Hosts Brazil were overwhelming favourites for the fourth FIFA World Cup and had spared no expense, using 10,000 labourers to construct the immense Maracana stadium, which held 183,000. Instead of a final, there was a four-team final group, which the home side strolled through and needed just a draw in the last match against Uruguay to be crowned champions. Confidence was sky high with early editions of Rio de Janeiro's newspapers even pronouncing the victory.
Brazil scored first, before La Celeste equalised in the second half then Uruguayan Gigghia stunned the huge crowd with a 79th minute goal. "Only three people have, with just one motion, silenced the Maracanã: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and me." Gigghia would say later. The "Fateful Final" is the only time that a clear favourite playing in front of a home crowd has lost a World Cup final with Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany, Argentina and France all succeeding in their own countries. Brazilian goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa received most of the blame, saying just before his death in 2000: "The maximum punishment in Brazil is 30 years imprisonment, but I have been paying, for something I am not even responsible for, for 50 years."
ENGLAND
1996 European Championships semifinal
This tournament was meant to end "30 years of hurt" since England's 1966 triumph but instead added another chapter of agony. Football had come home and, after a wobbly build-up, Terry Venables' men hit their straps during the tournament. Paul Gascoigne scored a wonder goal to take care of Scotland, then Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham scored a brace apiece as the Dutch were dismissed 4-1. After getting past Spain on penalties, England faced Germany in the semifinal. After devastating defeats in 1970 and 1990, surely this was time for revenge against one of the weaker German teams in memory.
Shearer obliged with an early goal, but Germany equalised before halftime. England dominated the rest of the match, with Darren Anderton hitting the post from four yards and Gascoigne centimetres away from a golden goal in the dying minutes of extra time. Penalties came and England went, Gareth Southgate being the hapless fall guy this time as the Germans never looked like missing. To add to the pain, English fans had to watch as Germany went on to win a forgettable final against the Czech Republic. Southgate would later send up his penalty miss in a subsequent commercial for Pizza Hut.
NEW ZEALAND
1992 Cricket World Cup semifinal
As hosts, New Zealand performed like never before at a World Cup. Expertly led by Martin Crowe, the team rode a wave of confidence as they won seven of eight group matches and even their grey strip began to look cool. Mark Greatbatch blasted from the top of the order, Dipak Patel was successfully employed as an opening bowler and the low, slow pitches made our medium pacers unplayable.
New Zealand set Pakistan 263 to win, a formidable total in that era. Pakistan looked gone at 130/5 and sections on the terraces were already chanting "We're going to Melbourne". But Javed Miandad steadied the ship, before the previously unheralded Inzamam-ul-Haq smashed a 37-ball 60 to wrestle the initiative away from the home side; Moin Khan finished the job. Imran Khan's "cornered tigers" would go on to take the World Cup, while New Zealand rued their final group match against Pakistan. Knowing a Pakistan win would knock Australia out of the semifinal mix, they appeared to show less than full focus as they were dismissed for 166.
NEW ZEALAND
1999 Netball World Championships final
The Silver Ferns arrived in Christchurch as the hottest of hot favourites. Yvonne Willering's squad were the form team and were on home soil for the first time since 1975. The Jill McMahon - coached Australian side were seen by many as past their peak, and were even derided as 'Jill's geriatics' in the New Zealand media.
Broadcast live on free to air television, over one million Kiwis tuned in to see New Zealand dominate the final.
By three-quarter time, they had a seemingly unassailable six-goal advantage. But the Ferns seemed to freeze in the final quarter and Australia began to reel them in. In the final minute Donna Loffhagen missed two relatively simple opportunities to wrap up the match, allowing Sharelle McMahon to net the winning goal with one second on the clock. "As Loffhagen took that shot, I promised myself that if that ball came out no one on God's earth but me was going to get it. I kept that promise and the ball sped down court" - Liz Ellis on the moments just before McMahon's last goal sealed a 42-41 victory.
HIGHLANDERS
1999 Super 12 final
After finishing third in the regular season, the Highlanders beat the Stormers in a Cape Town semifinal to earn the right to host the final. It was billed as 'the party at Tony Brown's place', and expectation was huge in the deep south, especially after the Highlanders had won the corresponding clash 23-6 earlier in the season. Half of the student population of Dunedin descended on Carisbrook, as well as busloads from around the region and barrels of Speights.
The Highlanders, boasting Jeff Wilson, Anton Oliver and Taine Randell, led 14-9 at halftime. But the decisive moment came late in the second half when Crusaders wing Afato So'oalo chipped through then beat Wilson to the ball to score. The home side scored a try to Isitolo Maka in the 77th minute but it was too little, too late as the Canterbury team hung on to win 24-19.
