There’s nothing quite like a big World Cup upset, at least for the neutrals. They make for great entertainment and are one of the many reasons why the competition is one of the greatest sporting events in the world.
Now just three days into the 2022 Qatar World Cup, we’ve seen one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition, as Saudi Arabia came from behind to beat Argentina 2-1.
In no particular order…
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia, Qatar 2022.
In what is one of the biggest shocks in the history of the World Cup, Saudi Arabia dramatically came from behind to defeat second favourites to lift the trophy Argentina.
When Lionel Messi converted his penalty on the tenth minute it was a question of how many the Argentines would win by, and after 35 minutes they’d had the ball in the back of the net a further three times, however they were ruled out for offside.
Then came the drama in the second half. Just three minutes after the restart Saleh Al-Shehri found a yard of space in behind Cristian Romero and slotted a low shot into the bottom corner. Five minutes later, the Saudi’s were ahead. Salem Al-Dawsari scored a stunning solo goal to complete the comeback eventually ending Argentina’s 36-game unbeaten run, stretching back three years when they lost to Brazil.
(South) Korea Republic 2-1 Italy, Japan/Korea 2002
Being co-hosts of the tournament, Korea had plenty of home support on their side, and it helped them on their way to beating Italy in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the competition.
Korea came from behind equalising in the 88th minute and won in extra-time as they knocked Italy out of the tournament in the last-16, with Ahn Jung-hwan scoring the winning goal.
They eventually went on to reach the semi-finals after dispatching of Spain in the quarter-finals, before losing to Germany in the last four.
England 0-1 USA, Brazil 1950
England 0-1 USA, Brazil 1950Over 70 years ago we seen a shocking result in Brazil, as the USA beat England. The Americans weren’t known for having any real footballing history or traditions at the time, which made the win against the creators of the game so very special.
The game was dubbed the, “Miracle on Turf” by many as USA were on a treacherous seven game losing streak conceding 45 goals in the process. Joe Gaetjens was the hero on the day.
Argentina 0-1 Cameroon, Italy 1990
Argentina opened Italia ’90 in the worst possible way with this shock defeat at the hands of Cameroon, all whilst defending the trophy.
Diego Maradona and co just didn’t get into gear and were defeated as Francois Omam-Biyik scored the only goal of the game.
Dramatically, the Cameroonians finished the game with just nine players on the field, and done ever so well to hold onto their lead and eventually went on to become the first African team ever to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
France 0-1 Senegal, Korea/Japan 2002
Another shock by another African team on another tournament opener against another team of defending champions – it’s what all upsets are about.
It was Senegal’s first ever game at a World Cup, and they won it in fine fashion to defeat the defending European and world champions as Papa Bouba Diop scored the only goal of the game. It was a tournament to remember for Senegal, as they reached the quarter-finals.
The French got off to the worst possible start and eventually were famously dumped out of the group stages as they attempted to rush the injured Zinedine Zidane back from injury.
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