The biggest mismatches in sports history

Much like a daytime soap opera, a sense of drama and compelling storylines are integral to the world of sport. The incredible David vs Goliath story, a stunning return to form after injury, the shot at redemption after devasting loss, an impossible last-minute points chase that ends in victory...

It’s all part of the theatre of sport, and that theatre – the sense of will they/won’t they – is what keeps the fans hooked on their favourite sports. Sometimes though that sense is missing entirely because the lineup on the day is so lopsided.

We’re not strictly talking blowout results here, or a top vs bottom Premier League clash but rather those matchups that are so uneven on paper it almost makes you baulk. Here are four infamous sporting mismatches.

The FA Cup is prone to mismatches. The competition sees the top four teams from each tier in the English Football League battle it out for the FA Cup. In a lot of ways it’s an amazing concept as it gives every club in the country a chance to compete.

Though there really was only one way it could go when Marine AFC, a sixth-tier club hosted Tottenham Hostpur, one of the biggest franchises in the world at their tiny 3,000-capacity ground.

Spurs finished the game on top, of course, 5-0 – certainly not the worst football score we’ll be seeing here. And not too bad considering Tottenham’s roster is valued at £663m compared to Marines's reported £338.00 – yes those are decimal points.

That’s not to say it wasn’t a special night for all in involved. Marine fans were delighted to host a world-class football team on their grounds, and Tottenham supporters were humbled by the gratitude.

In this case, you’ve got what many call the greatest all-round fighter ever taking on one very famous YouTuber who’s decided recently to try his hand at boxing.

Mayweather, undefeated in 50 professional bouts, was definitely not about to lose this and everybody knew it. But boxing is all about talking up a big game, and this was by all accounts a hard one for pro boxing experts to take seriously.

It wasn’t the belting everyone was maybe expecting, Mayweather 78-74, though there’s suggestion Mayweather wasn’t – ahem – trying his best and actively carried Paul throughout the fight.  

But promoters managed to make a reported $50 million in PPV sales alone – largely driven by Paul's fan base – while Paul took home a reported $10 million and Mayweather an eye-watering $100m. You could argue that's the most important thing here, right?

The French Open is one of the landmark events in the ATP calendar, but the women’s final in 1988 was far from its best advert.

The match saw 17-year-old up-and-coming Natasha Zvereva take on Stefi Graff, the then-World Number One and in outstanding career-best form, in a match that still holds the record for shortest Grand Slam final in history.

It took just 34 mins for Graf to dismantle the newcomer 6-0 6-0. Perhaps only made more disappointing for Zvereva by the fact that it ended up being her last-ever Grand Slam appearance too. Graf went on to win four Grand Slam victories and gold at the Olympics later that year.

People will talk about mismatches at the World Cup group stages, but there’s never been anything like the spectacle between Australia and American Samoa in world football before or since.

The Pacific Islands aren’t best known for their football and American Samoa was going into this matchup after struggling with other island nations in the group, losing 13-0 to Fiji and 8-0 to Samoa. Australia, on the other hand, just recorded a record-breaking 22-0 win over Tonga.

It was a mismatch from the getgo, Australia, a major country with a population of around 20 million at the time going up against a small island nation of 50,000, there really was only one way it could go – but few could have predicted how bad it went.

Australia found the back of the net 31 times, with striker Archie Thompson claiming 13 of those. It's still in the record book for most goals by a team and individual in world football.