matches and five UFWC champions – Uruguay, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Argentina and Germany. All four knock-out phase UFWC games went to extra time, and three of them went to penalties. We’ll have more reflection on the tournament over the coming days, but here’s a full run-down of the World Cup 2014 UFWC title matches:

14/06/14 URUGUAY 1-3 COSTA RICA Fortaleza
20/06/14 ITALY 0-1 COSTA RICARecife
24/06/14 ENGLAND 0-0 COSTA RICA Belo Horizonte
29/06/14 GREECE 1-1 COSTA RICA*Recife
05/07/14 NETHERLANDS* 0-0 COSTA RICA Salvador
09/07/14 NETHERLANDS 0-0 ARGENTINA* Sao Paulo
13/07/14 GERMANY 1-0 ARGENTINA, Rio de Janeiro
[*won on penalties]

Their official title may be safe for another four years, but Germany will have to defend their unofficial title in less then eight weeks. And it will be a swift World Cup Final rematch. By coincidence, in a pre-arranged friendly, Germany’s next match is against Argentina in Düsseldorf on 3 September. The Germans will then embark on their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, with their first qualifier against Scotland on 7 September. We’ll continue to have full coverage of all things UFWC right here. You can also keep right up to date via Twitter or Facebook.

You can find out everything you need to know about the UFWC in our official handbook, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains a complete history of the unofficial competition. The 2014 edition, updated for the World Cup, is out now.

During the past month or so, over the course of the World Cup, the UFWC trophy has changed hands four times. Along the way I’ve managed to watch the drama unfold from three different continents as a nomadic football fan. Starting off in Hong Kong, where I watched the World Cup get underway, I then flew to London for the first weekend of the World Cup before watching the rest of it in South America.

The adventure began in the first weekend of the World Cup, when Uruguay’s surprise defeat to Costa Rica gave the Ticos the UFWC title, which they managed to take all the way to the quarter finals, where they drew 0-0 with the Netherlands before losing on penalties. It was a superb performance from the Costa Rican underdogs, who conceded just two goals in five World Cup matches, all against higher ranked teams in the FIFA rankings. After the Netherlands, Argentina took the title, before Germany triumphed at the grand finale, the 2014 World Cup Final. And I was there to see it.

I watched the first UFWC World Cup match in London. Picture the scene – I’m in a crowded bar in Leicester Square watching Uruguay go 1-0 up against Costa Rica. Everyone knows what will happen. Uruguay will score another and will win the match. Wrong. The place erupts as Costa Rica score quick-fire goals to win 3-1. It was one of the biggest shocks of the World Cup, but the best was yet to come from the Ticos.

Next stop Brazil, where I attended the Brazil versus Mexico match in Fortaleza before setting off backpacking. By the time the Costa Rica versus Italy UFWC title match came around I was in the city of Macapa. It didn’t host the World Cup, but Macapa is a city with a cool claim to fame – it straddles the Equator. Even better – Macapa has a football stadium where one half of the pitch is in the northern hemisphere and the other half is in the southern hemisphere! As I crossed the Equator, we headed on a bus into the city centre where we watched the Costa Rica match in a licensed ice cream bar. It was just unreal. The Italians looked shell-shocked as Costa Rica did what they needed and won 1-0.

After Macapa, we crossed by boat into French Guyana with the idea of watching a France match there. On route to the town of St Laurent du Maroni we stopped for a night in Kourou. It was here that we watched Costa Rica win their group as they drew 0-0 with already eliminated England. The UFWC title would have left the World Cup if England had won, but Costa Rica carried it through to the round of 16.

We were in the unknown town of Parika in Guyana to watch Costa Rica versus Greece. We saw the crazy drama unfold as the only two foreigners in a bar called Fat Head’s, having the local Bank’s Beer. We all cheered on Costa Rica for the afternoon, and the Greeks went out on penalties.

