Top 5 surprise teams at the World Cup

Cameroon v Argentina - 1990 World Cup
Cameroon v Argentina - 1990 World Cup

The history of the World Cup is dominated by the historical giants of the game. Brazil, of course, has enjoyed more success than any other nation, having won the title five times, while the likes of Italy and Germany have multiple crowns.

Meanwhile, European nations have increasingly controlled the competition. Since Diego Maradona inspired Argentina to success in 1986, only Brazil have prevented them taking a monopoly on the tournament, with France and Spain among the sides having come out on top since then.

That has not stopped many so-called ‘lesser’ lights of the game making a big impression on the world stage. Recent tournaments have proven that even in the modern world, in which information flows so freely, teams are still capable of coming from apparently nowhere to cause major upsets.

Here are five teams who have caused a stir in recent World Cups. None, of course, went on to win the title, but ahead of Russia 2018, they will provide inspiration for others who hope to be unlikely winners, as all of these nations came so close to glory.

Cameroon (1990)

Before Cameroon in 1990, African teams were often thought of as makeweights in World Cup competition. Images of Zaire player Mwepu Ilunga breaking from a defensive wall to boot clear a Brazil free kick in the 1974 edition of the competition had become synonymous with the infamously poor performances of teams from the continent.

Cameroon changed everything at Italia ’90, though. In the opening match they produced one of the great World Cup shocks as they beat defending champions Argentina, and while they displayed a rather brutal approach in that game, having two players sent off in the process, it is their freewheeling enthusiasm they are remembered for.

This was best embodied by striker Roger Milla, whose samba dance with the corner flag after finding the net is one of the enduring images of the whole competition. Remarkably, he had to be coaxed out of retirement to play in the tournament at 38 years old. It made a star of him and he even returned four years later in the USA.

Cameroon were seven minutes away from reaching the semi-finals as they led England 2-1, but conceded late on and ended up losing the match in extra-time. Still, it was a remarkable effort from a trailblazing team.

Bulgaria (1994)

BULGARIA V GERMANY
BULGARIA V GERMANY

Bulgaria produced a remarkable effort to finish fourth at World Cup 1994, particularly when it is considered how close they were to failing to reach the competition in the USA at all.

They secured qualification at the expense of France with a stunning 2-1 victory at Parc des Princes when their hosts needed only to win, having days earlier blown the opportunity of qualification against Israel.

The competition could not have started much worse for them, as they were thumped 3-0 by Nigeria in Dallas. However, they recovered to beat Greece, the whipping boys of the group 4-0.

Despite this, they needed to overcome Diego Maradona’s Argentina if they were to assure themselves of a place in the knockout stages. This was achieved thanks to a 2-0 success, despite playing the last quarter down to 10 men.

Mexico were knocked out in the round of 16, then came a clash against defending champions Germany, which was famously won by a diving Yordan Letchkov header three minutes after star man Hristo Stoichkov had drawn them level.

Italy proved too good in the semi-finals and by the time they faced Sweden in the third-place playoff, they were burned out, but it was a run for the ages.

Croatia (1998)

FUSSBALL: WM FRANCE 98 Lyon, 04.07.98
FUSSBALL: WM FRANCE 98 Lyon, 04.07.98

Croatia didn’t exactly travel to France 98 unfancied, as the quality in their ranks was evident, yet they were not expected to achieve the level of success they managed in finishing third in the competition – and very nearly making it all the way to the final.

Having won independence as a nation in 1991, this was the team’s first World Cup and they were eager to make a positive impression.

They set about doing so from the very beginning. Victories over Jamaica and Japan booked their place in the knockout rounds with a match to spare, but that only hinted at the success that was to follow.

It was a measure of the ability in the team that Davor Suker, their star man, won the Ballon d’Or in 1998 ahead of World Cup hero Zinedine Zidane, and his exploits for the Croatians that summer went a long way towards earning him that individual award.

The Real Madrid striker’s penalty knocked out Croatia in the last 16, and he was on target again as Germany were brushed aside 3-0 in the quarters.

Things were looking good when he struck once more against France to give his side the lead against 10 men in the semi-finals, yet many perceived justice to have been done as the hosts fought back from the unjust dismissal of Laurent Blanc to claim a 2-1 success.

Nevertheless, Croatia still had the resources to go and claim third place from a very powerful Netherlands side, with that man Suker once again the scorer.

South Korea (2002)

FUSSBALL: WM 2002 in JAPAN und KOREA, KOR - ITA 2:1 n.V.
FUSSBALL: WM 2002 in JAPAN und KOREA, KOR - ITA 2:1 n.V.

Host nations often outperform expectations when given the opportunity of impressing on a world stage, yet few have done so as impressively as South Korea managed in 2002, when they made it all the way to the semi-finals.

Their run, however, was marred by numerous refereeing decisions of a questionable nature, most notably against Italy and Spain in the knockout stages. Both nations seemed to be harshly done by questionable calls that aided the co-hosts.

Led by Guus Hiddink, South Korea had been preparing for this competition for months, with their players gathered in a training camp before the competition had begun. The level of preparation that the Dutch coach had gone to prior to the competition was immediately made evident as his side won a competitive group that contained the USA, Portugal and Poland.

Formidable defensive strength, incredible industry and seemingly boundless levels of energy typified the Koreans’ style in this competition, which saw them only concede once in their opening three games.

Having negotiated the group stages, Italy were beaten after extra-time and then Spain were seen off on penalties, though not without a healthy dose of controversy.

Germany eventually proved too good for Hiddink's’ men, though only by a 1-0 margin in Seoul.

With their resources depleted, they were beaten 3-2 in the third-fourth playoff by Turkey, who had been the other revelation of the tournament. It is, however, South Korea’s run that will be remembered.

Costa Rica (2014)

Italy v Costa Rica: Group D - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
Italy v Costa Rica: Group D - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

Costa Rica may have had a FIFA Ranking of 28 when they went to World Cup 2014, but placed in a group with England and Italy – two top 10 teams – as well as Uruguay, who were ranked seventh, little was expected of the Central Americans in Brazil.

Their lowly ranking did not deter them from causing a major upset in the opening game of the group. Faced with Uruguay, they fell a goal down to a first-half penalty but battled back to claim an impressive 3-1 upset victory.

Italy might have been lower ranked than Uruguay, but it was still a major shock as Bryan Ruiz’s goal on the stroke of half-time saw them defeated, while a scoreless draw against England in Belo Horizonte saw them through as group winners against opponents who were already eliminated.

After seeing off a resilient Greece in the knockout stages, they were then pitted against the Netherlands. It took a tight penalty shootout to see the Dutch through after a scoreless draw, and though Oranje would go no further in the competition, beaten by Argentina in the semi-finals, they showed their class to beat hosts Brazil in the third-place playoff.

Costa Rica had been the revelation of the tournament, however, and it will make opponents wary of facing them in Russia this time around.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram