10 Most Shocking World Cup Moments Ever

It was the 1998 World Cup Final, featuring host nation France taking on the defending champions, Brazil. One of the star players of the tournament was Brazil’s iconic number 9, Ronaldo, so imagine the shock when the team sheets were handed out and the striker’s name was nowhere to be seen in the starting 11!

English commentator John Motson famously said he’d never seen anything like it, with fans and other commentators thrown into a mixture of confusion and panic at the thought of Brazil’s best player somehow missing out on the biggest game of the tournament. The confusion only grew when, a short while later, a new set of team sheets were handed out, this time saying that Ronaldo would start after all.

In the end, the number 9 did play but had a poor game, with France winning 3-0. Conspiracy theories then started floating around to explain the incident. In reality, it was revealed that Ronaldo had suffered some kind of seizure before the game and his teammates were genuinely concerned for his health, but he got an all-clear from the team doctor and eventually convinced the coach, Mario Zagallo, that he was fit to start.