Top 10 biggest World Cup shocks of all time

Whether it is a big nation underestimating a smaller nation, or a team full of superstars completely imploding on themselves, every finals tournament witnesses results that shock the world.

Not a single World Cup goes by where a minnow does not come out of the shadows to shock the globe, whether that be by defeating one of the elite footballing nations, or by going deep in the competition against all odds.

This top 10 list of the World Cup's most shocking results features many nations who progressed further than expected thanks to a shock win as well as some scorelines which still seem scarcely believable years or even decades later.

Here, Sports Mole dives back through the years to pick out the 10 biggest World Cup upsets of all time.

10. South Korea 2-0 Germany (Group stage, Russia 2018)

Germany travelled to Russia for the 2018 finals as reigning world champions, but in the back of their minds they would have known the fate of three of the last four sides to have won football's most prestigious prize.

France in 2002, Italy in 2010 and Spain in 2014 all had a disastrous campaign while defending their title, but there was no cause for concern in the German camp pre-2018, especially after a strong showing at Euro 2016.

However, after defeat to Mexico in their group-stage opener, and a very fortunate late win over Sweden a few days later, they needed to beat South Korea in the Group F finale to progress.

After a largely clueless performance, the game was still goalless going into injury time and Germany very naively ignored any potential South Korean threat, so when a rebound fell to Kim Young-gwon six yards out, the defender was given the freedom of Kazan and had the simplest of tasks to prod home past Manuel Neuer.

Neuer was then left embarrassed moments later, as he went up to try to grab a goal, and was caught dribbling on the left-wing by Ju Se-jong who then sent an arrowing through-ball almost 100 yards up the pitch to give Son Heung-min another simple South Korea tap-in.

That result sent Germany home, bottom of the group, becoming the fourth holders in five tournaments to exit at the group stage.

9. Argentina 2-3 Romania (Last 16, United States 1994)

Argentina had already suffered a shock defeat at the previous World Cup, when Cameroon beat them in the opener of Italia '90, but that did not derail their tournament as they still reached the final.

Four years later in the United States, another nation was having their moment in the spotlight, Romania, and Argentina would face the Eastern European outfit in the last 16.

With the legendary Gheorghe Hagi in their ranks, alongside other notable figures such as Dan Petrescu, Ilie Dumitrescu, Miodrag Belodedici and Florin Raducioiu, the Tricolorii topped their group, defeating hosts USA on the way.

That would provide their sternest test yet though, and the two sides played out an all-time classic, as Romania defeated an Argentina side without Diego Maradona, but still including the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Fernando Redondo, Abel Balbo and Diego Simeone.

Hagi and Dumitrescu put on a masterclass, as both had involvements in all three goals, and after reaching three of the previous four World Cup finals, Argentina were heading home early this time.

8. Spain 1-5 Netherlands (Group stage, Brazil 2014)

At a World Cup which provided a seemingly endless list of shock outcomes, eliminations and scorelines, this ranks high amongst them all, as it kickstarted a tragically-poor World Cup for previous winners Spain.

This was arguably the most eye-catching fixture of the group stage, pitting two European heavyweights together, but the gulf in class on the night was a shock to the whole world, and sparked the downfall of the Spanish side which dominated international football for the previous six years.

After Robin van Persie's famous 'Flying Dutchman' header pulled the Oranje level before half time, Louis van Gaal's side ran riot, and in particular Arjen Robben, who put on one of the best individual performances by any player at the tournament.

His blistering pace for the fifth and final goal, and composure to put almost every Spanish player on their backside, was a piece of artistry from the then-Bayern Munich winger.

However, despite destroying La Roja, and cruising through the group before finishing third in Brazil, it would be seven years before Holland played at another major finals, which again highlights the beauty of international football that nothing is ever guaranteed.

7. West Germany 3-2 Hungary (Final, Switzerland 1954)

The 'Wunder von Bern' (Miracle of Bern) may not seem like a hugely surprising scoreline, but considering the backdrop to which this World Cup final was played back in 1954 means it is well worthy of a spot as one of the most surprising results in the history of the competition.

Just nine years after the end of the Second World War, and with their country split in two, both halves of Germany were still rebuilding from the catastrophic damages and loss of life from the conflict.

