Strangest fact or story from each Men's World Cup

Uruguay and Argentina were set to square off in the first World Cup Final, but first they had to determine who would provide the ball. FIFA ultimately determined that Argentina would provide the ball in the first half and Uruguay would provide the ball in the second half. Uruguay emerged as the tournament's winner after defeating Argentina 4-2.

Italy hosted the 1934 World Cup, and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini used the opportunity to promote fascism. Following the tournament, there were rumors that Mussolini chose the referees in Italy's games. The Italian team ended up winning the World Cup.

Austria qualified for the 1938 World Cup but had to relinquish its berth after the German takeover of Austrian. As a result, five Austrian players joined the German team. There remained ill will between the Austrian and German players, and the German squad failed to advance out of the first round after losing to Switzerland.

The first World Cup following World War II was slated to have four groups of four teams, but several teams withdrew from the tournament late in the process for various reasons. As a result, the tournament had only 13 teams, with Group 4 having only two participants. The groups were scheduled to play round robin, but there was only one matchup in Group 4 — between Uruguay and Bolivia — as a result of so many teams withdrawing from the tournament.

West Germany faced off against Hungary in the World Cup Final and won win 3-2 but not without controversy. There were several accusations that the West German team took illegal substances, and the rumors have only built in more recent years. German historian Guido Knopp claimed the German team injected vitamin C at halftime with a needle taken from a Soviet sports doctor, and several players developed jaundice as a result. Leipzig University did a study in 2010 that claimed the West Germans used methamphetamine.

The strangest theory of the 1958 tournament has come to light in more recent years as a result of the 2002 mockumentary film "Konspiration 58." The firm claims the 1958 World Cup was staged in the United States as an experiment of televised propaganda from the CIA, FIFA and TV execs in Sweden and America.

The first-round match between host nation Chile and Italy became known as the Battle of Santiago for its extreme violence. After Italian media wrote articles insulting the host country, the two sides fought throughout the 2-0 Chile win. Police had to haul off Italian Giorgio Ferrini after he was sent off and were forced to come onto the field several more times. BBC commentator David Coleman called the match "the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football, possibly in the history of the game."

The strangest story of the 1966 World Cup occurred before the tournament began. The Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen from a display just weeks before the World Cup. A dog named Pickles eventually found the trophy under bushes in London. England then earned the trophy after beating West Germany 4-2 in the final match.

It's crazy to think about now, but 1970 was the first World Cup that allowed for player substitutions. Up to that point, teams with injured or tired players would be forced to play shorthanded. In addition, the 1970 World Cup introduced the yellow and red cards.

Just one day before the Netherlands was set to play in the tournament final vs. West Germany, a German tabloid released a story about a pool party between Dutch players and two naked German women. The article served as a potential distraction, and West Germany won the World Cup the following day.

Host country Argentina needed to beat Peru by at least four goals to advance past the second round of the tournament. Despite scoring a total of six goals in four games coming into the match, Argentina defeated Peru 6-0 to advance. Following the game, there were rumors that the Argentina bribed or threatened Peru so the hosts could win by such a large margin and advance. Argentina would go on to win the World Cup, beating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final.

France defeated Kuwait 4-1 in the first round of the tournament but not without controversy. French player Alain Giresse scored a goal late in the game to make it 4-1, though Kuwait protested to the referee that the players heard him blow the whistle and stopped playing. After the Kuwaitis threatened to leave the field, the referee overturned the goal despite the fact that a spectator had blown the whistle.

The 1986 quarterfinal between Argentina and England featured perhaps the most infamous goal in soccer history, known as the "Hand of God." Argentina star Diego Maradona scored a goal by knocking the ball with his left hand over the English goalkeeper. Maradona would go on to lead Argentina to its second World Cup title.

The 1990 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina is infamous for referee Edgardo Codesal sending two Argentine players off with red cards, all but assuring Germany of victory. Both calls were controversial and still don't sit well with Argentina soccer fans.

The 1994 World Cup was overshadowed by tragedy after Colombian player Andres Escobar was murdered following the Colombian team's elimination from the World Cup. Escobar scored an own-goal vs. the United States in the group stage, and the assassination was said to be retaliation.

Ronaldo emerged as the star goal scorer of the World Cup for Brazil, but a bizarre health issue occurred before the title match vs. France. He wasn't scheduled to be in the starting lineup after suffering a seizure in his hotel room. However, Ronaldo was inserted into the lineup after doctors couldn't find anything wrong with the star goal scorer. He didn't play well, and the French team won 3-0.

South Korea made an unlikely run to the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, and there were accusations of a FIFA conspiracy after the South Koreans were the beneficiaries of multiple reffing mistakes earlier in the tournament. The tournament hosts, South Korea got favorable calls vs. both Italy and Spain.

One of the most bizarre events in World Cup history occurred in the 2006 final, as French star Zinedine Zidane was sent off for headbutting Italian Marco Materazzi during extra time after the two players exchanged words. The red card ended Zidane's World Cup career, and Italy won the World Cup in penalty kicks.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa introduced the world to the vuvuzela. The African horn could be heard on television broadcasts so much so that networks looked at ways to mute the sound.

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was trying to rehab his bad image coming into the 2014 World Cup. That didn't last long, as he was banned for nine international matches after biting Italian player Giorgio Chiellini during the group stage. It was the third time he had been caught biting a player during his career but the first time in the World Cup.