Your favourite International Tournament

After the earlier conversation with Bobo, I started to think what has been everyones favourite international tournament (try not to pick one just because your team won).

I think the ingredients for a good tournament are (in no order) :

Great individual performances that leave you in awe.

Great goals

Attacking football

The best teams playing in the K.O rounds

Drama and controversy

The emergence of new/young superstars

The hosts

For me I am tied between WC 98 & Euro 2000, but I will have to go with France 98 as it had Ronaldo at his prime, the rest of the Brazil team, the Argies, Nigeria and That Owen/Bergkamp goal.

World Cup 1990
European Championships 1996
European Championships 2000

Coincidentally 2 of the tournaments we're England actually did well.

European Championships 2004 we're good but the final was awful and ruined it.

WC98 was the tournament that immediately came to mind.

I also liked the WC90 - it was the first tournament that I really remember watching properly and of course England did well which it gave it added value.

In terms of Euro Champs, Euro 2000 was the best

WC 90 was my first tournament, but I was 7 years old, so I dont think I would have watched the games properly.

My memory of the tournaments come from watching the BBC 1 hour highlights last summer. The highlights suggested we wwere lucky to get to the semi's, although we were the better side in the semi final.

I think WC 94 was the first tournament, I actually watched properly, there were some good games and goals, but my memories of the toournament are; Maradonna being banned, Alexi La las awful hair cut, Leonardo elbowing someone, Baggio missing a penalty and the god awful craddle celebration. oh and the Bulgarians names all ending in OV.

WC 98 had some amazing games, that I still remeber now. The Spain v Nigeria, England v Argentina (I dont think I have seen a game with more talking points), Brazil v Chille, Argentina v Holland, Holland v Brazil. Also all the good players, did something which hasnt been the case recently.

I would say WC98 ..

World Cup 1998
European Championship 1996
World Cup 1994

The World Cup 1994 was the first time I took real interest in an International football tournament. England were not in it so I took a fancy to Bulgaria and Sweden, most likely down to Stoichkov and Swedens kit! There was lots of incident and some very good games top watch.

Euro 1996 was amazing, great matches played by some great players at the time. Bergkamp, Sammer, Hagi, Maldini, Shearer were all top class players at that time. Maybe part of the reason it was so great for me is because as an English person we lived and breathed the tournament as it was held in England.

World Cup 1998 was the best for me, the World Cup in Japan/Korea and Germany have been a pale comparasion since football wise..

WC 90 and EC 1992 havent watched them properly. Allthough I remember us beating the Germans in 1992, I was outside playing, and heard my dad screaming of joyness I also remember we won 1-0 against Scotland. Don’t know why I remember this though….



1994 was decent, but the fact that it was in yankland made it awful to follow for a 10-year old. EC96 was just Cr@p. WC 1998 was amazing, only to be topped by Euro2000. Best Tourny of our lifetime. And I was there with the final, which was great.

WC2002 didn’t make no sense at all. Euro2004 had 1 good game, Holland-Czech. WC2006 was average, but it had an amazing atmosphere around it.

1998 was an amazing tournement, as was 2002 actually.

WC 82 was the best one I remember.

WC Spain '82: The mother of all groups of death (Perú, Italia, Poland, Cameroon), Brasil's dream team, the classics Brasil-Italia, France-W.Germany.

WC México '86: Brasil's dream team, Argentina with Diego, The great Danes, the classics Brasil-France, Argentina-England (Diego mopping the floor with English defenders scoring the greatest goal ever in the history of the game).

WC France '98: So wide open who wanted it the most! France, Brasil, Italia, Holland, surprising Croatia! the classics France-Paraguay, France-Italia, Argentina-England, Brasil-Holland...many good games in KO stages.

Copa America 1993 was an excellent tournament. WC1998 and Euro2000 as others have mentioned.

the african nations cup in 2002 i think it was. very exciting and a surprise team in senegal that would show even more at the WC.

the 2000 euros was the first international cup i saw and it was great. the 2002 wc was all about italy going out and then a host of big teams so i lost interest in it.

The 1990 WC the best for me. The first one I've watched. I remember the great Dutch team with Van Basten, Gullit and Raajkard losing to Germany, Maradona's Argentina beating Italy in Napoli, Totò Schillaci and the great Zenga, England losing on penalty's to Germany.

WC86 - One of the greatest. Watching Maradona do his run live is forever burned on my mind.

EC88 - great teams

WC98 - best recent WC adn last great one, had it all + the players were great, not burned out

EC00 - best EC: only quality.

Miss World