The 10 Greatest World Cup Upsets of All Time

The World Cup has a habit of tearing up the script. For all the pre-tournament analysis, the ranking points, and the bookmakers' odds, football's biggest stage has produced some of the most jaw-dropping upsets in sporting history. From part-time players toppling empires to defending champions humbled by debutants, these are the matches that remind us why we watch.

Here are the 10 greatest World Cup upsets of all time — ranked by shock value, historical context, and sheer drama.

10. Japan 2-1 Germany (2022)

Qatar, Group E — 23 November 2022

Japan trailed four-time champions Germany at half-time after an Ilkay Gündogan penalty. What followed was a masterclass in tactical adjustment. Manager Hajime Moriyasu introduced a wave of substitutes at the break, and within eight minutes of the restart, Ritsu Doan hammered in an equaliser before Takuma Asano fired home from a tight angle to complete the comeback.

The result was shocking enough on its own, but Japan then did it again — beating Spain 2-1 in their final group game to top the group and send Germany crashing out.

9. Algeria 2-1 West Germany (1982)

Spain, Group 2 — 16 June 1982

Reigning European champions West Germany arrived in Spain as one of the favourites and made no secret of their disdain for the Algerian side they faced in the group opener. The Germans reportedly mocked their opponents before kickoff. Algeria made them pay, playing fast, incisive football to win 2-1 — becoming the first African team to beat a European side at a World Cup.

The aftermath was equally infamous. West Germany and Austria later played out a mutually beneficial 1-0 result — the so-called "Disgrace of Gijón" — that eliminated Algeria despite their two group-stage wins. The scandal led FIFA to schedule all final group matches at the same time from 1986 onwards.

8. Cameroon 1-0 Argentina (1990)

Italy, Opening Match — 8 June 1990

The 1990 World Cup kicked off with a bomb. Defending champions Argentina, led by Diego Maradona, were expected to swat aside Cameroon in the tournament opener at the San Siro. Instead, the Indomitable Lions produced one of the gutsiest performances in World Cup history.

François Omam-Biyik scored with a looping header, and Cameroon held on despite having two players sent off. Nine men against the world champions — and the nine men won. Cameroon went on to reach the quarter-finals, becoming the first African team to do so, and their run inspired a generation of African footballers.

7. Senegal 1-0 France (2002)

South Korea/Japan, Group A — 31 May 2002

History has a taste for symmetry. Twelve years after Cameroon stunned Argentina in the opener, Senegal did the same to France — the reigning world and European champions. It was Senegal's first ever World Cup match.

Papa Bouba Diop bundled home from El Hadji Diouf's cross on the half-hour mark, then celebrated by laying his shirt on the grass while his teammates danced around it. The image became iconic. France, missing the injured Zinedine Zidane, never recovered — they were eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal.

6. South Korea 2-0 Germany (2018)

Russia, Group F — 27 June 2018

Defending champions Germany needed a win against South Korea to have any chance of surviving the group stage. For 90 minutes, the Koreans frustrated the Germans with disciplined defending and sharp counter-attacks.

Then, deep in stoppage time, Kim Young-gwon prodded home from a corner after a VAR review confirmed the goal. As Germany threw everyone forward in desperation, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was caught miles from his goal, and Son Heung-min rolled the ball into an empty net. Germany were out — their first group-stage exit since 1938.

5. West Germany 3-2 Hungary (1954)

Switzerland, Final — 4 July 1954

The "Miracle of Bern" is arguably the greatest comeback in World Cup final history. Hungary's "Magical Magyars" were the best team on the planet — unbeaten in four years, winners of Olympic gold, and scorers of a tournament-record 27 goals en route to the final.

Ferenc Puskás and Zoltán Czibor had Hungary 2-0 up within eight minutes. The match looked over. But West Germany clawed back through Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn, who equalised before the quarter-hour. With six minutes remaining, Rahn struck again to complete one of football's greatest ever upsets. Hungary's golden generation never won the trophy they deserved.

