The Most Epic Upsets in World Cup History

Soccer is the sport that produces the most upsets in major world competitions. No other sport lives as much off those moments where the underdog defeats the giant in front of millions of viewers. The World Cup is the ideal stage for these feats. Here we review the seven most impactful results in the entire history of the World Cup — moments that are still conversation topics decades later.

USA 1 – England 0 (Brazil 1950)

Considered for decades as the biggest upset in soccer history, England's defeat to the United States in the 1950 Brazil group stage was so implausible that many English newspapers thought it was a typo when they received the scoreline. England was making its World Cup debut (having refused to participate before for political reasons) and was considered the top favorite. The game's only goal was scored by Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens. The soccer world never forgot that June 29, 1950.

North Korea 1 – Italy 0 (England 1966)

Italy arrived at England 1966 as European champion and one of the top favorites for the title. North Korea, in their first and until then only World Cup appearance, were considered a formality. Pak Doo-ik's goal in the 42nd minute sent the North Koreans to the quarterfinals and eliminated Italy from the tournament. The Italian players were greeted in Rome with tomatoes and rotten eggs. This defeat remains one of the most embarrassing in the history of calcio.

Senegal 1 – France 0 (South Korea-Japan 2002)

France arrived at the 2002 World Cup as double champion: winning the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. They were the most feared team on the planet, with a golden generation of Zidane, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and company. Senegal was participating in a World Cup for the first time. Striker Papa Bouba Diop's first-half goal was enough to defeat the champions, who would be eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal. Senegal would go on to reach the quarterfinals.

Costa Rica's 'Group of Death' Miracle (Brazil 2014)

Costa Rica was drawn into Group D of Brazil 2014, immediately dubbed 'the Group of Death': Uruguay (two-time world champion), Italy (four-time champion), and everyone's honorary host, England. No one expected anything from the Ticos. But Costa Rica won all three group games — defeating Uruguay 3-1, Italy 1-0, and then it didn't even matter against England since they'd already qualified. They topped the group, eliminating two former world champions. They then beat Greece in the round of 16 and only fell to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, on penalties. An epic performance.

Saudi Arabia 2 – Argentina 1 (Qatar 2022)

On November 22, 2022, Argentina — unbeaten in 36 consecutive matches, reigning Copa América champions, with Lionel Messi at the peak of his career and the clear favorite for the title — lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest cataclysms in recent soccer history. Argentina opened the scoring with a Messi penalty, but had three goals disallowed (offside). Saudi Arabia came out in the second half with devastating high pressure and scored two goals in 5 minutes. The world stopped. Saudi Arabia celebrated with a national holiday. Argentina recovered to win the tournament, but that opening defeat remains the biggest upset of Qatar 2022.

Japan: The Upset Machine at Qatar 2022

If Saudi Arabia was the biggest individual upset of Qatar 2022, Japan was the tournament's revelation team. The Samurai Blue found themselves in Group E with Germany (four-time world champion) and Spain (2010 champion) as direct rivals. And they beat them both: 2-1 against Germany (coming from behind) and 2-1 against Spain (with two goals in the last 10 minutes). Japan finished top of a group that included two World Cup winners. They only fell to Croatia in the round of 16 on penalties, proving that Asian soccer is a real force at the global level.