Five shocking first-round FIFA World Cup exits by defending champions

Upsets are a part and parcel of football. Almost every time, a powerhouse chokes andfails to make it past the group stages at the World Cup finals. This years edition was certainly no different.Although some are more surprising than the others, we look back at theoccasionswhen the then reigning champions went on to suffershocking first-round exits.

#5 Italy - 1950

World War II meant that the planned 1942 and 1946 events had to be cancelled. When the tournament did resume in 1950 – after a lengthy 12 year gap, it was overshadowed by teams withdrawing out and refusing to participate in the competition. 

The Italians, winners of the previous two editions, were of a no different opinion. Some of their team players had died in the tragic Superga air disaster and they were not keen on attending the tournament. Following some persuasion by the Brazilian football federation, they agreed to come, but by a boat rather than a plane. 

They lost their opening match, a 2-3 defeat to Sweden and although they did manage to beat Paraguay 2-0 in their last match, it wasn’t quite enough as the Italians had already been eliminated by then.