FIFA World Cup 2026: Football is the most popular sport in the world not just because it has great players or because billions of people watch it. Its real quality is its uncertainty. In comparison to cricket or basketball, in football even a small team has a chance to defeat a big team. This is why the World Cup is not just a story of great players and powerful countries. This is also the story of those small countries who made the impossible possible.
America vs England, 1950: The defeat the newspapers couldn’t believe
29 June 1950. Belo Horizonte, Brazil. On one side, England, the birthplace of football, and its team loaded with professional players. On the other hand, America had players whom no one even knew about. Some of them were postmen, some teachers, some labourers.
Everyone seemed certain that England would win easily. America scored a goal and then the entire team put up the biggest defensive fight of their lives. Final score was – America 1, England 0. Some newspapers did not believe it. Considering it a typing mistake, they printed the score as 10-1. In history it is called ‘Miracle on Grass’. The winning goal was scored in the 37th minute by Joe Gaetjens, who was originally from Haiti and washed dishes in a New York restaurant. The British newspaper Daily Express described it as the worst collapse in British football.
North Korea vs Italy, 1966: Asia’s first shock
The 1966 World Cup was in England. Italy was the superpower of world football. North Korea is the country about which the world knew nothing. Most people thought it would just be a formal match. North Korea scored one goal and maintained the same lead till the end of the match. This 1-0 victory was football’s first major Asian miracle. North Korea’s Pak Du-ik scored that historic goal in the 42nd minute.
The team was severely criticized in Italy and upon returning home they were welcomed as defeated soldiers. Angry Italian fans threw rotten tomatoes and eggs at the team as soon as they landed at Rome airport. In this World Cup, North Korea became the first Asian country to reach the knockout stage.
Algeria vs. West Germany, 1982: desert fox hunt
1982 World Cup took place in Spain. Germany was a big contender for the title. Algeria was playing the World Cup for the first time. Before the match, the German players had considered their victory certain.
The story was different on the field. Algeria played fast and fearless football and won the match 2–1. It was the greatest moment in African football. German coach Jupp Derwal had boasted that if we lost to Algeria, I would return to Munich by the first train. Goals from Algeria’s Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi made this happen. Later, Germany and Austria fixed matches among themselves and eliminated Algeria from the next round, which is called the ‘Disgrace of Gijón’. After this, FIFA had to make a rule to hold the last two matches of the group at the same time.
Cameroon vs Argentina, 1990: The champions lose on the first night
Opening match of the 1990 World Cup. On one side, defending champion Argentina and captain Maradona himself. Cameroon on the other side. The result seemed certain to everyone. But Cameroon played with aggression and discipline and won the match with a header.
8 June 1990. 67th minute of the game at Milan’s San Siro stadium. François Omam-Biyik made a spectacular jump in the air and hit a header which goalkeeper Pompidou could not stop. Cameroon defeated Maradona’s team with just nine players despite losing two players to red cards in the final minutes. Cameroon advanced to the quarter-finals.
Senegal vs. France, 2002: The colony defeated the owner
Inaugural match of 2002. On one side, defending champion France. On the other hand, Senegal is playing the World Cup for the first time, which was once a colony of France. No one even thought that France could lose.
Senegal scored one goal and maintained their lead throughout the match. There was a 1-0 victory and the champion failed his first test. Senegal advanced to the quarter-finals. Papa Buba Diop scored the winning goal in the 30th minute. Senegal coach Bruno Metsu, himself a Frenchman, selected 21 of his 23 players who played in France’s domestic leagues. After the victory, millions of people celebrated in the streets of Dakar and the President declared a national holiday.
South Korea, 2002: When Asia came to the center of world football
The 2002 World Cup was held in Asia for the first time, with Japan and South Korea as hosts. Most people thought that crossing the group stage would be a big deal. But the Korean team had decided something else.
The match against Italy in the pre-quarterfinals went to extra time, and Korea scored the decisive goal. Spain was also eliminated in the quarter-finals. For the first time an Asian team reached the semi-finals. Under the guidance of coach Guus Hiddink, Ahn Jung-hwan scored the “golden goal” in the 117th minute to lead Italy to a 2–1 victory. Ironically, Aan played for Italian club Perugia at that time. The next day the club owner canceled his contract, saying they could not afford to pay a player who was ruining Italian football.
Türkiye, 2002: Record of fastest goal
Türkiye was another miracle of this World Cup. Very few people thought of them as semi-finalists, but the team played an organized game and reached third place. The third-place match took place between Türkiye and South Korea, two countries that no one had seen in the Final Four.
In this match, Türkiye’s Hakan Sukur scored a goal in just 11 seconds of the start of the match, which is still the fastest goal in World Cup history.
Croatia, 2018: Country of four million people reaches the final
The 2018 World Cup was in Russia. Croatia was a respectable team, but was not considered a title contender. Population only forty lakhs. Resources limited. But the skill and courage are extraordinary. Leading the team was Luka Modrić.
Matches against Denmark, Russia and England went to extra time, and each time Croatia came back. Croatia reached the final for the first time after defeating England in the semi-finals. France defeated them in the final, but this journey became one of the most inspiring stories in history. Croatia became the lowest-ranked country to reach the final, and the smallest country since Uruguay in the 1950s. Modrić received the “Golden Ball” of the tournament, and in the same year he also won the Ballon d’Or, breaking the dominance of Messi-Ronaldo.
Saudi Arabia vs Argentina, 2022: The day the world stopped
22 November 2022, Qatar. Argentina were undefeated in 36 matches, big title contenders, with Messi in his last World Cup. Messi also scored a goal from the penalty, everything seemed certain.
In the second half, Saudi Arabia scored two goals in a few minutes and then defended strongly. 2-1 victory. According to data company Nielsen Gracenote, it was the biggest statistical upset in the 92-year history of the World Cup, with Saudi Arabia’s chances of victory estimated at just 8.7%. Saleh Al-Shahri and Salem Al-Dousari scored two goals within 5 minutes. King Salman of Saudi Arabia declared a national holiday in the entire country on this victory. Ironically, this same Argentina later became world champion.
Morocco, 2022: Africa writes a new history
The most inspiring story of 2022 was from Morocco. No one expected the semi-finals before the tournament. But Morocco eliminated Spain in the pre-quarterfinals and Portugal in the quarterfinals. For the first time an African team reached the semi-finals.
Coach Walid Regragui’s team remained almost impenetrable throughout the tournament, with no direct goals scored against them until the semi-finals, with only one own goal. Youssef En-Nesyri’s header in the quarter-finals, jumping 2.78 meters high, symbolized the end of Ronaldo’s journey in Portugal and the new rise of African football.
What do reverses teach us?
All these vicissitudes tell a deep truth. History matters in sports, but it does not decide. Reputation is useful, but not enough. The figures seem impressive, but they do not guarantee the future.
When the US beat England, when North Korea stunned Italy, when Algeria beat Germany, when Saudi Arabia thrashed Argentina, or when Morocco went all the way to the semi-finals, each time the world saw that the real beauty of football lay in its unpredictability. This is the reason why the World Cup is not just a platform for big players. It is also a platform for those dreams which most people consider impossible. And perhaps that is why football is called the most democratic sport in the world, because sometimes even a small country can defeat the biggest power.