Now we were into the quarter finals, where the Netherlands had to try and take the UFWC title from Costa Rica. They did it, but only just. After a frantic 90 minutes and a dramatic 30 minutes of extra time, the Netherlands won on penalties as an inspired substitution from Louis van Gaal led to goalkeeper Tim Krul saving two penalties.

The Costa Ricans were out, and the UFWC headed into the semi finals where the Netherlands would go head to head with Argentina. Astonishingly for the third match in succession, the UFWC title match was decided on penalties. We were staying in a social and lively hostel called Hostel Green House in Foz do Iguacu in Brazil, and we watched the drama unfold from there. This time Argentina triumphed to take the UFWC title, and secure a place in football’s main event. I had secure my place, too, with tickets for the World Cup Final, Germany versus Argentina.

It was a dream come true to attend the final. Even more so because it was held at Brazil’s famous Maracana Stadium. The day started early and we decided to get the Metro over to the Maracana before noon. The two hours before the closing ceremony were used to mingle with other fans, have a few beers and soak in the atmosphere. The buzz was just electric. There seemed to be three main nationalities present on the day – Brazilians, Germans and Argentinians. We met up with lots of them, as well as a small contingent of my Northern Irish countrymen, who had made the trip over despite the fact that we didn’t qualify.

The Brazilians seemed to side with the Germans on the day, and they had completely wiped out all trace of ‘the 7-1′ that their team had been subjected to. Their aim now was to watch the Germans beat their Argentine rivals by just as emphatic a scoreline. Of course Argentina didn’t lie down the way Brazil did. The match was a more even affair. Both teams went for it, but the defences held out. For a 0-0 match, it was entertaining right up to the end of the 90 minutes, and it was into extra time yet again.

A hero was needed and he arrived in the shape of Mario Goetze, who did to Argentina what Andres Iniesta had done to the Netherlands in 2010, scoring a second-half winner in extra time, latching onto a ball into the danger zone and slotting home with a fantastic finish. The goal was right in front of us. As it hit the net the place just erupted. There was more applause and happiness than dejection. The Brazilians couldn’t face the thought of Argentina winning the World Cup in the Maracana. Now they didn’t have to. The Germans had done enough and were worthy winners. The Argentines hung around in time to applaud their hero Lionel Messi, who had fallen short of what Maradona managed in 1986 but he still got the Golden Ball award.

As the Germany team took to the stage to celebrate, there was one thing they forgot – they were not just World Champions, they had also won the Unofficial World Championships. Two for the price of one. It’s now up to the Germans now to hold onto their title as they take it into the Euro 2016 Qualifiers.

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Germany vs Argentina
3 September 2014
Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf

Less than two months after the World Cup Final, where Germany defeated Argentina to become official FIFA and unofficial UFWC champions, the two sides come together for a rematch. This friendly, at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, was arranged back in March, long before the World Cup took place in Brazil. The coincidental rematch gives Argentina the chance to gain some form of revenge. Although the FIFA title will remain with Germany for the next four years, the UFWC title is up for grabs as the winner-stays-on alternative football competition continues.

Challengers Argentina have a new coach. Alejandro Sabella quit after the World Cup, and was replaced by Gerardo Martino, who took the job after a relatively disappointing season in Spain with Barcelona, during which the club only managed to win the Spanish Super Cup. Martino, a former Argentina international player, has previously managed Paraguay, who he led to the 2010 World Cup quarter finals. He was in charge for a UFWC title match in 2009, which Paraguay drew 0-0 with then-champions the Netherlands.

Martino’s first Argentina squad contains few surprises, with no major changes required for a team that reached a World Cup final. However, unable to pick domestic-based players for this fixture, he has left out Fernando Gago, Agustin Orion and Maxi Rodriguez. New Manchester United signings Marcos Rojo and Angel Di Maria are both in the squad, alongside Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis, plus of course Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano of Barcelona.

