10 incredible fairy tale runs in World Cup history

The World cup is known to be the world’s biggest tournament which pits the best teams in the world in enthralling contests. Teams such as Italy, Germany, France and Spain are usually the front runners to win or progress, for they have built a reputation of winning it multiple times. But some teams that were rated as underdogs have managed to pull some of the biggest shocks in the World Cup history. These are 10 incredible teams that managed to put together fairy tale runs by defying odds, thus shocking the world.

10. North Korea – 1966

Going into the World Cup Finals in 1966, North Korea was Asia’s only representative. No great things were expected of them, for they were the underdogs. “We can beat everyone, even the strongest team“, rang the North Korean World Cup anthem, for they were confident despite their status. The team managed to grab the attention of the media with their fast play. They recorded a draw against Chile before defeating favourites Italy in what was the tournament’s biggest upset, thus progressing to the knockout round. They then went on to take a 3 goal lead against Portugal, before losing 3-5 to them in Goodison Park, thus ending an incredible run.

9. United States – 2002

Before the USA made it to the quarter finals of the 2002 World Cup, not many would have thought that they could even cross the group stage, for they were drawn against Portugal, South Korea and Poland. But they overcome all the odds by defeating Portugal and drawing with South Korea, eventually booking a place in the second round. In the second round they met arch rivals, Mexico, whom they defeated by a 2-0 scoreline to progress to the quarters, where they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Germany. It is noteworthy that the match involved a tough fight by the underdogs to the mighty Germans and a penalty was denied after a Torsten Frings hand ball.

8. Cameroon-1990

In the World Cup in 1990, Cameroon was drawn into a difficult group, which included the Soviet Union, Romania, and defending champions Argentina. Despite their underdog status, Cameroon made huge strides, beginning with making Argentina their first victim of the tournament. Cameroon recorded an amazing win over Argentina even after being reduced to 9 men in a match which saw Omam Biyik’s only goal prove to be the winner. In their next two matches, super sub Roger Milla managed to score 4 goals, which helped Cameroon to progress to the quarter final, where they lost to England after the match went into extra time.

7. Senegal – 2002

In 2002 Senegal, appeared in their first ever World Cup finals, and also had very low expectations to get past the group stage like the U.S.A, for teams such as Denmark and defending champions France were drawn in their group. But Senegal proved many doubters wrong, for they won 1-0 against France through Papa Bouba Diop’s only goal. That win acted as a spring board for the “Lions”. In the second round, Henri Camara scored a golden goal to ensure Senegal went through to the quarters. Even though they lost to Turkey in the quarter finals, their feats are still remembered.

6. Belgium – 1986

In the 1986 World Cup, Belgium was in the group which included hosts Mexico, Paraguay, Iraq and they progressed through to the next stage with respect to the total points accumulated against other teams that finished third. After that, Belgium succeeded in defeating the Soviet Union in a very exciting match which went into extra time, and later eliminated Spain in the quarterfinals via penalties. In the semifinal, they lost 0-2 to Argentina, where both goals scored in the game were delivered by Diego Maradona. In the end, they lost 4-2 to France in their pursuit to claim third place. But it was a good run nonetheless.

5. Turkey – 2002

In World Cup 2002, Turkey made their first appearance in the World Cup since 1952 and were drawn into a group which included the likes of Brazil , China, and Costa Rica. After losing 1-2 to Brazil, Turkey won 3-0 against China, and drew 1-1 against Costa Rica, thus progressing to the knockout stages. They then defeated the host, Japan, and got one past Senegal to knock them out, thus making a dream march to the semi-final. Turkey lost 0-1 to Brazil and then took on South Korea to decide the third place. They won 3-2, where Hakan Sukur scored a goal in just 10.8 seconds, which is one of the fastest goals scored in a World Cup.

4. Croatia – 1998

Croatia made their debut in the World Cup in 1998 after separating from Yugoslavia. In the group stage, they were placed along with Argentina, Jamaica and Japan. They were actually expected to go through to the next round, before they finished the group stage in second place. In the second round, they shocked Romania through Davor Suker’s goal before they met mighty Germany. Germany failed to make an impression and Croatia scored 3 past them to move to the next round. In the semi final, their run ended as they lost 1-2 against France but defeated Netherlands 2-1 to secure the third place. Their prolific striker, Davor Suker won the Golden Boot, making it a brilliant debut for Croatia in the tournament.

3. South Korea – 2002

In World cup 2002, South Korea was expected not to make a huge impact due to their history of failure to progress past the group stages in the tournament. But all that was about to change, thanks to Guus Hiddink. Hiddink managed to form a formidable team who ended up being the toppers in a group which also included Portugal, Poland and USA. After beating Poland and Portugal and drawing to USA, the hosts progressed past the group stage and found their next victim in Italy, who they defeated 2-1. They then became the first Asian team to progress into the semi finals after knocking out Spain via penalties. Even though they lost to Germany and Turkey after that, their achievement is still regarded as the best moment in South Korea’s football history.

2. Bulgaria – 1994

Bulgaria was not given much attention in the group stages before they progressed into the 1994 World Cup after defeating France in the qualification, for they had a history of having never won a match in five World Cup finals before. But they overcame their critics when they beat an Argentina side that was without a suspended Diego Maradona, who had tested positive for drug use, and ran riot over Greece. In the second round they managed to beat Mexico 3-1 through penalties. In the quarterfinal came Germany, who they defeated 2-1. But the dream run ended when they were knocked out in the semifinal by Italy and lost 4-0 to Sweden in the their bid to claim third spot. Bulgaria’s star studded striker Hristo Stoichkov won the golden boot with his 6 goals in the tournament.

1. The Netherlands – 1974

Before the World cup 1974 had started, Netherlands was a team who last played in the World Cup finals way back in 1938 . But, 1974 was the year the football watching world woke up to a new dominant force. The Netherlands had found a system which guaranteed goals in plenty – ‘Total Football’. In ‘Total Football’, every outfield player interchanged position, thus creating an extremely fluid team which wreaked havoc on opposition defences. It was a policy which changed people’s perception about the Netherlands. Due to the brilliance of playmaker Johan Cruyff and the astuteness of manager Rinus Michaels, the Dutch became a force to be reckoned with.

In the the first round, they managed to top their group and progress easily to the next round. This was where they pulled off some extraordinary feats, for they managed to beat Argentina and Brazil, and draw with East Germany to book their place in the finals. In the final, they took the lead right at the start before the Germans barely had a touch of the ball, but then lost when West Germany scored 2 goals through Gerd Muller and Paul Breitner. Till today, the kind of impact they had on the game can still be felt, for traces of ‘Total Football’ are found in modern day football.