When Brazil faced Italy at the 1982 World Cup, it was more than a football match — it was the death of an idea. Led by Socrates, Zico, and Falcao, Tele Santana’s side danced through defences with artistry and joy. But Paolo Rossi’s ruthless hat-trick at the Sarria Stadium in Barcelona changed everything. Brazil 1982 played football like music — and Italy stopped the song.

The Argentina 1978 World Cup mixed football brilliance with political darkness. Under a military dictatorship, César Luis Menotti’s free-flowing side, led by Mario Kempes and Osvaldo Ardiles, lifted the trophy amid controversy, suspicion, and ticker-tape glory. From alleged match manipulation to Kempes’ golden-boot heroics, this story captures football’s uneasy alliance with power — a defining moment in World Cup history.