10 Greatest World Cup Underdog Stories
7. Costa Rica (2014)
When the draw for the 2014 World Cup was announced, the so-called 'Group of Death' was clear to see; Group D contained Italy, Uruguay, England, and Costa Rica. Of the four teams, Costa Rica were considered the weakest and had been paired up with three former winners of the competition.
Few fans expected the plucky Central Americans to qualify, let alone win the group, but that's exactly what they did. Costa Rica's campaign got off to an incredible start with a 3-1 victory over Uruguay, and they went on to record a 1-0 win over Italy and a 0-0 draw with England in the last game.
After that, they beat Greece on penalties in the knockout round and found themselves in the quarter finals for the first ever time. Their defensive strength saw them earn a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands, but they narrowly lost 4-3 in the penalty shootout. Nobody gave them a chance of even winning a game, but the Costa Ricans blew fans away with their impressive performances.