At the time of writing, Germany boss Joachim Loew has yet to announce his squad. The champions will be without their former captain Philipp Lahm and fellow defender Per Mertesacker, both of whom have retired from international football. Bastian Schweinsteiger has been touted as a new captain, but his persistent injury problems look likely to rule him out of this match. Thomas Muller and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also have claims to the armband.

Germany are ranked seventh in the UFWC’s all-time rankings, while Argentina are third. FIFA ranks Germany and Argentina first and second respectively. Germany won the World Cup Final by a single goal, scored by Mario Goetze in extra time. Overall, the two sides have met 22 times, with Germany winning nine, and Argentina winning eight. So there seems little to choose between the two sides.

The match will be played on Wednesday 3 September at the 54,600-seater Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf. Four days later, Germany begin their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign with a qualifier against all-time UFWC champions Scotland. Argentina’s next match is a Superclassico gala match at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium on 11 October. We’ll continue to have full coverage of every UFWC title match right here. You can also keep up to date with all things UFWC via Twitter or Facebook.

You can find out everything you need to know about the UFWC in our official handbook, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains a complete history of the unofficial competition. The 2014 edition is out now.

Germany 2-4 Argentina
3 September 2014
Friendly
Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf
Scorers: Aguero, Lamela, Fernandez, Di Maria (Argentina), Schurrle, Goetze (Germany)

Less than two months after losing the World Cup Final to Germany, Argentina gained some form of revenge with an impressive victory over the official world champions. New Manchester United signing Angel Di Maria was the star man, creating three and scoring another in a rampant display. Germany attempted a comeback, but looked a shadow of the team that won the World Cup. Although Germany will retain the FIFA title for the next four years, they are swiftly deprived of the UFWC title. A 59th UFWC title match win makes Argentina the new Unofficial Football World Champions.

Germany lined up in new shirts with four stars above their badge, denoting four World Cup wins. They were without the retired Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker, and the injured Bastian Schweinsteiger. Lionel Messi was missing for Argentina, having picked up a hamstring strain in Barcelona win over Villarreal on Sunday. Di Maria, the £59.7m Man United signing, produced a suitably impressive performance, in new manager Gerardo Martino’s first game in charge.

It was from a Di Maria cross that Argentina took the lead, with Sergio Aguero nipping in to tap the ball into the net from close range. And Di Maria controlled the game, as Argentina looked for revenge against the World Cup champions. Germany tested a shaky Argentina defence with a couple of chances, with Mario Gomez particularly wasteful. But before half-time it was 2-0 to Argentina, with another Di Maria cross this time finished by Tottenham’s Erik Lamela.

The second half began with an incredible burst of action. First Federico Fernandez of Swansea City scored a third goal for Argentina, from another Di Maria cross. And within moments Di Maria got a goal himself – and what a goal – playing a one-two with Zabaleta, running half the length of the pitch, then cleverly chipping Manuel Neuer in the German goal. 4-0 to Argentina, and this was looking like a humiliation for the World Cup winners.

But, almost immediately, Andre Schurrle pulled one back for his side. 4-1 to Argentina. And, in the 80th minute, Mario Goetze pulled another one back to make it 4-2. Could Germany pull off an incredible comeback? They could not. Argentina had defeated the official champions to become unofficial champions.

Argentina now get to defend the UFWC title, and their next match is a Superclassico gala match against Brazil at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium on 11 October. You can also keep up to date with all things UFWC via Twitter or Facebook. And you can find out everything you need to know about the UFWC in our official handbook, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains a complete history of the unofficial competition. The 2014 edition is out now.

15 title matches, 32 goals, six champions – that’s a summary of the Unofficial Football World Championships in 2014. In contrast to 2013, this year the UFWC was mostly dominated by some of international football’s biggest names, as the unofficial title was contested at the official World Cup, culminating in the creation of an ‘undisputed’ football world champion. But that undisputed championship didn’t last long, as the official and unofficial titles were separated by a resurgent football nation. And there were plenty of other surprises along the way.