LIVERPOOL
1989 First Division
This was the most dramatic conclusion to an English football season. Due to rescheduling, it was the final match of the season, played the week after Liverpool had won the FA Cup final. It would also decide the league; Arsenal needed to win by two clear goals - any other result and the Reds would claim their second 'double'.
The Anfield faithful had reasons to be optimistic; Liverpool had not lost by that margin at home in three years, Arsenal had not won at Anfield in 15 years and Liverpool had never been defeated when striking duo Ian Rush and John Aldridge played together. An Alan Smith goal in the 52nd minute gave the Gunners hope, but that diminished as the match entered injury time. In the 93rd minute Arsenal launched their last attack - and scored through Michael Thomas - to take the title in the final minute of the final match of the season. Brian Moore's commentary has entered folklore - "Arsenal come streaming forward now in surely what will be their last attack. A good ball by Dixon, finding Smith, for Thomas, charging through the midfield. Thomas, it's up for grabs now!"- and the events inspired the book Fever Pitch.
NEW ZEALAND
2003 America's Cup
It wasn't so much a heartbreaker as a dream taker. After successfully retaining the Auld Mug in 2000, Team New Zealand looked forward to a second defence in 2003. Russell Coutts and his famous five had defected to Alinghi, but it was thought that the new young team, aided by some old hands, could mount a successful campaign. They gambled on a radical design - complete with a Hula bowsprit - but nobody knew how good the boat was, as it didn't race before the America's Cup.
The highpoint of the campaign was NZL82 sailing out to a huge welcome before race one, as the strains of Dave Dobbyn's Loyal echoed around Viaduct Harbour. There was initial excitement - "this boat's a rocket ship" - enthused one television commentator at the start of the first beat. But the boat was a nightmare, unable to cope with heavy seas. Water flooded the decks in the first race, as the crew searched for a bucket; the mast snapped in race four forcing another retirement and a spinnaker pole broke in the fifth and final race as Alinghi completed a whitewash to crown one of the lowest points in New Zealand sailing.
NEW ZEALAND
1988 League World Cup final
Eden Park was full for the biggest match in New Zealand league's history.
It was a superb Kiwis team - with Mark Graham, Kurt Sorensen, Clayton Friend and Dean Bell from the legendary side of 1985 alongside new stars Gary Freeman, Kevin Iro and Sam Stewart. Expectation was high but the relatively inexperienced, underdog Australian side stunned the crowd, Allan Langer setting up two early tries. Wally Lewis fractured his arm but played on. He had rookie referee Graham Ainui whistling to his tune, which just increased the Kiwis' frustration.
The crowd had been taken out of the game and the match was over long before the Iro brothers scored consolation tries for a 25-12 scoreline. An NZRL report castigated the players; in response Bell would never play for the Kiwis again, while other players criticised coach Tony Gordon's methods, including too much haka practice in the days leading up to the match.
TIM HENMAN
2001 Wimbledon semifinal
Tim Henman reached the semifinals four times at SW19 between 1998-2002, without ever making the final. He was the talk of the town every British summer, as thousands gathered on "Henman Hill" hoping he could be the man to break their long running drought which stretched back to Fred Perry in the 1930s. His best chance came in 2001. Swiss upstart Roger Federer had shocked Pete Sampras in the fourth round, before Henman took care of Federer in the quarter-finals. The Brit dominated his semifinal against Goran Ivanisevic, heading to victory before the rain came. The match was eventually spread over three days; Henman coming within two points of victory but he could not close out the fourth set. The Croatian took the match and the overall championship.
ITALY
1990 FIFA World Cup semifinal
It's hard to find a country more fanatical about football than Italy. In 1990, hosting the tournament for the first time since 1934, the Azzurri were strong favourites to win their third World Cup. In the semifinal they faced Argentina in Naples. Diego Maradona's side were defending champions but had limped through the tournament. Maradona, who played his club football for Napoli, enraged Italians by encouraging the crowd to cheer for his side.
Italy was confident. Striker Salvatore Schillaci was on fire and had notched five goals and Italy hadn't conceded a goal for almost 500 minutes. Schillaci put the Italians ahead before Claudio Caniggia managed an unlikely equaliser. Argentina got stronger in extra time and had momentum leading into the penalty shootout. The South Americans held their nerve as the Italians wilted, missing two spot kicks while Maradona slid home the decisive penalty to rub further salt into a gaping wound.
