10 Underrated FIFA World Cup Moments

Surprise stars always emerge from World Cups. One would think that having as much information at our disposal as we do would make us all familiar with the would-be stars of a tournament. It's not so. In 2006, Italy's preparations for the World Cup were rocked by a Serie A match-fixing scandal. Instead of ruining their tournament, it appeared to galvanize them with every player giving their utmost to take the trophy home. One such player was Fabio Grosso.

A left-back who was playing for Palermo, few football fans outside of Italy knew about the qualities of Grosso. It's fair to say that even his biggest fans wouldn't have expected him to have as impactful a tournament as he did. A star performer for Italy throughout, he broke the deadlock in extra-time of their semi-final against Germany.

A euphoric moment for any player, Grosso was pure emotion celebrating on the pitch. His joyous gallop was reminiscent of compatriot Marco Tardelli after he scored in the 1982 World Cup final against West Germany.

Grosso went on to score the winning penalty in the final shoot-out against France, helping Italy to their first World Cup since the day of Tardelli's goal. His performances at the tournament earned him a move to Inter Milan that summer. That semi-final between Italy and Germany was one of the best games of that tournament.

You can watch the full match in the video below.