4 June 1986 - Experience Can Be Overrated

On 4 June 1986, Denmark made their first appearance in the World Cup, joining Scotland, Uruguay, and West Germany in tournament's "Group of of Death."

Two years earlier, the Danes had impressed the international footballing community by advancing to the European Championship semifinals where they narrowly lost to Spain on penalty kicks, 1-1 (5-4). Still, they were considered to many to be underdogs of their World Cup group, which included two-time champions West Germany (1954, 1974) and Uruguay (1930, 1950), as well as Scotland, who were making their fourth consecutive appearance--and sixth overall--in the tournament.

But Denmark proved to be the surprise of the tournament, opening their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Scotland (who, in fairness, were still reeling over the death of their previous manager, Jock Stein, from a heart attack the previous December). The only goal came in the 57th minute, as striker Preben Elkjær received the ball on the left edge of the box, beat a defender, and rifled the ball past keeper Jim Leighton. It struck the far post and rebounded into the net.

It was a redemptive goal for Elkjær, who missed penalty in the Euro '84 shootout gave Spain the win. He followed it with a hat-trick in Denmark's next match, a 6-1 demolition of Uruguay. Denmark went on to win the group with a 2-0 win over West Germany and advanced to the Round of 16. There, their good fortune ended, as they faced their old enemy Spain and lost 5-1.

3 June 1997 - That Movie Should Have Been Called "Bend It Like Roberto Carlos"

On 3 June 1997, Brazil managed a 1-1 draw with France in the opening match of the Tournoi de France thanks to one of the most celebrated goals in football history.

Organized by the French Football Federation as a friendly in anticipation of the 1998 World Cup, the Tournoi de France featured France, Brazil, England, and Italy. The first two kicked the competition off before a crowd of 28,193 at Lyon's Stade de Gerland.

Midway through the first half, with the match still scoreless, Brazil won a free kick about 35 meters out in the right channel. Roberto Carlos stepped up to take the kick, taking a long run and blasting the ball to his right around the wall of French defenders. It appeared to be heading well out of bounds, but took an improbable and dramatic curve to the left, striking the post and deflecting into the goal. The curve completely baffled French keeper Fabien Barthez, who stood rooted to his post as the ball flew into the net.

France equalized with a 55th-minute strike from midfielder Marc Keller to end the match 1-1, but finished third in the tournament behind Brazil and first-place England. It proved to be good practice, though, as France and Brazil met again in the World Cup Final the next summer, with France winning 3-0.

2 June 1971 - It's True, Defense Wins Championships

On 2 June 1971, Ajax won the first of their three consecutive European Cups, beating Panathinaikos 2-0.

Prior to the start of the tournament, UEFA had made some changes to the rules, including the extension of the away-goals rule from the first two rounds to all rounds of the competition. That change greatly benefited Panathinaikos, who used away goals to advance out of the quarterfinals (over Everton, 1-1) and the semifinals (over Red Star Belgrade, 4-4). In doing so, they became the first--and to date only--Greek team to reach the Final.

Ajax, meanwhile, had reached the Final once before, losing to AC Milan in 1968.

Playing before a crowd of 83,179 at Wembley, Ajax proved too strong for the Greeks, taking a quick 5th-minute lead with a goal from forward Dick van Dijk. The only other goal came in the 87th minute from Ajax midfielder and second-half substitute Arie Haan. But the day was really won by the Ajax defense, who managed to completely shut down the tournament's top scorer, forward Antonis Antoniadis. The striker had tallied 10 goals in the run up to the Final, four more than his closest rivals.

The win was the second straight for a Dutch team--Feyenoord had won the previous year--and the first of three consecutive European Cups for Ajax. They returned to the Final twice more, winning in 1995 and finishing as runners-up in 1996.