You don’t need to be a football fan to enjoy this fascinating account of one of the craziest games ever played

This account of a 1994 football match between Barbados and Grenada is a riveting example of ‘the law of unintended consequences’ and a hilariously chaotic exercise in game theory.

It’s a brilliantly well written Twitter thread by Walter Ego to whom we hand over now for match commentary.

1.

In 1994, a football team discovered
a loophole so absurd, they broke the game.

They won the match by scoring an own goal.
ON PURPOSE.

What followed changed how we see
soccer and game theory forever.

-Thread- pic.twitter.com/3sdMzthGxj

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

2.

In football, the “golden goal” rule is simple:
If a match goes to extra time,
the first goal ends it.

Traditionally, it counts as 1.
Just sudden death, nothing more.

But in this tournament,
they changed the rule.

A golden goal was worth 2.

And it unleashed chaos.

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

3.

Barbados needed to beat Grenada by 2 goals
to stay alive in the 1994 Caribbean Cup.
That would also eliminate Grenada.

Late in the game, they were up 2–1.
But that wasn’t enough.

So with 3 minutes left…

They remembered the new rule: pic.twitter.com/sNM6WJZGR4

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

4.

Their thinking?

“If we can tie the game and force extra time…Then we’ll have 30 more minutes to score a golden goal, worth 2 instead of 1, and win by exactly 4–2.”

But forcing that draw meant doing the unthinkable… pic.twitter.com/d9P9yX8Jc4

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

5.

In the 87th minute, Barbados passed it back,
And blasted it into their own net.

The crowd gasped.

Grenada froze.

The score? 2–2.

Now Barbados just needed one
goal in extra time to win 4-2.

But Grenada had other plans,
and that’s when the game went
LITERALLY INSANE. pic.twitter.com/yFS5QK5xtU

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

6.

They realized what was happening.

If it ended 2–2 and Barbados
scored in extra time, they’d be out.

They had one insane option left:

Score a goal.
In either net.

Yes, even their own.

You read that right: pic.twitter.com/EF1cTdfcIx

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

7.

Grenada started attacking both goals.

A 3–2 win? They advance.
A 3–2 loss? Still advance
(because Barbados needs to win 4-2)

Barbados had to defend two goals at once!

The match turned into a tactical hallucination.

And for the next 3 minutes…
everything went off script. pic.twitter.com/05ywaarpjv

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

8.

Barbados defended both goals:

• Blocking shots
• Guarding Grenada’s goal
• Tackling players trying to score own goals

This wasn’t football anymore.
Logic left the stadium.

It was 4D chess played inside a funhouse.

And somehow, they pulled it off.

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

9.

Regulation ended 2–2. Barbados had done it.
They forced extra time.

One golden goal would count as two,
giving them the 4–2 win they needed.

And then… they scored. Game over.
FIFA? Humiliated.

But this wasn’t just absurd.

It exposed how broken incentives
can break the game. pic.twitter.com/rRe1cT2Oow

— Walter Ego (@ItsWalterEgo) May 9, 2025

Back of the net! It generated some interesting replies.

10.

What a fascinating case of strategy versus rules. It's all about thinking outside the box, isn't it?

— Aric Keyes (@AricKeyes) May 9, 2025

11.

Madness

— Football Fights (@footbalIfights) May 9, 2025

12.

Now, I'll call that great strategy from Barbados' point of view lmao

— Vikram (@vikrammjha) May 9, 2025

13.

Insanely amusing stuff.

— The Steps (@mcnamara_team) May 9, 2025

14.

Crazy thread.
"People don't follow rules. They follow rewards" https://t.co/eeDKTiiqg0

— Isaiah (@LogicalDFS) May 9, 2025

15.

This is mad. Never knew about this before.

Football is a wild sport. https://t.co/lbKmFucbKd

— Patrick Hamilton Walsh (@PatrickHWalsh) May 9, 2025

16.

Most intriguing thread I have read in a while. https://t.co/pkugfWW0pD

— A (@ay1m) May 9, 2025

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Source ItsWalterEgo Image Screengrab, Pexels