The FIFA World Cup is all about firsts, from the inaugural edition in 1930 to the Middle East's maiden World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Let us look at a few of the firsts in World Cup history.
1930, Uruguay: The first player to be sent off in the World Cup finals was Peruvian defender Placido Galindo in a match against Romania.
1930, Uruguay: The first penalty kick in the World Cup ever was taken by Chile’s Carlos Vidal against France. However, his attempt was saved by goalkeeper Alexis ‘Alex’ Thepot , making it the first ever penalty save of the World Cup.
1930, Uruguay: The first player to convert a penalty was Mexico’s Manuel Rosas against Argentina.
1930, Uruguay: The first player ever to score in a World Cup was French player Lucien Laurent against Mexico.
1930, Uruguay: The first player ever to score a World Cup hat-trick was United States' Bert Patenaude against Peru.
1934, Italy: Egypt was the first African country ever to qualify for the World Cup.
1934, Italy: The first ever World Cup match that ended in a draw was between Italy and Spain (1-1).
1934, Italy: The first final that went in to extra time was the match between the hosts and Czechoslovakia.
1938, France: The first time numbers were used on the back of player’s shirt in the World Cup was in the 1938 finals.
1954, Switzerland: The first time swapping of Jerseys took place in the World Cup.
1954, Switzerland: The first player to score a first half hat-trick was Austria’s Erich Probst. This was against Czechoslovakia.
1958, Sweden: This World Cup saw the first ever goalless draw in the history of the tournament when England held Brazil in Stockholm.
1966, England: The first time drug testing was introduced in the World Cup.
The players who were banned after failing a drug test include Haiti’s Earnest Jean-Joseph (1974), Scotland's Willie Johnson in 1978 and Argentine great Diego Maradona in 1994
1966, England: This was the year that saw the first ever World Cup mascot, which was a lion-like boy named Willie.
1966, England: North Korea became the first Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals. The Koreans were stopped by Portugal in the quarterfinals.
1970, Mexico: The first substitution of a goalkeeper in the World Cup ever was made this year, when Romania’s Necula Radacuna replaced Steve Adamache in a match against eventual champions Brazil.
1970, Mexico: The first substitute ever to score a goal was Mexican Juan Basaguren. They had played against El Salvador.
1974, Germany: The first red- carded player was Chilean player Carlos Caszely in the match against West Germany.
1978, Argentina: This year saw the introduction of penalty shootouts for tied games would decide the outcome of a match in the World Cup (though the first to occur was in 1982).
1982, Spain: The first match that was decided with a penalty shootout in the World Cup was the semifinal between West Germany and France. The Germans won 5-4.
1986, Mexico: The first World Cup match where a coach was sent off was the one between Paraguay and Belgium. Paraguayan coach Cayetano Re had the dubious distinction.
1990, Italy: German great Franz Backenbauer became the first man to win the World Cup both as a captain (1974) and as a coach (1990).
1994, USA: This edition witnessed the first goalless draw in a World Cup final. Brazil edged Italy on penalties.
1994, USA: The first World Cup match played indoors was the one between the hosts, US, and Switzerland, played in Detroit.
1994, USA: The first player to score five goals in a single match was Russian Oleg Salenko against Cameroon.
1998, France: France’s Laurent Blanc became the first player in the World Cup to score a golden goal. The match was between France and Paraguay and Blanc scored the winner in the 113th minute.
1998, France: Robert Prosinecki became the first player to score for two different countries in the World Cup. He scored for Yugoslavia in 1990 and for Croatia in 1998.
2002, South Korea and Japan: This World Cup was the first to have more than one host country, when South Korea and Japan co- hosted the quadrennial tournament. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia.
2002, South Korea and Japan: The first time teams from Europe, North America, South America , Africa and Asia reached the quarter finals of the same World Cup.
2006, Germany: The first World Cup where the defending champions did not automatically qualify.
2006, Germany: The first time an own goal was the only goal in the game. Paraguayan player Carlos Gamarra scored the self goal as England won 1-0.
2006, Germany: The first World Cup without a hat-trick.
2010, South Africa: For the first time, the hosts were eliminated in the first round.
2010, South Africa: Spain became the first European team to bec crowned champions outside Europe.
2014, Brazil: The first time the goal-line technology and vanishing foam for free-kicks were used in this World Cup.
2014, Brazil: This World Cup saw the first cooling break that took place during the round of 16 match between Mexico and the Netherlands.
2018, Russia: The first time video assistant referee (VAR) was used in the World Cup.
2018, Russia: Croatia's Mario Mandzukic became the first player ever to score an own goal in a World Cup final, against France.
2022, Qatar: The first Middle East nation to host the World Cup.
