Strangest game in the history of international soccer? | factXtract Blog

Soccer game (Owner: Pearson Scott Foresman; Source: Wikipedia)

The soccer game between Grenada and Barbados in 1994 is perhaps the strangest game in the history of International soccer.

The game was the last group game in a Caribbean Cup tournament in 1994. In order to reach the finals, Barbados needed to beat Grenada by at least two goals. Any score less than winning by two goals would result in Grenada going to the final. However, there were two strange rules in the cup:

1) A draw after 90 minutes would result in extra time; and

2) In the case of extra time, a golden goal would count as two goals!

During the game, Barbados took a 2-0 lead. However, Grenada scored a goal at 83′, making the score 2-1. Barbados was on the verge of elimination, unless they could score a goal, either against themselves making the score 3-1 or against Grenada, making the score 2-2 and going to the extra time. They then decided that scoring another goal against Granada is difficult, as the opponent was defending their goal by all means. Therefore, they came up with a genius solution: they scored a goal against themselves, thus taking the game to the extra time!

Now, Grenada needed to score a goal (either against themselves or Barbados) to avoid extra time and to go through to the final! The Barbados team then started defending the Grenada goal as well as to their own, until the whistle went for extra time. Barbados eventually scored the winning goal and went to the final!

Below is the 2-1 goal, the own goal to make it 2-2, and the OT winner by Barbados. Now isn’t this the strangest international soccer game ever!?

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