Henry was piss poor then. He got 3 goals I think? Zidane was the outstanding performer of france, and the entire tournament. And that's the only one I have to add... Zizou: EC 2000
mine have got to be: Eusebio 66 Lato(Poland)74 Rossi 82 Platini 84 Maradona 86 Milla(Cameroon) 90 Baggio 94 Kahn 2002 Rooney 2004(come on, he did a good job!)
^I don't know about Kahn for 2002, his mistake in the final did lead to the first goal. Actually, I thought Marcos performed better for Brazil than Kahn did for Germany. But what do I know Haha, good call.
I agree with your choices except the one above. Why Baggio over Romario in 1994? Romario was far superior to Baggio in the tournament. Baggio played poorly in the opening matches. He was subbed and dropped ignominiously. He played well in the knock out stages but had a terrible final. Romario was brilliant in all the matches except the final. However, even in the final he performed better than Baggio (including the tie-breaker ). Romario's performance against the US (notwithstanding their questionable quality), leading a depleted Brazilian side was one of the best I have ever seen. It was as utter and singlehanded domination of a football match as one will ever see. He was voted the Player of the Tournament and the World Player of the Year in 1994 as well.
In the final maybe, but in the tournament Kahn was clearly better than Marcos. Not by much mind you, Marcos' performance was great, but Kahn stood out above him overall. As for the mistake on that goal, well, Kahn should have known better than to try and hold on to a Rivaldo shot. The mistake wasn't dropping it - it was thinking he can hold it in the first place, I doubt if anyone could have stopped that shot cleanly the way Rivaldo connects when he's on.
Kahn singlehandedly led Germany to the World Cup 2004 final. However, his mistake in the final allowed Brazil to win the WC. Marcos, on the other hand, was exceptional for Brazil and never commited a single mistake. In the final, Marcos definitely outperformed Kahn. Especially, his save from the freekick in the second-half was incredible.
Re: To even consider beforehand that Ronaldo (after all those surgeries) might score in every match save one, and muster 8 goals in WC 2002 was beyond my wildest fantasy.
Some different ones ones Kasey Keller-1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup Carlitos Alberto Tevez-2003 Copa Libertadores 2002-03 UEFA Champions league-Andriy Svechenko 2003-04 UEFA Champions League-Deco and Morientes
Yet, in terms of individual performance, Romario outclassed everybody in that tournament. Baggio's performance in WC 1994 can be compared to Stoichkov's as both were instrumental in dragging their teams through the knock out stages. But none of them produced the best individual performance in the WC.
yeah, but still it takes something to drag a team throughout an entire tournament. if it werent for baggio, italy would have been out 2nd round. im sure brazil could have gone far without romario
BTW, in addition to Baggio, Italy needs to thank their defenders as well, viz. Maldini, Baresi and Costacurta.
I never paid much attention to that tournament, all i know is that he got a few goals and that he scored in the final, it was a wild guess in all honesty
The Nigeria team only looked bad because they were drawn in a group with England, Argentina and Sweden. Denmark were easily seen off by England, the way England played didn't allow them a chance to get into the game. They were still a very strong team. What the hell was Rio supposed to do for Sweden's goal? Defenders can't be every where. As for Brazil, Ferdinand could not have done anything to stop either goal. England did not "tank" against Brazil, they pushed them closer than any other team (bar maybe Turkey in the first game). Brazil only won through a fluked goal.
england what?? team germany has played better against brasil than england did...and team germany did it without his best offensive ballack...you forget to mention that england was disapointing invisible 33 minutes with a 11:10 player advantage against brasil... pitt
. basically, Italy struggled offensively throughout the Final. Baggio came to rescue them through his individual talents during the WC. I also thought Romario was great, but Brazil seemed more dominating in their games and the other Brazilian attackers did not struggle as the Italians did. Baggio saved games for Italy.... Stoichkov was another striker who carried his team very far. Of course, I rated them behind Maradona in 1986 and Platini in 1984.
I agree that Ronaldo had a very impressive 2002 summer. To come back from those horrendous knee injuries and perform the way he did is, indeed, beyond imagination. But given the amount of time Rossi had to prepare for Spain '82, I feel his performance is slightly more impressive. Ronaldo made his comeback to Inter's lineup in December 2001 and returned to the Brazil squad in March 2002. And Scolari was probably under pressure from the fans and media alike to include him in the World Cup squad. The same can't be said for Rossi. Paolo Rossi's ban ended on April 29, 1982. The World Cup began on June 13. That's about a month and a half of preparation. And during that time he only made 3 appearances for Juve in Serie A and only one during Italy's warm-ups to Spain. And he likely only made the Azzuri squad because of Bearzot's loyalty to him. If any other person had been in charge, I doubt Rossi would've been selected to the squad of 22, nevermind the starting 11. (Btw, Roberto Bettega had retired from the national team. He wasn't injured as I had stated previously )