Photo by Wikimedia Commons 2.0
When it comes to footballing meccas, very few tournaments can compete with the World Cup, with the very best teams and players on the planet all seeking footballing immortality.
Having first been played in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has long been a celebration of footballing culture, as styles and tactics collide in search of World Cup glory.
Most World Cup betting sites are fully locked in with odds and promotions for every single game and giant killings have been few and far between over the years.
The very nature of a World Cup pits the best teams on the planet against each other and as a consequence, huge FIFA World Cup betting odds discrepancies don’t often occur.
However, there have been some incredible scalps throughout the pantheon of World Cup history and with an expanded 48 teams in the tournament, FIFA World Cup 2026 betting could bring about even more shocks and upsets.
Here is a rundown of five of the most incredible giant killings in FIFA World Cup history:
5th – Argentina 1 – 2 Saudi Arabia – 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar
A quick glance through the history books will adorn Argentina as the 2022 World Cup winners, with Lionel Messi being able to finally secure his long-term goal of becoming a FIFA World Cup winner.
However, in the early stages of the tournament, there was a fragility about Argentina, which was brutally exposed by Saudi Arabia.
The opening game of the tournament for the Argentinians was seen as a formality, especially when Lionel Messi tucked home a first half penalty to give them the lead.
Saudi Arabia grew in confidence as the game went on however and levelled just after the restart through Saleh Al Shehri.
An Argentina onslaught felt inevitable from there on in, but the Saudi Arabians refused to give up hope and went ahead themselves, through a stunning Salem Al Dawsari strike.
Saudi Arabia inevitably had to ride their luck as the match draw to a close, but they were good value for the win, a victory that saw them defeat the eventual winners of the tournament.
4th – Italy 0 – 1 North Korea – 1966 FIFA World Cup, England
While the 1966 World Cup will always be remembered for the iconic final between hosts England and West Germany, there were some notable shock results across the tournament as a whole.
Italy had secured World Cup glory in 1938 and after a few years in the doldrums, were expected to be amongst the challengers in England in 1966.
Having won three of the four previous European Championships, the Azzurri had a prolific side, that had started to gel, and they wouldn’t be travelling too far to play their matches in the UK.
However, their meeting with North Korea at Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park proved to be their undoing.
Going down to ten men through injury early on certainly didn’t help the Italians but they struggled to trouble the impressive North Koreans and a strike from Pak Doo Ik was enough to send them through and send Italy packing.
North Korea’s impressive run came to an end in the knockout rounds, as they were undone by Portugal, but they can lay claim to producing one of the all-time FIFA World Cup giant killings.
3rd – West Germany 3 – 2 Hungary – 1954 FIFA World Cup, Switzerland
On paper, this doesn’t look like a FIFA World Cup giant killing but in the context of both world football at the time and the 1954 World Cup, West Germany beating Hungary was a notable scalp.
These two sides had met earlier in the competition, a match that finished 8-3 to Hungary in Basel and the dominance that Hungary enjoyed both in that game and across the tournament whole, was palpable.
Across a 51 game period in the 1950’s, this iconic Hungarian team lost just one match – inevitably it was this one, the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany.
For West Germany, their route to the final had been anything but easy, exemplified by their hiding by Hungary but they refused to give up and seemingly had nothing to lose in the final showpiece.
Hungary raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes in the final and the writing looked to be on the wall again for the West Germans, but they made it 2-2, before Helmut Rahn bagged a late winner, to complete a staggering turnaround.
2nd – Argentina 0 – 1 Cameroon – 1990 FIFA World Cup, Italy
The 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy is often regarded as one of the greatest tournaments in recent memory and heading into the competition, all of the hype was surrounding one man – Diego Maradona.
Having been so influential in Argentina’s 1986 World Cup win, Maradona was playing his club football in Italy and was ready to make his mark on the world stage again.
In the opening game of the tournament, Argentina, as holders, took on Cameroon, who had been struggling for consistency and form, following their 1988 African Cup of Nations triumph.
With Maradona in his pomp, it was felt that nobody could stop Argentina, especially not a Cameroon side in relative disarray but the African giants produced a stunning performance.
Argentina looked toothless throughout and eventually succumbed to François Omam-Biyik’s strike, in a result that reverberated across the sporting world.
The tournament didn’t end well for Argentina, who went on to lose to West Germany in the final, while Cameroon progressed to the quarter final, where they were knocked out by England.
1st – France 0 – 1 Senegal – 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japan & South Korea
Throughout the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, French football was stronger than it had ever been and their World Cup win (1998) and European Championship triumph (2000), proved just that.
Armed with an array of high quality players, who were consistently performing in domestic leagues across Europe, there was a feeling that France were ready to kick on again at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan & South Korea.
Their opening game looked comfortable enough on paper, a meeting with Senegal, a country making their debut on the World Cup stage.
What happened next was one of the most memorable giant killings in FIFA World Cup history, with France seemingly combusting and Senegal rising to the occasion to create history.
Papa Bouba Diop pounced in the first half, to net what ultimately proved to be the winner as France limped to a group stage exit in defending the World Cup, while Senegal reached the last eight.
