On 7 June 1962, Yugoslavia and Colombia met in the World Cup with a place in the knockout rounds at stake.
Playing on their group's last match day, the two teams were battling to join the USSR, who had won the group the previous day with a 2-1 win over Uruguay, in the quarterfinals. Yugoslavia, sitting on 2 points at the start of the day, could advance with a draw. Colombia, however, had only a single point and needed a win to take the group's second spot in the knockout rounds.
Although the stakes were equal for both teams, the day belonged to Yugoslavia. Striker Milan Galić opened the scoring in the 20th minute and was joined on the scoresheet five minutes later by his fellow striker, Dražan Jerković (both Galić and Jerković had been instrumental in Yugoslavia's run to the Final of the European Championship in 1960).
Colombia tightened up their defense and managed to keep the score 2-0 until the 61st minute, when Galić added another. Not to be outdone, Jerković scored a second goal in the 87th minute, with an intervening goal in the 82nd minute from midfielder Vojislav Melić.
The 5-0 scoreline sent Colombia home and catapulted Yugoslavia into the next round, where they advanced over Hungary 1-0 before falling to Czechoslovakia in the semifinals. It remains their best showing in a World Cup, matched only by their semifinal run in 1930.
On 6 June 1973, Independiente won their fourth Copa Libertadores, beating Colo-Colo after extra time in a replay.
The most successful club in the competition's history, Independiente won their first tournament titles in 1963 and 1964, then won it again in 1972. As defending champions, they entered the 1973 edition in the semifinal group stage, where they advanced over San Lorenzo and Millonarios.
Colo-Colo, meanwhile, topped their opening-round group that included Uníon Española, Emelec, and El Nacional, then advanced to their first final by winning their semifinal group over Botofogo and Cerra Porteños.
Scheduled to be played over two legs, the Final opened on 22 May in Buenos Aires, where the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. One week later in Santiago, they drew again, 0-0, to force a replay at a neutral ground. They met on 6 June in Montevideo and again found little to separate them. They were even at 1-1 at the end of regulation before Indepentiente eventually found an extra-time winner.
Independiente returned to the Final three more times (1974, 1975, 1984) and currently hold a tournament-record seven titles. Colo-Colo eventually got a title of their own, winning it in 1991 on their only other trip to the Final.
On 5 June 1968, a coin toss sent hosts Italy into the European Championship Final over the Soviet Union. Italy went on to win the Final in a replay.
Only four teams--Italy, the Soviet Union, England, and Yugoslavia--participated in the tournament. The two semifinal matches were played on the same day, with Italy hosting the USSR in Naples, while England met Yugoslavia in Florence. In the latter, Yugoslavia edged to a 1-0 victory with an 87th-minute goal from Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Džajić.
The other semifinal was even closer, as Italy and the USSR struggled to a scoreless draw. Under the rules in place at the time, the victor was determined not by a replay, extra time or a penalty shootout, but by a coin toss, which Italy duly won. They advanced to the Final, where they played Yugoslavia to a 1-1 draw. For a Final draw, the tournament rules required a replay, which Italy also won, 2-0.
It remains Italy's only European Championship. They returned to the Final only once--in 2000--where they lost to France.
On 4 June 1986, Denmark made their first appearance in the World Cup, joining Scotland, Uruguay, and West Germany in the tournament's "Group 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.
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.
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.
On 1 June 2003, Porto earned their league-record 86th point, beating Sporting 2-0 on the last day of the season.
The win capped an incredible season for Porto, who lost only twice and drew five times in 34 league matches. They took the table's top spot in September and held onto it for the duration to claim their 19th league title, but the first since 1999. It was also the first league title for new manager José Mourinho, who joined the club midway through the previous season.
The win over Sporting lifted Porto to 86 points--a Portuguese top-flight record. Benfica had a better season in 1972-73, winning 28 and drawing 2 of their 30 matches, but the league awarded only two points for a win at that time, so Benfica finished with 58 points. Under a three-point system, they would have finished with 86 points as well, despite having played four fewer games.
Porto's success that year extended beyond the league, as they also won the UEFA Cup, Portuguese Cup, and Portuguese Supercup. The points record held until 2016, when Benfica won the league with 88 points.
On 7 June 1962, Yugoslavia and Colombia met in the World Cup with a place in the knockout rounds at stake.
