Eight Surprising Moments in World Cup History

VIVA – The 2022 World Cup will be presented in a matter of days, starting on November 20 to December 18, 2022. The edition for this year will be the first time World Cup will be held in winter. As remembered, the host of Qatar is in the Middle East region which makes this championship impossible to hold in the summer.

Although there are few changes, the World Cup remains one of the most eagerly awaited football matches for the public because this tournament between countries is sure to bring up many interesting stories, such as champions and others.

Here are some surprising moments in World Cup History:

1. National Team of France Had Elimination in the Group Stage of the 2002 World Cup

France's elimination in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup was one of the most unexpected things to come out of that edition. How could it not be, they came with the status of defending champions and consisted of world-class players ranging from Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira, and Fabien Barthez.

In fact, It was not enough to make Les Bleus repeat its glory in the 1998 edition when it hosted. France's poor performance continued into the next match where they were held to a goalless draw by Uruguay (0-0) and lost to Denmark 0-2.

France also returned home early because they finished as caretakers of Group A after only being able to collect one point from three matches.

2. South Korea Finished Fourth in the 2002 World Cup

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Timnas Ukraina u-20 saat menghadapi Korea Selatan u-20

Photo :

• Thecable.ng

South Korea is one of the national teams that have many proud players, such as Park Ji-sung, Hwang Sun-hong, and Ahn Jung-hwan. The team also had an impressive coach, Guus Hiddink who made the South Korean team progress further.

A convincing performance was shown starting from the group phase by defeating Poland and Portugal. One other match ended in a draw against the United States. South Korea finished as Group D champions with 7 points.

South Korea ended the tournament in fourth place after losing to Turkey in the race for 3rd place. Although shrouded in controversy, South Korea's achievement is a historical record in itself because until now no other Asian country has equaled this achievement.

The 2014 World Cup may be an edition that Brazilians would like to erase from their memory. The reason is, the Samba Team experienced a very embarrassing incident that year. Brazil stepped confidently into the knockout phase after winning Group A. The team nicknamed Seleccao then reached the semifinals after defeating Chile and Colombia.

At that stage, they met the German national team. Unfortunately, Team Brazil had to accept defeat to Der Panzer which became one of the biggest defeats in the world, with a score of 1-7.

This moment is probably the least remembered. Because North Korea is not a team that often appears in the World Cup finals. Only twice did North Korea participate in the World Cup, namely in 1966 and 2010, and in that first edition, North Korea immediately created history.

In the championship held in England, North Korea joined Group 4 along with the Soviet Union, Italy, and Chile. Unexpectedly, North Korea was able to perform well by qualifying for the round of 16. But the surprise was not just that.

The biggest surprise at that time was that North Korea was able to defeat the Italian national team in the last match of the group phase while ensuring a ticket to the quarter-finals.

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Pertandingan Timnas Italia melawan Hungaria di UEFA Nations League

Photo :

• Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP

Hungary's defeat in the 1954 World Cup was a surprise because the team was initially thought to be the winner, but had to accept defeat to West Germany.

At that time, Hungary was the most feared team with a series of players ranging from Ferenc Puskas, and Nandor Hidegkuti, to Sandor Peter Kocsis. They also had a 31-match unbeaten record.

However, it turned out that West Germany managed to beat Hungary.

Before the 2014 World Cup, the Spanish national team dominated international events. They won Euro 2008 and 2012 and won the 2010 World Cup.

However, that dominance finally collapsed in 2014. Right in the first match of Group B against the Netherlands. Unexpectedly, the Matador Team was beaten by the Netherlands with a score of 1-5 in the first match. The defeat seemed to have a shock effect on Sergio Ramos's team, so, they lost 0-2 to Chile again in the second match.

Despite winning 3-0 over Australia in the last match, it was not enough to save La Furia Roja's life in the 2014 edition. Once again, the defending champions had to be eliminated early.

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Pertandingan Kamerun vs Ethiopia

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• twitter.com/CAF_Online

The Argentina National Team was defeated by the Cameroon National Team in the 1990 World Cup with a score of 0-1 in the inaugural match of Group B. It was a big surprise considering Cameroon was not a big team. It was a big surprise considering Cameroon was not a big team.

Even so, La Albiceleste was still able to advance to the final but lost 0-1 to West Germany who came out as champions.

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aksi tendangan bebas pemain Timnas Korea Selatan, Son Heung-min

Photo :

• Twitter: @theKFA

At the 2018 World Cup, South Korea defeated Germany for the first time, and came in the deciding game.

In the Group F match, the Taeguk Warriors beat Germany 2-0. All the goals came in the second half with Song Heung-min being one of the scorers. The result made Germany fail to qualify for the next round.

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South Korea is one of the national teams that have many proud players, such as Park Ji-sung, Hwang Sun-hong, and Ahn Jung-hwan. The team also had an impressive coach, Guus Hiddink who made the South Korean team progress further.