3 Football nations who have disappointed their fans
Football can be a cruel game, especially so on the international stage. Unlike club football, the stakes are much higher in an international competition, such as the World Cup, Copa America or the European Championships.
In football crazy countries, a nation’s morale, and how it is perceived by other nations, is directly connected to a national football team’s performance on the world stage.
Since the beginning of international football matches in 1872, with a match between England and Scotland, international football has always been an attractive proposition for spectators.
Fortunes have waxed and waned; while some nations have become better with time, others have slipped up, and have let their illustrious past haunt them. Some nations which had once dominated the world-football scene are now pushed to the periphery by their more superior neo-counterparts. Such is the power of time and history.
Although a near impossible task to quantify, here we take a look at once, high-achieving, highly glorious football nations who are now underperforming.
#3 URUGUAY
When it comes to football heritage, Uruguay are one of the few nations who are undoubtedly a part of the game’s aristocracy. The nation hosted and won the first ever FIFA World Cup in 1930.
Since the inception of the South American football federation CONMEBOL IN 1916, Uruguay have been a powerhouse in Latin American football as well. Before their maiden World Cup triumph in 1930, Uruguay had already won six Copa America titles, an unprecedented achievement.
In fact, the first president of CONMEBOL was a Uruguayan politician Hector Rivadavia Gomez, such was Uruguay’s hold over their continent’s football.
La Celeste are also the nation who famously inflicted the pain of the Maracanazo, in their 2-1 victory over Brazil in the 1950 World Cup final at the Maracana Stadium. Before that, Uruguay had also won two Olympic gold medals in 1924 and 1928. Football ran in their veins.
By the 1960s, Uruguay were one of the few nations to have already won two World Cups, eleven Copas America and two Olympic golds in football. Uruguay were undoubtedly the most decorated team in Latin America.
To put their dominance into perspective, the current Latin American heavyweights Brazil and Argentina had not even hit their stride.
Brazil won their first World Cup only in 1958, and had only won a meagre three Copa America titles before the 1960s.
Argentina would not win their first World Cup till 1978, and their only decent run came in the Copa America, which they won a total of 12 times before the 1960s.
The 1960s proved to be a turning point. This was the decade where there was a shift in power in South American football from the hands of Uruguay to Brazil.
In 1962, Brazil won their second consecutive World Cup, continuing their fine run from 1958. Thus, they became the first nation to equal Uruguay’s record. By winning the 1970 edition of the tournament, Brazil eventually overtook Uruguay.
Then came Argentina in the 70s and 80s, who won a World Cup each in these two decades.
While Brazil and Argentina prospered, Uruguayan football continued to be at a standstill in the world stage. They continued their wins in the Copa America though, but even here victory came sporadically.
Uruguay’s last major national silverware came in 2011, when they won their record 15th Copa America title in home soil, thus becoming the nation with the most titles.
This is the only statistic that gives an indication today of how strong Uruguay were as a team once. Their decline in last five decades has been nothing short of massive.
Uruguay records in major tournaments
FIFA World Cup:
Champions: 1930, 1950
Copa América:
Champions: 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995, 2011