The 10 Biggest Upsets in World Cup History: Shock Defeats from Maracana to Lusail

1. Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina — 2022 Group Stage

The match, one of the opening matches of the World Cup played in Qatar, is remembered as one of the biggest upsets in football history. Before the match played at Lusail Stadium, Argentina was on a 36-match unbeaten run and was shown as the favourite of the tournament. Argentina, which took the lead with Lionel Messi's penalty in the 10th minute, had three goals disallowed for offside. In the second half, Saleh Al-Shehri brought Saudi Arabia to equality in the 48th minute; then Salem Al-Dawsari moved the score to 2-1 with a wonderful strike in the 53rd minute. Saudi Arabia took the historic victory with goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais' saves in the last minutes. Ironically, Argentina completed the tournament as champion despite this defeat.

2. USA 1-0 England — 1950 Group Stage

The match, which entered history under the name "Miracle of Belo Horizonte," is considered one of the biggest upsets in football history. Before the match played in Brazil, which hosted the 1950 World Cup, England was shown as a big favourite as the inventors of football. The USA team consisted of part-time players: the squad included a dishwasher, a letter carrier and a teacher. This mixed squad practised together for only one day, then came to Brazil by boat. The goal scored by Haitian-born US striker Joe Gaetjens in the 38th minute was the only score of the match. Against England's relentless attacks in the second half, US goalkeeper Frank Borghi made miraculous saves and enabled his team to write history.

3. Senegal 1-0 France — 2002 Opening Match

In the opening match of the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, world champion France took the field as the open favourite of the tournament. France, which was missing Zinedine Zidane due to injury, started the match with a squad that included Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. In the 30th minute of the match, Papa Bouba Diop followed the ball that escaped from the defence in front of the goal and intervened to take Senegal 1-0 ahead. The French defence could not manage to overturn this result for the rest of the match. Senegal carried this historic victory to the later stages of the tournament, advancing to the quarter-final and became the symbol of the rise of African football in world football.

4. North Korea 1-0 Italy — 1966 Group Stage

In the group stage of the 1966 World Cup played in England, against Italy, North Korea signed one of the biggest upsets in history. In the match played at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, the North Korea team was a squad with no international experience before the match. In the 42nd minute, Pak Doo-Ik took North Korea 1-0 ahead with the goal he scored at the Italian goal. Despite all of Italy's pressure, North Korea preserved this score behind the goal and advanced to the last 16. While Italy was eliminated from the tournament, North Korea's success was recorded as the first major victory of Asian football in world football. When the Italian team returned home, they were welcomed by fans with tomatoes at the airport.

5. Algeria 2-1 West Germany — 1982 Group Stage

In the opening match of the 1982 World Cup played in Spain, European champion West Germany started with a defeat that shocked the football world against Algeria, which was participating in the World Cup for the first time. In the match played at El Molinón Stadium in Gijón, Algerian Rabah Madjer found the goal in the first half, then Karl-Heinz Rummenigge equalised. In the 68th minute of the match, with the goal Lakhdar Belloumi scored, Algeria took the 2-1 lead and wrote history. However, the controversial 1-0 score that West Germany and Austria played in the last group match (the match remembered as the Gijón Scandal) caused both teams to advance from the round while Algeria was eliminated. After this event, FIFA started to play the last group matches simultaneously in all subsequent World Cups.

6. Cameroon 1-0 Argentina — 1990 Opening Match

In the opening match of the 1990 World Cup played in Italy, world champion Argentina, together with Diego Maradona, took the field as the favourite of the tournament. In the match played at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Cameroon competed with a squad not much known in the football world. The goal scored by François Omam-Biyik in the 67th minute was the only score of the match. Although Cameroon was reduced to nine players by seeing two red cards throughout the match, it managed to preserve its superiority. This result was recorded as one of the first major victories of African football on the World Cup stage, while Cameroon advanced to the quarter-final, catching the record of the highest round reached by an African team at that time.

7. Japan 2-1 Germany — 2022 Group Stage

At the 2022 World Cup played in Qatar, just one day after Saudi Arabia overthrew Argentina, this time Japan took a historic victory against Germany. In the group match played at the Khalifa International Stadium, Germany took the 1-0 lead in the first half with Ilkay Gündoğan's penalty goal. In the second half, Hansi Flick's team began to struggle. In the 75th minute, Ritsu Doan equalised, and in the 83rd minute, Takuma Asano moved the score to 2-1 with a great strike. Japan passed Germany with a historic comeback. After this defeat, Germany experienced a difficult group process and was eliminated from the group stage, repeating the early elimination pain of 2018.

8. Spain 1-5 Netherlands — 2014 Group Stage

In the group match of the 2014 World Cup played in Brazil, world champion Spain suffered a shocking 1-5 defeat against the Netherlands at the Itaipava Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador. In the match, Xabi Alonso took Spain ahead with the goal he scored from the penalty in the 27th minute. Before half-time, Robin van Persie equalised with a breath-taking diving header from afar. In the second half, Arjen Robben (2), van Persie and Stefan de Vrij carried the difference to 5 with their goals. The 2010 world champion Spain was eliminated from the group stage by also losing to Chile after this defeat, while the Netherlands became third in the tournament. Van Persie's header was remembered as one of the most beautiful moments of the tournament.

9. Germany 1-7 Brazil — 2014 Semi-Final

The match that entered history under the name "Mineiraço" was technically included in the list as a match where Brazil lost. Host Brazil faced an incredible picture against Germany in the semi-final at Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte. In the first 30 minutes, Germany took the 5-0 lead; the team established an overwhelming superiority with goals from Toni Kroos, Miroslav Klose, Sami Khedira and Thomas Müller. The match ended 1-7. This defeat Brazil experienced as host was the second major trauma in the country's football history after the 1950 Maracanazo. Germany carried this victory to beat Argentina 1-0 in the final and won the World Cup. Klose became the all-time top scorer of the World Cup with the goal he scored in this match.

10. South Korea 2-1 Italy — 2002 Last 16

In the last 16 round of the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, host South Korea advanced with a 2-1 victory against Italy with the goal taken in extra time. In the match played at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, Italy took the lead in the first half with Christian Vieri's goal. With Seol Ki-Hyeon's equalising goal in the 88th minute of the match, the match went to extra time. In the 117th minute of extra time, host South Korea advanced to the semi-final in the tournament with the host Ahn Jung-Hwan's header goal. On the Italy side, the decisions made by referee Byron Moreno were debated for many years; Francesco Totti's dismissal with a second yellow card and Damiano Tommasi's goal disallowed for offside were other critical moments of the match. South Korea broke the record of the highest round reached by an Asian team by advancing to the semi-final in the tournament.

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