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It is safe to say that this year's World Cup is spoiling us with drama. Brazil, Argentina and Colombia were all made to sweat before they finally qualified, while Spain, Portugal and France didn't have it easy either. Germany tripped and fell at the very first hurdle, sending shockwaves across the globe. Their 2-0 defeat to South Korea which sent them home was arguably the most unexpected result the tournament has thrown up so far.
With all the pre-tournament favourites slugging it out in the group stages, the unfancied teams had a blast. Mexico, Sweden, Russia. Japan and even Croatia threw caution to the wind and earned themselves famous wins to unexpectedly prolong their campaigns. The eliminated teams like Iran, Morocco, South Korea, Nigeria, Peru and Senegal too won hearts with their gutsy performances.
The World Cup so far hasn't been devoid of upsets, and as we enter the knockout rounds, the stage is set for the so-called 'smaller nations' to script fairytale runs that nobody expected.
This article chronicles the five most unexpected World Cup runs made by the minnows that captured the world's imagination:
#5 Costa Rica (2014)
Costa Rica had qualified for the World Cup after an eight-year gap and were drawn in a group full of World Cup winners, in England, Uruguay and Italy. Naturally, they were labelled as the group's whipping boys. However, in a stunning display, they blew away Uruguay 3-1 in their opener, before pipping Italy 1-0.
They also kept a clean sheet against England to emerge, to everyone's amazement, as group toppers. In the pre-quarterfinal, they kept a more fancied Greece at bay for 120 minutes before edging them out on penalties.
The quarterfinal against the Netherlands was their sternest test yet, but they held firm against the likes of a rampant Arjen Robben and the clinical Klaas Jaan Huntelaar to take the game to penalties once again - Costa Rica were five kicks away from the semifinals, a scenario not even the most optimistic fan would've dreamt of.
Alas, their cup run came to an end after Dutch substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul made two fine saves from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana's penalties, while the Oranje converted all four attempts.
The Costa Ricans lost 4-3 on penalties to crash out of the World Cup, but they could pat themselves on the back after having surprised everyone to make it to the last eight. The likes of Everton's Bryan Ruiz and Arsenal's Joel Campbell were given a hero's welcome back home. Keylor Navas' heroics in goal even earned him a move to footballing behemoths Real Madrid, where he still plays as the undisputed first-choice keeper.
#4 North Korea (1966)
North Korea is a nation generally in the news for all the wrong reasons. But in 1966, their prowess and tenacity shook the world - in a good way.
Drawn alongside former European Champions Soviet Union, Chile and Italy, North Korea were widely expected to travel back home within days. That notion was further cemented after the Soviets blanked the Asians 3-0 in their first encounter in Middlesbrough.
Their second game saw them take on Chile, who took the lead within half an hour. The North Koreans were on the brink of elimination. The plucky side, however, refused to give in, and with two minutes remaining on the clock, got an improbable equalizer to remain afloat in the tournament. This result obviously meant that nothing less than victory against the mighty Italians would do.
And sure enough, just before halftime in the last group game, North Korea took the lead through Pak Doo-Ik, to everyone's disbelief. With their one-goal advantage, they held firm with perseverance that surprised everyone. Italy, one of the favourites to win the World Cup, had been defeated by a bunch of Asians playing in the tournament for the very first time. Their 1-0 victory remains one of the most famous scorelines in World Cup history.
North Korea had hence become the first Asian team to ever play in a World Cup knockout game, but they were up against stylish Portugal, led by the prolific Eusebio.
A packed Goodison Park, however, were shocked to their very core as North Korea raced into a 3-0 lead with only half an hour being played. At halftime, the Asians were just 45 minutes away from a semifinal berth in what was turning out to be an unbelievable story.
The second half, however, belonged to Portugal, and to Eusebio. He scored four goals alone as Portugal staged one of the most celebrated comebacks in the tournament ever. Three goals down at the break, they turned it around to emerge 5-3 victors. The North Koreans had no answer to the blitz that undid them, and their fairytale run came to an end, but not before they won over the hearts of all football fans with their brave displays.
#3 South Korea (2002)
Three and a half decades after North Korea’s heroics, it was the turn of their Southern counterparts to steal the show.
The World Cup was being hosted in Asia for the very first time, and South Korea, co-hosting with Japan, ensured that it was a memorable one. Under the tutelage of the wily Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, they captured the imagination of fans all over.
They got the party started with a 2-0 win over Poland and followed it up with a gritty 1-1 draw against the United States, leaving them in pole position to qualify. However, their last game was against Portugal, who could boast of Luis Figo and Nuno Gomes in their lineup. The Koreans, however, paid no heed to the star names in their opposition’s ranks and stunned them 1-0, sparking delirium across the joint host nation.
The round of sixteen saw them drawn against Italy, runners-up in the 2000 European Championship. Once again, South Korea laughed in the faces of their celebrated opponents and edged them 2-1. The beleaguered Italians didn’t take the defeat lying down, alleging refereeing bias towards the Koreans. Not that the latter cared, as they took on Spain in the quarterfinals, with most expecting their fascinating run to come to an end.
