10 Worst World Cup Teams Ever

Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, made their only World Cup appearance back in 1974 and fell firmly in the "We're just happy to take part" brigade after enduring one of the most painfully poor tournament runs the World Cup has ever seen.

The team didn't start too badly, losing 2-0 to a decent Scottish side in their opening game. However, their second match against Yugoslavia was catastrophic. The scoring was opened after eight minutes, Zaire had a man sent off after 22 minutes, and Yugoslavia were 6-0 up by half-time. By the time the final whistle was blown, the scoreline had been extended to 9-0.

Zaire did at least manage to redeem themselves a little by putting on a brave performance in their final group game against Brazil, which they only lost 3-0. A fascinating moment occurred in the match when Zaire's Mwepu Ilunga ran out from the wall and booted the ball away as Brazil were preparing to take a free kick. That was more or less the most memorable thing any Zaire player did at the World Cup.