FIFA World Cup flashback: 10 upsets that shocked the world

#6 Algeria 2-1 West Germany, 1982

The Algerians pulled a rabbit out of a hat by defeating West Germany

The 1982 Algerian team remains one of Africa’s greatest ever sides, but going into their first-round match against mighty West Germany, not many expected they’d have a fighting chance.

With goals from Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi, the Algerians proved many football pundits wrong. However, the historic 2-1 win was not enough to help them proceed to the second round.

Going into the final match of the group, both Austria and West Germany knew that a 1 or 2 goal win for the Germans would see both nations qualify at the expense of Algeria. The German side scored a goal within 10 minutes and the teams spent rest 80 minutes with no intention to attack, let alone score.

Embarrassed by this, FIFA eventually changed the rule for future tournaments ensuring that all final group games would be played simultaneously.