10) Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia, group stage, Qatar 2022
The road to Argentina’s World Cup victory in 2022 got off to a bumpy start when Saudi Arabia stunned them in their first game of the tournament.
Lionel Messi scored a 10th-minute penalty, and the match was going as many expected before the football minnows turned the game on its head as Saleh Al-Shehri equalised in the 48th minute. Five minutes later, the match changed for good when Salem Al-Dawsari curled a shot past goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.
9) Spain 2-3 Nigeria, group stage, France 1998
Nigeria pulled off one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating heavy tournament favourites Spain 3-2 in their opening group match of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
The match was a pulsating, back-and-forth thriller where Spain twice took the lead, only for Nigeria to fight back each time. Sunday Oliseh scored the winner when he unleashed a ferocious, unstoppable 30-yard half-volley that rocketed past a diving Andoni Zubizarreta into the bottom corner.
8) East Germany 1-0 West Germany, group stage, Germany 1974
West Germany’s squad was filled with global superstars like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller, who were already established professionals. Conversely, the East German players were officially "amateurs" who held day jobs.
In the 77th minute, Jurgen Sparwasser latched onto a long pass, evaded West German defenders Berti Vogts and Sepp Maier, and scored the lone goal of the game.
It was the only time the two nations officially met on the football pitch.
7) Italy 0-1 Costa Rica, group stage, Brazil 2014
While Costa Rica was the only non-former champion in the group, they arrived in Brazil 2014 brimming with confidence after an impressive qualifying campaign in which they finished second in the final round.
The Italians surely underestimated their opponents and were undone when Bryan Ruiz headed a Junior Diaz cross in off the underside of the crossbar. The goal was officially confirmed using goal-line technology.
6) France 0-1 Senegal, group stage, Korea / Japan 2002
Entering the tournament as the reigning World Cup and European champions, France were heavily favoured against Senegal, a country making its tournament debut.
France's star playmaker, Zinedine Zidane, missed the match due to a thigh injury sustained in a warm-up game, severely crippling France's attack. Papa Bouba Diop scored the only goal in the 30th minute, bundling the ball into the net after a low cross from El Hadji Diouf.
5) England 0-1 USA, Brazil 1950
England made their first-ever World Cup appearance and arrived as heavy favourites to win the entire tournament, while the Americans had assembled a hastily assembled squad of part-time, semi-professional players.
The USA had lost its previous seven international matches, but while the English favourites spent roughly 85% of the game in the American half, Bill Jeffrey's outfit scored the famous winning goal after 38 minutes when Haitian-born forward Joe Gaetjens deflected a shot from Walter Bahr into the back of the net.
4) South Korea 2-1 Italy, round of 16, South Korea & Japan 2002
The match was refereed by Byron Moreno of Ecuador, whose controversial decisions sparked allegations of corruption.
Francesco Totti received a second yellow card for simulation in the penalty box during extra time, while replays showed he had been tripped. Damiano Tommasi scored what would have been a golden goal for Italy, but it was incorrectly ruled offside.
Ahn Jung-hwan scored the golden goal with a header in the 117th minute to eliminate Italy.
3) Brazil 1-2 Norway, group stage, France 1998
Brazil had already qualified for the Round of 16 as group winners after beating Scotland and Morocco, while Norway needed to win against the favourites to leapfrog Morocco and finish second in Group A.
For most of the game, Brazil had most of the ball while Egil Olsen's disciplined, physical Norway side held firm. The match exploded in the final 12 minutes as Tore Andre Flo levelled out Bebeto's opener before Kjetil Rekdal calmly converted a spot kick in the 89th minute.
2) West Germany 1-2 Algeria, group stage, Spain 1982
The Germans, having drawn against Tunisia at Argentina 1978, inexplicably chose to belittle Algeria in the match against the Algerians in Gijon, as coach Jupp Derwall said before the match: “If we don't beat Algeria, we’ll take the next train home."
Algerian star Rabah Madjer opened the scoring by slamming home a rebound after 54 minutes. West German captain Karl-Heinz Rummenigge then equalised from close range after 67 minutes before Salah Assad in the following minute crossed the ball to Lakhdar Belloumi, who had an easy tap-in to secure the historic 2–1 victory.
1) Argentina 0-1 Cameroon, group stage, Italy 1990
On June 8, 1990, Cameroon pulled off one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating reigning world champions Argentina 1–0 in the opening match of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Cameroon's tactical game plan relied on an aggressive, highly physical approach to neutralise Argentina's superstar captain, Diego Maradona, and the referee Michel Vautrot had a difficult job on his hands to keep the game under control.
Cameroon scored the winner when Argentina's goalkeeper, Nery Pumpido, fumbled a header from Francois Omam-Biyik under his body into the net.
FIFA World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 48 national teams and will be played in 16 modern stadiums.
Match schedule and times | Group tables | England at the World Cup | Scotland at the World Cup | Team rosters at the World Cup | How to watch the World Cup | Predictions and odds | Which teams could be considered dark horses?