Gerry Armstrong (1982)
Northern Ireland’s qualification for the 1982 World Cup was their first since 1958 and only their second since the tournament’s birth in 1930. It gave the likes of Martin O’Neill, Pat Jennings and co. the chance to strut their stuff on the biggest stage of all, an opportunity they grasped with both hands.
Armstrong was not widely expected to be among his country’s key men, but he performed brilliantly in Spain. He scored Northern Ireland’s only effort in a 1-1 draw with Honduras and then grabbed the winner against the hosts – still the most famous goal in the national team’s history – to send Billy Bingham’s men through to the second group phase, where he netted again in a 4-1 loss to France. The striker was in the squad in 1986 but, by that stage 32 years old, only played 19 minutes.
Salvatore Schillaci (1990)
Schillaci is the ultimate one-tournament wonder, coming from nowhere to take Italia ’90 by storm. The striker had only two caps to his name before the big kick-off, and duly began the hosts’ opening game against Austria on the bench. Scoring the winner as a second-half substitute did not immediately earn him a place in the starting XI, but he did begin Italy’s final group clash on the pitch, scoring the opener in a 2-0 defeat of Czechoslovakia.
Schillaci then struck in the 2-0 victory over Uruguay in the round of 16 and scored the game’s only goal when Italy squeezed past the Republic of Ireland in the quarter-finals, before netting his side’s sole strike in a 1-1 draw with Argentina in the semis. The Azzurri lost that game on penalties, but Schillaci still won the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball.
Ernie Brandts (1978)
Brandts had not even made his professional debut when the Netherlands were capturing the world’s imagination in West Germany in 1974. That year’s runners-up also came second four years later, when the defender made his mark despite beginning the competition as a reserve, listed last in the Dutch’s 22-man squad.
Brandts was entirely absent from the first group stage but came into the side in the second, scoring the opener in a 5-1 thrashing of Austria. He was again excellent in the 2-2 draw with West Germany which kept them top of the group, before netting in the 2-1 win against Italy (having opened the scoring with an own goal) that sent Holland through to their second final in as many tournaments. Their failure to qualify in 1982 and 1986 meant Brandts never played at another World Cup.
Josimar (1986)
Not many players make their international debut during a World Cup, but that is exactly what happened to Josimar in 1986. The right-back, who was only called up after first-choice Edson got injured, made his bow in Brazil’s third group game against Northern Ireland, scoring a brilliant goal and impressing sufficiently to keep his place in the starting XI for the knockout stage.
Josimar netted another superb strike in the 4-0 win against Poland in the last 16; the Selecao then lost on penalties to France in the quarter-finals, but Josimar’s performances in his only World Cup earned him a spot in the Team of the Tournament.
Oleg Salenko (1994)
Rather than a one-tournament wonder, it is tempting to label Salenko a one-game wonder. The striker only ever won eight caps for Russia, three of which came at his only international competition: the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Having begun his country’s opening game against Brazil – a 2-0 loss – on the bench, the forward scored a penalty in a 3-1 loss to Sweden. He and Russia exploded into life in their final group game, Salenko finding the net a remarkable five times in a 6-1 crushing of Cameroon. That was enough for him to win the Golden Boot alongside Hristo Stoichkov, but it was not sufficient to send Russia through to the knockout stage.