Hungary meanwhile, were unquestionably the best side in the world during the 1950s, as the Mighty Magyars revolutionised football as we know it, with Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis and Nandor Hidegkuti among their leading lights.

Their early brand of 'Total Football' saw them beat the West Germans 8-3 earlier on in the tournament, before seeing off Brazil and Uruguay on route to the final, scoring 25 goals in just four games at the finals.

After going 2-0 up inside eight minutes of the final, Hungary's name was virtually already on the trophy, but to the shock of millions tuning in, West Germany were level at 2-2 just 10 minutes later, and an 84th-minute winner Helmut Rahn sealed the win for the underdogs, as they claimed a first-ever World Cup crown

The reaction in Hungary saw demonstrations against the communist government ruling the nation, an event which is believed to have laid the seeds behind the 1956 uprising, which in footballing terms all but finished off the Mighty Magyars as a unit, with many players and coaches emigrating, and Hungary have sadly never reached those heights since.

6. Italy 0-1 North Korea (Group stage, England 1966)

The 1966 World Cup is widely remembered on British shores for being the only time England have won a major tournament, however, for Italy and North Korea, this tournament represents something very different.

The Asian confederation was seen as so weak in 1966 that North Korea would have needed to play one of three sides from Africa after winning their own continental section just to qualify for the finals.

Withdrawals in Asia and Africa cleared the path for North Korea to be the only non-European or Americas nation at the finals, but with political difficulties surrounding the recognition of their country following the Korean War, the UK only allowed them to enter the country following pressure from FIFA.

Italy were not in a great place either, as the 1949 Superga air disaster, which killed much of their team, weighed heavily on the nation, and the football team, as they failed to progress past the groups in any of their appearances after winning the trophy in 1938.

Even still, North Korea were decades behind the Italians in terms of football stature and quality, but at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Pak Doo-Ik's solitary goal saw the Asian outfit win 1-0, and progress to the knockouts at Italy's expense.

Italy were European champions two years later and World Cup finalists at the following tournament, while despite going 3-0 up against Portugal in the quarter-final in 1966, North Korea lost 5-3 and did not feature at the finals again until 2010.

5. Slovakia 3-2 Italy (Group stage, South Africa 2010)

The 1966 World Cup was not the only time that Italy have made a shock exit in the group stage - they repeated that unwanted feat in South Africa 12 years ago.

The curse of the holders which has become so apparent in recent iterations of the tournament struck the Azzurri too; after they became world champions in 2006, they would then finish bottom of a group containing Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia.

In a group littered with draws, all four sides could still qualify going into the final matches, and with Paraguay and New Zealand drawing 0-0, Italy only needed a draw to progress.

However, they struggled all the way through the match, and found themselves 2-0 down with a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to a Robert Vittek brace.

Antonio Di Natale gave Marcello Lippi's side a lifeline, before the little-known Kamil Kopunek came on to help Slovakia defend their lead, but instead the defender raced through on goal to score with his first touch, notching his only ever competitive goal for the national team.

A late Fabio Quagliarella wonder goal was not enough, as Italy made one of the most humiliating group-stage exits of any elite nation in World Cup history.

4. England 0-1 USA (Group stage, Brazil 1950)

At England's first-ever World Cup finals appearance, self-belief was not in short supply, as they were the most in-form national side post-World War II.

England's sense of assumed superiority was prominent before the war, as they did not enter any of the first three World Cups under the belief that it was not worth their time to join FIFA and play against other 'lesser nations' halfway around the world.

With the likes of Tom Finney and Stan Mortensen in the side, England expected to comfortably dismantle a US side comprised purely of part-time footballers and some players who were not even US citizens, and one of them was Joe Gaetjens, who was Haitian-born, and played for Haiti from 1944, with his only US appearances coming at the 1950 World Cup.

Gaetjens would be the man who scored the only goal of the match in what was arguably the biggest World Cup shock ever at that point in history, and England were eliminated.

Unfortunately, given the lack of interest of football in America at this time, and the limited media coverage of sport in the UK, the magnitude of this result was never truly realised until decades later, but by that time, Gaetjens, the sole goalscorer, had been murdered in his native Haiti by government forces.