Argentina-Saudi Arabia and other catastrophic World Cup defeats in history

In the 2022 World Cup, Argentinian spectators watched in horror as their team suffered an unimaginable defeat to Saudi Arabia. With Lionel Messi in the mix, it was a humiliation as the team was one of the favorites to win the whole competition.

So tremendous was the outcome of this game that the King of Saudi Arabia declared a bank holiday in celebration of their victory. Messi’s 36-match unbeaten run had been put to a halt - though he'd make up for it against Mexico a few days later.

One of the most spectacular defeats in numbers was that of Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup. The team barely got a look-in with Spain controlling a record 81.8% possession from start to finish.

Costa Rica's players failed to generate a single shot attempt - something that hasn't been seen since 1990. Spectators watched in horror as 8 minutes were added to the game for stoppage because many wanted to just let Costa Rica be put out of their misery.

Over the course of history, there have been several other amazing defeats. In Spain in 1982, favorite West Germany lost its opening game against Algeria. The African nation was a first-time qualifier.

The West German coach Jupp Derwall had said before the game that if his side didn’t win, he would be ‘on the next train home.' Despite the catastrophic loss, West Germany did make it to the final of the tournament.

Could this be one of the most spectacular defeats in World Cup history? England were favorites to win the game, nicknamed the ‘Kings of Football’ at the time, having previously won 10-0 against Portugal.

The USA side on the other hand had day jobs such as a high school teacher and a dishwasher. So spectacular was the loss of the England side and the win of the part-time USA footballers, the game was turned into a film called ‘The Game of Their Lives’.

Photo: IFC Films

The South Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002 saw France (the then-defending champions) lose to Senegal. Unforeseen? Absolutely! The French team boasted some of the best players in history, including Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry.

Looking back at the momentous game, Senegal player El-Hadji Diouf said, according to FIFA, "The night before, we’d noticed that the French squad hadn’t come and trained on the pitch where the match was going to take place. It seemed like they’d decided that they didn’t need to do that if all they had to do was beat Senegal."

Another catastrophic defeat from the 1982 World Cup in Spain. This time, El Salvador at the hands of Hungary.

At the time, El Salvador had serious economic problems due to a civil war at the time and Hungary was known as one of the best teams in Europe. Incredibly, despite the win, Hungary got knocked out of the group stage anyway.

South Korea had been knocked out of the group stages in the previous two World Cups so no one expected Italy to suffer such an astounding loss. Perhaps it was playing at home with all the fans’ support but the team knocked Italy out in the final 16.

The shock of this game is that Italy was, in fact, totally on top of the ball and looked to be in much better shape than the host team. South Korea were awarded a doubtful penalty in the first three minutes of the game (missed) and yet Italy didn’t give up. Despite the pressure Italy was putting in South Korea, they came out the losers of the game.

Still the most memorable moment in North Korea’s history - and also one of the most memorable in Italy’s history, too. The Italian side failed to move out of the group stages in England in 1966 as Doo Ik’s goal pushed Italy to be knocked out.

Italy had been knocked out in both 1950 and 1954, even failing to qualify in 1958, so they weren’t on great form in general but going down to ten men (one of the Azzurri suffered a knee injury and this was before subs were allowed) made it all the worse.

Italy certainly has a few places on this list. Perhaps the national side should take it as a compliment that the world has such faith in their capabilities. The team that year boasted the World Player of the Year - Juventus star Roberto Baggio and they were a strong favourite to win.

But the world was shocked more than ever when they were beaten by Ireland in 1994. The worst of this game was that the goal was scored in the twelfth minute, leaving Italy scrambling to get the equaliser - which never came.

Argentina were the defending champions which makes the blow even harder. They could have won a third title in 12 years and were led by the legendary Diego Maradona. Cameroon continued to beat Romania and even qualified for the knockouts, becoming the first African country to qualify for the quarterfinals.

But, in this game Italy suffered a catastrophic loss at the hands of Cameroon - the team with two red cards. “This was no fluke, the better team won,” wrote David Lacey in The Guardian. “They won, moreover, after finishing with nine men on the field … Such was their superiority that the Africans still finished looking as if they had more men on the pitch than their hapless opponents.”

This was Japan’s first victory over the German side. The controversy over Germany’s loss goes further than football as, according to the Guardian, many criticised the team for being too distracted by human rights.

And yet, Germany had 74% possession, 25 shots (compared to 11 for Japan) and pressured Japan until the end. One Qatari reporter’s account, liked more than 200,000 times on social media, had said: “This is what happens when you don’t focus on football.” Even if that were the reason, it must be said, it was the right thing to do.

Ok, so not exactly a World Cup game, but it was a qualifier, and the result is so unforgettable that we had to include it in this list.

Reportedly the largest ever goal difference in any international football match, this is quite a spectacular loss from the American Samoa team.

We have to mention Costa Rica’s performance in two games at the 2014 World Cup. It caused some unforeseen losses for Italy and Uruguay in the group stage. Costa Rica's group was nicknamed the ‘Group of Death’ as the underdogs were up against some of the biggest teams in football: Italy, Uruguay, and England.

Italy and Uruguay suffered defeats and Costa Rica’s success meant England didn’t make it out the group stages. Just goes to show - you never know what will happen in football.