10 Greatest World Cup Underdog Stories

2. Bulgaria (1994)

Bulgaria had never won a game at the World Cup, but in 1994, everything changed. The team barely qualified for the tournament and found themselves in a competitive group alongside Greece, Nigeria, and Argentina. Few fans were expecting much from the Bulgarians, but they shocked everyone en route to a semi-final place!

Bulgaria lost their first group game 3-0 to Nigeria, but turned things around in the final two matches, thrashing Greece 4-0 and defeating Argentina 2-0. The team had only gotten out of the group stage once before and now had to beat Mexico to go one step further. They did just that, drawing 1-1 with the Mexicans and beating them 3-1 in the penalty shootout.

In the quarter final, their miraculous run continued as they eliminated Germany with a 2-1 win. They eventually got knocked out of the tournament by Italy in the semis and lost the third place playoff game as well, but were one of the World Cup's biggest surprises, with striker Hristo Stoichkov winning the top scorer award after netting six times.

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