20 Worst Squads In FIFA World Cup History
Everyone from El Salvador to Zaire - these are the real World Cup rogues gallery...
The FIFA World Cup has been a spectacle in the world of sport for almost 100 years now. Founded in 1930, this coveted event has grown in reputation and awe with every passing tournament, now making it one of the most prestigious trophies in all of world sport.
In its history, the World Cup has been defined by iconic players, incredible matches and most relevantly for this article, world class squads. Immortal squads such as 1970 Brazil, 1998 France and 2014 Germany have all proved their worth as era defining football teams.
However, not every team that enters the World Cup finals is destined for stardom and everlasting global fame. Some are condemned to infamy, and remembered for all the wrong reasons. Where some teams prove to be defiant, cohesive units, others become proverbial whipping boys and make people wonder how they even managed to qualify in the first place.
In this article, we have analysed the statistics of every World Cup to give you a definitive list of the 20 worst squads to ever appear in the FIFA World Cup.
20. Panama (2018)
Panama even making it to the World Cup for the first time ever in 2018 was an incredible achievement, especially when considering they did it at the expense of regulars at the finals, USA. However the statistics don't lie and Panama sadly find their maiden World Cup voyage on this list.
The group stage draw gave the newbies some tough competition in Tunisia, Belgium and England. The difficulty of this group is made even more apparent when you realise both England and Belgium made it to the semi-finals.
Panama's first World Cup performance resulted in a 0-3 defeat to Belgium, which was followed by a 1-6 annihilation from England. Panama managed a 1-2 loss to Tunisia in the last game, which is made slightly less impressive considering these were Tunisia's only points and Panama's goal was also a Tunisian own goal.
Panama ended their World Cup campaign with three straight defeats after scoring just two goals.