FIFA World Cup 2010 – Special Report – Top10 unexpected knockouts
10) Italy (1950)
In 1950, Italy was paired up with Sweden, Paraguay and India. The Indians, however, withdrew from the World Cup due to the fact that they did not wear shoes while playing. So, the rules for qualifying form this group changed and only one team could qualify from the three remaining teams. Italy was the defending champions, even though they had a 12-year lay off from the World Cup because of the World War II. They suffered a 3-2 loss from Sweden in the opening match. Sweden drew 1-1 with Paraguay which meant that Italy’s 2-0 win over Paraguay was meaningless. As a consequence, Italy was knocked out of the 1950 World Cup from the group stages.
9) Spain (1998)
Spain has performed brilliantly in World Cup matches. However, they have always underachieved when it came to claiming the golden trophy. The FIFA World Cup 1998 was a torrid one for the Spanish as they were paired with Nigeria, Paraguay and Bulgaria in the group stages. Spain got off to a really bad start. They were beaten by Nigeria 3-2 and suffered a goalless draw against Paraguay. In order to advance, Spain needed Paraguay to lose to Nigeria and they had to defeat Bulgaria. Even though Spain won from Bulgaria with a five goal margin with a final score line of 6-1, Paraguay did not lose to Nigeria. As a result, Spain was knocked-out of France 1998.
8) Italy (1966)
The Italians were in Group 4 of the World Cup. They were in the same group which included the Soviet Union, North Korea and Chile. Although the Italians did not have any World Cup success before World War II, they were still considered to be the favourites to win this group. But they suffered a blow from an amateur North Korean team and were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. When the Italian team reached Rome, they were pelted with tomatoes.
7) Soviet Union (1990)
The Russians were in Group B of the FIFA World Cup 1990. They were grouped with Argentina, Romania and Cameroon. The Soviet Union back then was considered to be one of the best soccer teams in the world. However, they started their World Cup with a 2-0 loss against Argentina and Romania. In order to advance to the next round, they had to beat Cameroon by a four goal margin and Argentina had to lose from Romania. Although they defeated Cameroon 4-0, but Argentina did not suffer a loss from the Romanian side and therefore, the Russian side failed to advance to the next round.
6) Colombia (1994)
In 1994, Colombia was not in a hard group to advance from. They had Romania, United States and Switzerland in their group. But, Colombia faced a terrible loss against Romania before they faced the host nation, the United States of America. Colombia lost the match 2-0 against the Americans and Escobar, the Columbian player, scored an own goal which helped the United States advance to the next round. Even though Colombia won their second match against the Swiss side, they failed to advance. Eleven days later, the Columbian player Escobar was murdered.
5) Portugal (2002)
Portugal’s golden age of football came in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. They had a really easy group which they could topple and advance to the next round but they got off to a really terrible start. They lost their first match 3-2, and won the second 4-0. Their last match was against the South Koreans which they had to win in order to advance. Much to the dismay of the Portuguese fans, the Koreans defeated them with a one goal margin and the final score line read 1-0. This drew an end to Portugal’s World Cup dreams.
4) Argentina (2002)
The top favourites of the 2002 FIFA World Cup were put into a difficult group with Sweden, England and Nigeria. Even though Argentina started their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Nigeria, they followed it up with a 1-0 loss against England. With David Beckham taking revenge for his red card in the 1998 World Cup, he scored the only goal of the match by striking a perfect penalty. After they suffered a loss from England, they were in a must-win situation against Sweden. Sadly, for the Argentinean fans, they could only draw the match 1-1 and failed to advance to the next stage of the FIFA World Cup 2010.
3) England (1950)
In that year, England was considered to be the best football nation in the world. They were paired up against the very impressive South American team Chile, the underdogs USA and Spain. They defeated Chile 2-0 in their first match and were expecting to defeat the semi-professional team from America. The odds for the Americans to win this match were 500 to 1 and the Americans changed it all for the English by defeating them with a score of 1-0. It was considered to be the biggest upset in the history of football. England then lost its final match against Spain, with the final score line of 1-0, sending the English team home before anyone had expected.
2) Brazil (1966)
The Brazilians were to play against Hungary, Bulgaria and Portugal. The two time World Champions, back then, were considered to be one of the favourites in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. But, there were a few problems during the qualifying stages. The Brazilians could not set up a 22-man squad in order. But soon, when they did get the squad in order, they defeated Bulgaria 2-0 in their first game. In the second game, they suffered a loss from Hungary with a score of 3-1 before they faced Portugal for the last match of the group stages in which Pele left the pitch due to an injury and the Brazilians were knocked out.
1) France (2002)
In 2002, France was considered to be the hot favourites due to the fact that they defeated Brazil in the final of the World Cup in 1998. The French squad had one of the best players in the world in the shape of Zinedine Zidane. They were set to face Senegal, Uruguay and Denmark in the group stages. During the months that led to South Korea, where the World Cup was being played, France lost two of his key players, which included Zidane and the famous Robert Pires. However, the group wasn’t that difficult for the French as they were to face Senegal who were the latest whipping boys in World Cup football. But, the extra-ordinary happened. The French were defeated by the African side 1-0 and in the next match, Thierry Henry was red carded against Uruguay and the match finished in a goalless draw with France gaining only one point in the group. With a must-win situation against Denmark, the French Coach brought in Zidane to help the French advance. But sadly, even the great Zidane could not produce much for his country and the French suffered a 2-0 loss against the Danish side. This ended their World Cup in a disappointing way as the defending champions could not even defend themselves.
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