The year began with Uruguay as Unofficial Football World Champions. Austria were the first challengers, and they led for 50 minutes in Klagenfurt, but a scrappy equaliser from Alvaro Pereira allowed Uruguay to retain the title. Northern Ireland provided another stiff challenge, but Christian Stuani scored a winning goal for Uruguay. Stuani scored again in the next match, a World Cup warm-up against Slovenia. Edinson Cavani also scored in a 2-0 victory. It was Uruguay’s 20th UFWC title match win.

Brazil 2014 was the 12th World Cup Finals at which the UFWC title was contested. Uruguay went into the tournament as UFWC champions, but their reign came to an end in their first group stage match. It was Costa Rica who shocked Uruguay, and much of the watching world, with an excellent 3-1 win, inspired by Arsenal youngster Joel Campbell. This was actually Costa Rica’s sixth UFWC title match victory, although their first since 1963.

There were more heroics to come from Costa Rica. First they beat the once-mighty Italy courtesy of a goal from captain Bryan Ruiz. Then they extended their run as UFWC champions with a goalless draw against England.

Into the World Cup last 16, Costa Rica faced Greece. Bryan Ruiz scored again, but Greek centre-half Sokratis Papastathopoulos grabbed a 91st minute equaliser. Costa Rica played the 30 minutes of extra time with only ten men, Oscar Duarte having been sent off, but somehow managed to keep the Greeks at bay. Goalkeeper Keylor Navas ended up being the hero for Los Ticos, saving brilliantly at the end of extra time, them saving a crucial penalty as the match was decided by a shoot-out. Michael Umana converted the final penalty for Costa Rica, who won the shoot-out 5-3.

The Costa Ricans deservedly took their place in the World Cup Quarter Finals, but faced formidable opposition in the shape of the Netherlands. The Dutch edged things over 90 minutes, and both sides had chances to win the game in a brilliantly entertaining period of extra-time, but there were no goals. Just as the match was about to go to penalties, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal substituted goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, replacing him with Tim Krul. The substitution turned out to be a master-stroke, as Krul saved two of Costa Rica’s kicks, giving the Netherlands a 4-3 win on penalties.

So the Netherlands took the UFWC title into the World Cup Semi Final, and for the third successive time a UFWC title match was decided on penalties. The opponents were Argentina, and the hero was Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero. After the goalless game went to penalties, Romero saved shoot-out kicks from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to give his side victory. Argentina were the new Unofficial Football World Champions.

Then came the World Cup Final, with UFWC champions Argentina facing challengers Germany. Germany’s path to this final had seen them defeat Portugal and the USA and draw with Ghana during the group stage, then beat Algeria and France, before humiliating hosts Brazil 7-1 in the semi final. This was the fourth successive UFWC title match to go to extra time, but unlike the previous three it didn’t go to penalties. A wonderful goal by wunderkind Mario Goetze in the 113th minute secured Germany their fourth World Cup win. The Germans also took the UFWC title and became Unofficial Football World Champions. Having unified the FIFA and UFWC titles, Germany could also claim to be the ‘undisputed’ champions.

Less than two months after losing the World Cup Final to Germany, Argentina gained some form of revenge with an impressive victory over the official world champions. Although Germany will retain the FIFA title for the next four years, they were swiftly deprived of the UFWC title. Manchester United’s Angel Di Maria was the star man, creating three and scoring another in a rampant display. Germany attempted a comeback, but looked a shadow of the team that won the World Cup. The final score was 4-2 to Argentina, who regained the UFWC title.

The next challengers were Brazil, who had failed in their attempt to become official world champions, but made a more successful claim to be unofficial champions. This so-called friendly match was the latest Superclásico de las Américas derby between Argentina and Brazil, and was one played more than 10,000 miles away from South America in Beijing. This was a much more confident Brazil side than the one that flopped as host nation at the World Cup. Led by the brilliance of Neymar, and with two goals from new striker Diego Tardelli, the Seleção won 2-0 and Brazil were the new UFWC champions.

