More often than not every football World Cup has witnessed an upset of such intensity that it has left the fans shell shocked. North Korea’s stunning defeat of Argentina in 1990 and Senegal pulling the rug from under France’s feet in 2002 are but a few instances of results beyond the comprehension of the defeated country’s fans.
Here we list five seismic shocks on the football turf that rocked the World Cup in different eras:
Uruguay bt Brazil 2-1 in the 1950 final at Rio de Janeiro: The champagne was on ice and ticker tapes were at the ready to celebrate the title. After all, Brazil only required a draw against Uruguay in the last league game of the 1950 World Cup. The venue for the virtual final was the Maracana Stadium, the refurbished fortress of the home team. More than 1,50,000 fans had crammed into the stadium, in anticipation of seeing their beloved heroes lift the Cup. The story went according to the script as Brazil took the lead two minutes after the restart. But the plot went haywire subsequently. Uruguay’s talisman Juan Schiaffino restored parity with a 66th-minute header. Worse was to follow. Alcides Ghiggia, who had set up Schiaffino, struck the winner 11 minutes from time to prompt funereal silence at the cavernous stadium.
West Germany bt Hungary 3-2 in the 1954 final at Berne: A team with a four-year unbeaten record lost its most important match, despite taking a 2-0 lead. That the loss came against a team they had thrashed 8-3 in the league stage of the same tournament would have made the agony unbearable for Hungary. A double from Helmut Rahn completed an unlikely comeback, one of the fascinating stories of the World Cup.
North Korea bt Italy 1-0 in a Group D match in 1966: Italy returned home in ignominy. The team that ended the Azzurri’s stay was a lightweight North Korea. A collection of unknown players from the communist Asian nation put it across an Italian team comprising Giacinto Faccheti and Gianni Rivera for a stunning result.
Cameroon bt Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 opener: Maradona mania was at its peak. But Cameroon’s Francois Omam-Biyik stole Diego’s thunder, albeit momentarily, with his winner in the 67th minute. Cameroon’s bullish run at Italia ’90 is widely accepted to be African football’s coming-of-age occasion.
Senegal bt France 1-0 in the 2002 opener: Senegal stole the script from Cameroon as they condemned their former colonial masters to a humiliating defeat at Seoul. France never recovered from the blow delivered by Bouba Diop.