On 8 July 1982,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

played in the semi-finals of the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...

at the

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium ( es, Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán; ) is a football stadium in Seville, Spain. It is the home stadium of Sevilla Fútbol Club, and is named after the club's former president, Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán (1 ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. The match is known in both countries as the Night of Seville (german: Nacht von Sevilla, french: Nuit de Séville). The match was won by West Germany 5–4 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. They advanced to face

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the final. Thanks to its back-and-forth drama, four goals in extra time and a dramatic penalty shoot-out, the match is regarded as one of the best football matches of all time. It is considered by French captain

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, a ...

to be his "most beautiful game." West Germany's victory was the first time in the history of the World Cup that a shoot-out determined the outcome.

Overview

This match, like a number of other matches at this tournament, was played at nine o'clock in the evening, because July daily high temperatures in the south-western Spanish city of Seville averaged ; the hot weather during the tournament had already taken a toll on the players. The day of the match had been very hot, and the temperature even at 21:00 local time at the start of the match was still in the high thirties, with high humidity. With West Germany's captain and European Footballer of the Year

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. He was the longtime Chairman of Executive Board of FC Bayern München AG, a daughter company of German Bundesliga team Bayer ...

benched from the start due to a hamstring injury, West Germany were nonetheless the first to score, in the 17th minute. With

Klaus Fischer Klaus Fischer (born 27 December 1949) is a German former professional footballer and coach. He was a key player on the West Germany national team that lost the 1982 World Cup final to Italy. As a forward, he was noted for his bicycle kicks, an ...

charging in to challenge the French goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori from about 12 yards out, the ball rebounded to

Pierre Littbarski Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder or ...

, who scored with a first-time shot from 18 yards. After 27 minutes,

Bernd Förster Bernhard "Bernd" Georg Josef Förster (born 3 May 1956) is a former German footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. His younger brother, Karlheinz, was also a footballer, and a defender. Both played extensively at VfB Stuttgart, an ...

was penalised for holding

Dominique Rocheteau Dominique Claude Rocheteau (born 14 January 1955) is a French former professional footballer who played as a winger. A French international, he played in three FIFA World Cups, scoring at least one goal in each of them, and was part of the team ...

and France were awarded a penalty, which was converted by Platini. Despite several good chances for both sides, including

Manuel Amoros Manuel Amoros (born 1 February 1962) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He was capped 82 times for France, and played in the UEFA European Championships finals of 1984 and 1992, and the FIFA World Cup finals ...

hitting the crossbar in stoppage time, the score remained at 1–1 at full time. The teams then played two 15-minute periods of extra time. In the second minute of the first period, Marius Tresor struck an 11-yard volley after a deflected free kick from just outside the box to put France ahead for the first time in the match, 2–1. Rummenigge entered the game shortly afterwards in place of

Hans-Peter Briegel Hans-Peter Briegel (born 11 October 1955) is a German former professional football player and manager who played as a defender or midfielder. One of the most popular German players in his days, Briegel's original sport was athletics, being succ ...

, but it was France who struck once again at the 98 minute mark, with

Alain Giresse Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French football coach and former player who is the current manager of the Kosovo national team. He was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an attacking midfielder or central ...

firing a first-time shot from 18 yards off Harald Schumacher's right post and into the goal to give France a 3–1 advantage. Four minutes later, West Germany began their comeback, with Rummenigge flicking home an outside-of-the-foot volley from six yards that cut France's lead in half. Three minutes into the second extra time period, Fischer scored with a bicycle kick from six yards, and the teams were level once more at 3–3, where the score remained until the end of extra time. The penalty shootout began with Giresse converting the first kick for France, which was answered by West Germany's

Manfred Kaltz Manfred Kaltz (born 6 January 1953) is a German former football player and manager, who played as a right-back. Kaltz played in the Bundesliga for Hamburger SV and 13 times (one goal) for FC Mulhouse in Ligue 1 after initially joining Mulhouse l ...

. Amoros for France and

Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best players of his era, Breitner was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and was named by Pel ...

for West Germany both converted, but in the third round,

Uli Stielike Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954) is a German former footballer and manager. Usually a central midfielder or sweeper, Stielike was well known for his stamina and footballing intelligence.Radnedge, Keir. (2004). The Complete Encyclope ...

's shot was blocked by Ettori, following Rocheteau's successful strike, giving France a 3–2 lead. However, in the fourth round, France failed to capitalise: Schumacher blocked

Didier Six Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football coach and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021. A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six enjoyed a nomadic career, playing ...

's shot, and Littbarski scored for West Germany. Platini and Rummenigge both scored in the fifth round, and the shootout, tied at 4–4, moved to sudden-death. In the sixth round, Maxime Bossis's shot was blocked, and

Horst Hrubesch Horst Hrubesch (; born 17 April 1951) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Hamburger SV. As a player, Hrubesch won three West German championships with his club side, Hamburger SV, as well as the European C ...

converted to give West Germany the win.

Controversy

In the second half, the West German goalkeeper Schumacher collided with the French player Patrick Battiston, which knocked Battiston unconscious and forced him from the game with two missing teeth, three cracked ribs, and damaged vertebrae, though no foul was given. France were forced to use their second substitution to replace Battiston, who himself had come on only ten minutes earlier. By contrast, West Germany were able to use their own second substitution to bring on Rummenigge in extra time, and he scored five minutes after taking the field.

Match summary

References

External links

Match summary at the FFF website
{{France national football team matches 1982 FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup matches

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

Fra A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

France at the 1982 FIFA World Cup Sports competitions in Seville FIFA World Cup 1982 July 1982 sports events in Europe 20th century in Seville Nicknamed sporting events