The Goalless Curse of World Cup Openers

OTD E0213 — 01 Jun 1978: defending champions West Germany open the World Cup against Poland in Buenos Aires. Maier, Vogts, Bonhof, Rummenigge, Deyna, Lato, Szarmach, Boniek — and yet it ends 0–0. This episode traces the strange history of World Cup opening matches: simultaneous kick-offs, modest ceremonies, four straight goalless openers, Belgium shocking Argentina, Cameroon shocking the world, Germany–Costa Rica’s six-goal opener, Russia’s 5–0 rout, Qatar’s first host defeat, and Mexico–South Africa in 2026. Ideas: [email protected]