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As the Greatest footballing extravaganza commenced today, millions of football fans will get a chance to catch a glimpse of the best footballers lighting up the biggest stage.
This world cup might be the last time we see eternal rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo go toe to toe to help their nations win the holy grail of world football.
While emerging superstars like Neymar and Antoine Griezmann can cement their place amongst the pantheon of greats, should they lead their respective countries to world cup glory?
But the world cup has been famous for springing up surprises at the start of the tournament. With the opening day arriving, nervousness can often stump a better team against a weaker team, who relish this opportunity and can play without fear, thereby increasing the chances of an upset.
World cups have always stood out for its interesting subplots and this time will be no different. With that in mind, we look back at 5 major upsets on the opening night of the world cup:
#5 West Germany 0-0 Poland (1978)
World Champions in their own backyard in 1974, four years later West Germany arrived in Argentina with a squad lacking the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller.
Beckenbauer was just 31 years of age when he retired from the International duty, partly due to a bizarre ruling which prohibited players from playing outside Germany to appear for the national team.
The team’s lack of experience and leadership was highlighted on the opening day itself, as they limped to 0-0 draw against European opponents Poland.
In fact, it was the Polish team led by a 22-year old Zbigniew Boniek who had the best chances, yet only the brilliance of West German goalkeeper Sepp Maier prevented Poland from earning a well-deserved victory.
The West Germans endured a rough time in Argentina as they managed to advance to the 2nd round after an uninspiring draw against African minnows Tunisia.
This was where West Germany’s title defence ended, as they remained winless in the second round of group stages containing the likes of Netherlands, Italy and Austria.
#4 Brazil 0-0 Yugoslavia (1974)
Undoubtedly, the best team of its era, Brazil were riding high with confidence as they headed to West Germany in 1974, having won three of the previous four world cups. Pele who had starred in all three world cup wins had retired in 1971.
Without their talisman, the Selecao were no longer a force that they used to be, yet with the likes of Rivellino and Jairzinho still present, they headed into West Germany as favourites.
Yet things quickly came undone as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a stubborn Yugoslavia defence on the opening day. The Brazilians, especially Jairzinho was guilty of missing a flurry of chances as he shot wide a couple of times from inside the six-yard box.
In the end, the Brazilians were almost made to rue for their missed chances as the Yugoslavs missed a sitter late on to win the tie.
The Selecao were again held to a 0-0 draw by Scotland in their next game, as they huffed and puffed into the second round ahead of that day’s rivals on goal difference.
Similar to West Germany four years later, Brazil’s title defence also ended in the second round of group stages after losing the must-win match against the Dutch.
#3 Argentina 0-1 Belgium (1982)
Spain’ 82 provided a whole bunch of upsets, as eventual finalists West Germany were beaten by Algeria in their opening match while winners of the competition, Italy qualified for the 2nd round without winning a single group game.
However, the tone was set on the opening day when defending champions Argentina, led by a 22-year old Diego Maradona lost 1-0 to Belgium at the Camp Nou.
The team from Europe employed an aggressive man-marking job on Maradona, which meant that the youngster failed to have any impact on proceedings.
Having defended well throughout, the Belgians shocked the world cup holders after a rare foray into the attacking half saw striker Erwin Vandenbergh smash the ball into the bottom right corner.
It turned out to be the only goal of the match as they stifled out Argentina’s array of attacking talent that also included 1978 golden boot winner Mario Kempes.
Having finished runners-up to the Belgians, Argentina were drawn in a tough second round group containing the likes of Brazil and eventual winners Italy. Argentina crashed out after finishing bottom, thereby failing to retain the trophy they had won four years earlier.
#2 Argentina 0-1 Cameroon (1990)
In Italia’90, Maradona and Argentina were again on the receiving end of an opening day upset, eight years on from their defeat to Belgium.
Just as eight years earlier, Argentina’s world cup defence began in the worst possible fashion as they lost 1-0 to a Cameroon side led by 38-year old Roger Milla.
Midway through the second half, journeyman striker Francois Omam-Biyik netted the winner, after a mistake by Argentinian goalie Nery Pumpido who allowed a weak effort to cross the line.
Cameroon defended heroically for the rest of the match, having been forced to play with nine men for large periods of the second after Andre Kana-Biyik and Benjamin Massing had been sent off.
Argentina performed rather poorly during the group stages, finishing third behind Cameroon and Romania, but qualified for the knockout stages by virtue of being one the best third-placed sides.
Argentina, still led by Maradona, came into their own during the knockout rounds, defeating Brazil, Yugoslavia and Italy on their way to a second consecutive final showdown against West Germany.
The West Germans, however, had the last laugh as they avenged their 1986 loss by defeating Argentina 1-0, scored by Brehme in the 85th minute from the penalty spot.
#1 Senegal 1-0 France (2002)
Remembered as the match that sent tremors down the spines of the French fans, the 2002 world cup perhaps showcased the worst title defence. The French side, who were reigning World cup and European Champions, had quality embedded in every position of the team.
The team was led by a vintage Zinedine Zidane, who had just scored one of the goals of the century against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final. The team also featured the Premier league and Serie A top scorers in Henry and Trezeguet respectively.
Nothing could go wrong, yet everything went wrong.
During a warm-up match, Zidane injured his thigh and which meant that Zizou had to sit out the tournament opener against Senegal. The African team, led by a Frenchman by the name of Bruno Metsu were making their maiden world cup appearance.
A goalmouth scramble during the first half led to Papa Bouba Diop tapping in from close range as the African team went on to create history.
This sent the Senegalese supporters in the Seoul stadium into delirium as the French wouldn’t recover.
The reigning world champions exited from the group stage after finishing bottom and having netted zero goals.
Which one of these upsets are in your favourites list? Sound off in the comments section below!