A brilliant four-goal performance from Neymar helped Brazil move another step away from their World Cup embarrassment as they retained the UFWC title with a thoroughly impressive win over Japan. The best efforts of the challengers were simply no match for a fluid, fast-breaking Brazilian side, who won 4-0.

Brazil then cruised past challengers Turkey with another fantastic post-World Cup performance of the type that was sorely lacking during the official tournament. Brazil won 4-0 again. Turkish fans sang the name of two-goal man of the match Neymar, and booed and whistled their own team, such was the gulf in class on show.

The final title match of 2014 saw Brazil secure their sixth straight post-World Cup victory, and their fourth straight UFWC title match win, to remain Unofficial Football World Champions. But this wasn’t as easy as previous wins. The final challengers of 2014 – Austria – had also been the first challengers of the year. Austria did score a goal – the first Brazil had conceded since the World Cup. But the 2-1 result meant Brazil ended 2014 as UFWC champions, an achievement that seemed highly unlikely following a wretched campaign as World Cup hosts. The turnaround achieved by Dunga and his players has been remarkable, and they thoroughly deserve to end the year as Unofficial Football World Champions.

Below is a full list of all 15 2014 UFWC title matches. You can click on the links for match details.

05/03/14 AUSTRIA 1-1 URUGUAY FR Klagenfurt
30/05/14 URUGUAY 1-0 NORTHERN IRELAND FR Montevideo
04/06/14 URUGUAY 2-0 SLOVENIA FR Montevideo
14/06/14 URUGUAY 1-3 COSTA RICA WC Fortaleza, Brazil
20/06/14 ITALY 0-1 COSTA RICA WC Recife, Brazil
24/06/14 ENGLAND 0-0 COSTA RICA WC Belo Horizonte, Brazil
29/06/14 GREECE 1-1 COSTA RICA* WC Recife, Brazil
05/07/14 NETHERLANDS* 0-0 COSTA RICA WC Salvador, Brazil
09/07/14 NETHERLANDS 0-0 ARGENTINA* WC Sao Paulo, Brazil
13/07/14 GERMANY 1-0 ARGENTINA, WC Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
03/09/14 GERMANY 2-4 ARGENTINA, FR Düsseldorf
11/10/14 BRAZIL 2-0 ARGENTINA, FR Beijing, China
14/10/14 BRAZIL 4-0 JAPAN, FR, Singapore
12/11/14 TURKEY 0-4 BRAZIL, FR, Istanbul
18/11/14 AUSTRIA 1-2 BRAZIL, FR, Vienna

As it stands, Brazil have won 33 UFWC title matches and are 6th in the all-time rankings. Argentina and the Netherlands are 3rd and 4th respectively, and Germany are 7th. Uruguay’s run as UFWC champions lifted them to 11th place, while Costa Rica are in 22nd place. The UFWC Ranking Table, based on number of title matches won, looks like this at the end of 2014:

1 SCOTLAND 86
2 ENGLAND 73
3 ARGENTINA 59
4 NETHERLANDS 50
5 RUSSIA 41
6 BRAZIL 33
7 GERMANY 28
7 SWEDEN 28
9 ITALY 27
10 FRANCE 25
11 URUGUAY 20
22 COSTA RICA 8

The next fixtured UFWC title match sees Brazil play France in a friendly in Paris on 26 March 2015. Brazil will also take part in the 2015 Copa America tournament in June, where they have been drawn with Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. We’ll have full coverage of all UFWC title matches right here.

You can keep up to date with all things UFWC via Twitter or Facebook.

One final plug for the official UFWC book, Unofficial Football World Champions, which contains a complete history of the unofficial competition from the first ever international match in 1872 right up to 2014. It’s available in paperback and as an eBook, and is out now.