4. North Korea 1-0 Italy (1966)

England, Group 4 — 19 July 1966

At Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, a squad of unknown soldiers from North Korea sent two-time world champions Italy crashing out of the tournament. The Italians gambled on injured captain Giacomo Bulgarelli, who aggravated a knee problem early on and was forced off — this was the last World Cup before substitutions were permitted.

Pak Doo-ik, a 24-year-old corporal and part-time dentist, scored the only goal just before half-time, slotting home with composure that belied the magnitude of the moment. The Koreans then went 3-0 up against Portugal in the quarter-finals before Eusébio single-handedly dragged the Portuguese back to win 5-3. The Italian players, meanwhile, were pelted with tomatoes upon their return home.

3. Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina (2022)

Qatar, Group C — 22 November 2022

This one still feels surreal. Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-match unbeaten run and were the bookmakers' favourites. Lionel Messi stroked home an early penalty, and Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in a dominant first half.

Then came five minutes that rewrote the script. Saleh Al-Shehri levelled with a low finish in the 48th minute, and Salem Al-Dawsari unleashed a curling strike into the top corner in the 53rd. The Saudi bench erupted. The fans in Lusail Stadium erupted. Saudi Arabia declared a national holiday. Argentina, to their credit, recovered and went on to win the tournament — but this was the most purely shocking result of the modern era.

2. Uruguay 2-1 Brazil (1950)

Brazil, Deciding Match — 16 July 1950

The "Maracanazo" — a word that still sends shivers through Brazilian football. The 1950 World Cup used a final round-robin group instead of a knockout final, and Brazil needed only a draw against Uruguay at the Maracanã to win the trophy. Nearly 200,000 supporters packed the stadium. Newspapers had already printed the headline declaring Brazil champions. The governor of Rio had prepared a victory speech.

The 1950 World Cup deciding match between Brazil and Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro

Friaca gave Brazil the lead early in the second half, and the party seemed a formality. But Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised, and then Alcides Ghiggia scored the winner with eleven minutes to play. The Maracanã fell silent. The Brazilian goalkeeper, Moacir Barbosa, was blamed for the rest of his life — he once said that the maximum sentence in Brazil was 30 years, but he had been punished for 50.

1. USA 1-0 England (1950)

Brazil, Group 2 — 29 June 1950

The greatest World Cup upset of all time. England, making their tournament debut, were considered the finest team in the world. Their post-war record stood at 23 wins, 4 losses, and 3 draws, including a 10-0 demolition of Portugal two weeks earlier. The bookmakers installed them as 3-1 favourites to win the entire World Cup.

The United States, by contrast, had lost their last seven internationals by a combined score of 45-2. Their squad was made up of part-time players — a dishwasher, two postmen, a mill worker, and a teacher. The odds of an American victory were quoted at 500-1.

In the 38th minute, Haitian-born forward Joe Gaetjens dove to meet a cross and glanced a header past goalkeeper Bert Williams. England battered the American goal for the remaining 52 minutes but could not equalise. When the result was telegraphed to newspapers around the world, many assumed it was a typo and printed the score as 10-1 to England.

It remains the purest David vs Goliath result the World Cup has ever produced — and a reminder that on any given day, anything can happen.

Sources

This post was researched using the following sources:

• Greatest FIFA World Cup Upsets — Britannica
• The 10 Biggest Shock Results in World Cup History — Sports Illustrated
• The greatest World Cup upsets… ever! — FourFourTwo
• Biggest upsets in World Cup history — Opta Analyst
• What are the biggest FIFA World Cup upsets in history? — Al Jazeera
• FIFA World Cup upsets: Biggest shock results in history — Olympics.com
• United States v England 1950 — Wikipedia
• How North Korea stunned the world — These Football Times
• Papa Bouba Diop and Senegal's dance against France — FIFA.com

Cover image: South Korea vs Germany, 2018 FIFA World Cup, Министерство спорта Республики Татарстан via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0. Inline image: 1950 World Cup deciding match between Brazil and Uruguay, TheGuyWhoShammars via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.