The Greatest Knockout Stage Shocks In World Cup History

#1 World Cup 2002 Last 16: South Korea 2 – 1 Italy

Soccer -FIFA World Cup 2002 - Second Round - Republic Of Korea v Italy

The 2002 World Cup was the most successful edition of the tournament ever for the South Korean national team. Despite many expecting an early exit for South Korea, the side would actually manage to finish fourth once the competition came to a close. And key to that was a famous 2-1 victory over Italy in the last 16.

Having topped a Group D that featured Poland, Portugal, and the United States, the South Koreans showed no fear when drawn against Italy in the last 16. Even more impressive, that fearless approach was again on display as they went 1-0 down in that match to an early Christian Vieri effort.

An 88th minute equaliser from Seol Ki-hyeon took the game to extra-time, and then an Ahn Jung-hwan strike three minutes from the death saw South Korea shock the Italians and the watching footballing world.

As the co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup with Japan, many were hoping for South Korea to do well – but nobody could have predicted just how well they’d end up performing.