Clearly, South Korea had other plans as they forced extra time after an entertaining 0-0 draw, where Spain were twice disallowed their goals. With no goals in the extra half hour either, it was down to penalties. Spain could convert only three of their allotted quintet, while the Asians scored with all five. South Korea had hence become the first Asian team to make it to the last four of a World Cup.
Between them and a spot in the final lay Germany. In a hotly contested encounter, the game swung both ways but the inexperience of the likes of Lee Woon-Jae and Ahn Jung-hwan showed, and the Europeans took advantage, with a Michal Ballack goal sending them through to the final, where they lost to Brazil.
South Korea’s magical run had come to a belated end, and with the wind knocked out of their sales, they were pipped to third place by fellow surprise packages Turkey.
South Korea, however, remain the only Asian team to have played a World Cup semifinal, and it was undoubtedly their finest hour. They even got sweet revenge for their loss in the semifinals by beating the Germans in this year’s edition, to dump the 2014 winners out.
#2 Sweden (1958)
The World Cup had been awarded to Sweden, and the host nation took full advantage of their home support to script an unlikely run all the way to the final.
Sweden started off with a breezy 3-0 victory over Mexico before edging out 1954 runners-up Hungary 2-1 to qualify for the knockouts. The redundant last game saw the hosts play out a drab 0-0 draw against debutants Wales, who also qualified through a play-off.
The first knockout game for Sweden was a quarterfinal against the Soviet Union, who they duly beat 2-0 with goals from Kurt Hammrin and Tore Klas Simonsson.
The host nation faced their first big challenge in the semifinals, where they were up against the defending champions, West Germany. In a packed stadium in Gothenburg, Germany took the lead in the 24th minute through Hans Schaefer. It didn’t take Sweden very long to equalize, with a 32nd-minute strike from Karl Skoglund levelling scores.
The rest of the match was a tight affair, with both sides creating chances. However, with ten minutes to go, the Swedes, backed by a raucous crowd, shifted through the gears and scored twice in quick succession to eliminate the West Germans and set up a final against favourites Brazil.
The final in Stockholm saw the home side take the lead after just four minutes, and the entire country believed that a shock victory for the hosts was on the cards. Unfortunately for them, the early goal seemed to just wake up the giant in Brazil, who decided to run riot. They equalized within the next five minutes, and from then on they blew away the Swedes.
The front four of Vava, Didi, Mario Zagallo and a seventeen-year-old Pele ran rings around Sweden, playing silky football from another planet. They eventually ran out 5-2 winners, and won their first ever World Cup, before going on to win four more.
The World had witnessed, for the first time, what Brazil had to offer. Overnight, Pele became a sensation, and unfortunately, his arrival clouded over the resilient Sweden team who came so close to World Cup glory.
#1 Croatia (1998)
The first half of the last decade of the previous millennium had seen war rip apart the Balkan states, with thousands dislocated and new nations formed. One such nation was Croatia, which declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1990. What followed was a bloody five year battle for independence before at last, in 1996, the Republic of Croatia became a sovereign member of the European Council.
For a country ravaged by war, qualifying for the World Cup itself would’ve felt like a victory. Indeed, Croatia managed to sneak into the tournament by edging out Greece by a solitary point in the qualifiers.
The fledgeling nation, however, had other things in mind - they were keen to prove to the world that they hadn’t arrived in France to just make up the numbers.
Their campaign started off with a comfortable 3-1 win against Jamaica, which was followed up by a 1-0 win over Japan. Croatia were playing with a swagger that nobody expected them to have – the elegance of Real Madrid’s Davor Suker and AC Milan’s Zvonimir Boban was complemented by the industry of Everton’s Slaven Bilic and Aljosa Asanovic in a frightening combination of silk and steel.
A defeat by a solitary goal at the hands of Argentina did little to dampen the mood in an upbeat Croatia camp. Croatia were up against an exciting Romania team – which included legendary forward Gheorghe Hagi - in the round of sixteen in Bordeaux.
In an exciting encounter, Davor Suker scored the only goal of the game, and Croatia found themselves in the quarterfinals of the World Cup – it was dreamland for the millions of Croatians who had been surrounded by the ghastly horrors of war until recently.
The East Europeans faced Germany, the defending European Champions, with the latter widely tipped to cut short the Croatian adventure. However, it was the Germans who were caught off guard, as the Croats blew them away 3-0 in Lyon. Suker and Boban ran rings around the Germans, who just had no answer.
Croatia were, improbably, in the semifinals, and were due to play France in Paris. Once again, they stunned the packed Stade De France when the irrepressible Suker scored the opening goal.
Within a minute, however, reality brought the high flying Croats back down to earth, as Lillian Thuram equalized for the French. Thuram once again scored to condemn the underdogs to a 2-1 defeat. France went on to win the World Cup.
As for Croatia, they called upon their golden generation one final time in the third-place playoff to outplay The Netherlands 2-1 to finish third.
For the Croats, this World Cup was more than a brilliant campaign. It was a war-torn country announcing itself to the world, in the most spectacular fashion.
Croatia may not have lifted the trophy or even played the final, but they had regained their identity as a nation. That was their victory.
