6 of the most surprising World Cup results in recent memory
In football, there is a possibility of only three outcomes at the end of a match. It is not uncommon to see managers and even players declare their sides as underdogs prior to kick off. Some of these teams have gone on to defy the odds stacked against them by pulling off a major upset. For instance, who knew that a small nation of 300,000 people like Iceland could eliminate the mighty Three Lions of England from a major competition?
The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest stage in world football for players to perform. In the competition's history, there have been some wild, bizarre and outright shocking results that no one expected. These six World Cup moments proved that indeed football can be unpredictable in nature.
#6 Spain 0 Switzerland 1 (2010)
This was a shocking result for Spain given that they were reigning European champions (2008). The Spanish were firm favourites to win the trophy. They had won 15 out of 16 matches played in 2009 and all their four matches in 2010 prior to the World Cup. Having 19 wins out of the last 20 matches certainly put Spain at the pinnacle of world football.
Despite going on to win the 2010 World Cup, the Spanish had a nightmare start in the campaign as they fell 1-0 to minnows Switzerland. This was in their opening Group H match on June 16, 2010. As expected, Spain dictated much of the play and had 67% of the ball possession. It was at the peak of the famous 'tiki-taka' style of play.
Spain had 24 attempts on goal to Swiss' eight but it was Gelson Fernandez who had the final say with his 52nd-minute winner to silence Spain's supporters. Fernandes had poked the ball into the empty net as Iker Casillas had rushed out of his line and failed to clear the danger.