10 Biggest World Cup Upsets Of All Time
These teams defied all the odds to clench victory.
One of the greatest World Cup's in recent memory has finally come to a close with the French victorious for the second time. A tournament bereft of normalcy, football fans around the world were treated to variety of surprises along the way.
For the first time since 1938, Germany were unceremoniously dumped out the tournament in the group stages. Defeats to both Mexico and South Korea were both huge upsets against a side that were tipped by many to go on to win the whole thing. Spain, just 6 years removed from being one of the most dominant sides in international football history, were eliminated by hosts Russia - the lowest ranked team going into the finals.
And that's what makes the World Cup so special. It is one of the disappointingly few competitions left in the sport that cannot be completely swayed by money. Take for instance Iceland; while a huge investment was made to improve football in the country at a grassroots level, they still only have a population size comparable to Coventry to pick their players from, and they managed to earn a draw against Argentina, a team sporting arguably the world's best player.
The competition provides drama on an unprecedented scale, and nothing is more dramatic when the minnows in a David Vs. Goliath encounter prevails and shocks the world. These are some of the teams that did just that and proved that anything can happen in the beautiful game.
10. South Korea 2 - 0 Germany (2018)
After an incredible showing in the 2014 tournament, Germany established themselves as the number one team in the world. They held onto that distinction for most of the inter-tournament period, and despite a disappointing showing at Euro 2016, were among the betting favourites heading into World Cup 2018.
After a surprising loss to Mexico that could've also earned a place on this list, Germany got back on track by beating Sweden in a hard fought match.
This meant a win against South Korea would be enough to earn a place in the knockout stages. The South Korean side, despite already being eliminated from the tournament having lost their first two games, we're not going to play along with the script.
Despite Germany attempting 28 shots throughout the course of the match, the South Korean defence proved impenetrable, with goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo pulling out several world-class saves.
The unfavoured Asian side were not content to just sit back and defend against the German onslaught. They countered effectively throughout the game and in the 92nd minute were rewarded for their efforts with a goal from Kim Young-gwon. The German team tried in vain to muster up a counter-attack but as goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was caught out of position, South Korea doubled their lead to give Germany their first group stage exit since 1938.