5 biggest upsets in FIFA World Cup history
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is well and truly underway in Qatar, and like in previous editions, upsets are to be expected. It is customary in every edition of the FIFA World Cup for an underdog to claim a stunning win over one of the perceived better sides.
Notable upsets in the recent editions of the FIFA World Cup include Slovakia's 3-2 win over Italy in South Africa in 2010 and Switzerland's 1-0 win over Spain in the same edition. South Korea's 2-0 win that dumped champions Germany out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia was also a recent upset in the Mundial. There have been more notable ones involving some of the world's best teams.
Without further ado, here is a list of the five biggest upsets in FIFA World Cup history:
#5 Cameroon 1-0 Argentina (1990)
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the time for the iconic Diego Maradona to defend the title he led Argentina to four years earlier. Faced with a number of off-field problems leading up to the tournament, he led his country to suffer one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
Up against the champions were African side Cameroon, led by veteran striker Roger Milla and goalkeeper Thomas N'Kono. It was the group's opener at the iconic San Siro Stadium in Italy on June 8, 1990, and a chance for La Albiceleste to lay down a marker.
The Cameroonians, however, displayed a great endeavor to hold off the Argentine side before delivering a second-half sucker punch. Francois Omam-Biyik leapt high to head an effort past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net in the 67th minute. Cameroon won the game 1-0, stunning the world.
Cameroon went on to win their second group game before falling to defeat in their last group game. They went on to defeat Colombia in the Round of 16 before losing to England after extra-time in the quarter-finals.
#4 Bulgaria 2-1 Germany (1994)
1990 champions Germany were on a mission in the USA to defend the FIFA World Cup title they had won four years earlier. Die Mannschaft had reached the last eight of the 1994 edition of the Mundial and were on course to defend their title until they faced Bulgaria and their iconic forward Hristo Stoichkov.
Germany impressed in the match's opening exchanges with their superior players and they opened the scoring in the 49th minute. Jurgen Klinsmann was hauled down in the box and captain Lothar Matthaus stepped up to score the resulting penalty.
Bulgaria refused to throw in the towel and came back roaring. They turned the game on its head in a three-minute spell that started with a delightful free-kick from Stoichkov in the 76th minute. Three minutes later, Yordan Lechkov headed home the winner for Bulgaria.
Bulgaria reached the semi-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2-1 to Italy. They were soundly beaten in the third-place match by Sweden by a 4-0 scoreline.
#3 South Korea 2-1 Italy (2002)
Co-hosts South Korea delivered a sterling performance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup under the tutelage of Guus Hiddink. The Asians stunned one of the tournament's favorites to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament in a match marred by referee errors.
Italy had many of the world's best players at their peak and were among the favorites for the title. South Korea were facing a depleted Italy side that still had enough quality, and the Azzurri took the lead through Christian Vieri in the first-half. Seol Ki-Hyeon equalized in the 88th minute before Ahn Jung-Hwan headed home a winner in the 117th minute.
South Korea finished fourth in the 2002 FIFA World Cup on home soil after defeats to Germany in the semi-finals and Turkey in the third-place playoff. Their best performance at a FIFA World Cup till date.
#2 Senegal 1-0 France (2002)
World champions France were out to defend their FIFA World Cup title when they faced debutants Senegal in their group stage opener. Les Bleus were without influential midfielder Zinedine Zidane through injury, but had other top stars but lost to Senegal in the game in shocking fashion.
Senegal looked to prove that they were no pushovers and were a force to be reckoned with. The Lions of Teranga found the net in the match through Papa Bouba Diop after only 30 minutes and proceeded to defend with their lives. They held on to the win, a landmark one in their history.
France crashed out of the tournament in the group stage with only one point from three games. Senegal, on the other hand, reached the quarter-finals before losing to Turkey by a lone goal.
#1 Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina (2022)
In arguably the biggest upset in FIFA World Cup history, minnows Saudi Arabia stunned favorites Argentina in Qatar. La Albiceleste had not lost in 36 matches since 2019, a run that yielded the Copa America title.
After going in front through a Lionel Messi penalty ten minutes into the game, Argentina lost to a quickfire double from Saudi Arabia in five second-half minutes. Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari scored in the 48th and 53rd minutes, respectively, to hand Saudi Arabia a hard-earned win over Argentina.
SAUDI ARABIA CAME TO CRASH THE PARTY 🤯 https://t.co/XaeuzDjT5s
Saudi Arabia was 125/1 live when they were down 1-0 to Argentina😳
Biggest upset in World Cup History. https://t.co/ZBoTJisaAC
Saudi Arabia's win over Argentina was the most significant performance or result by an Arab country in the World Cup so far. La Albiceleste were stunned in Lusail and now have to regroup for the rest of the group stage.