The biggest World Cup upset of all time is Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina in 2022, the Lusail group game that ended a 36-match unbeaten run. Nine more stand behind it, from 1950 to 2026. The 2026 World Cup supplied two knockout upsets of its own, and Morocco’s giant-killing story now spans two tournaments. For the champions across every edition, read the full list of World Cup winners. If you want the men behind these moments, start with the best soccer players of all time and the story behind each one.
What counts as a World Cup upset?
A World Cup upset is a win by a team that the ranking, the record and the stakes all said should lose. Fans call the biggest of them giant killings, where a small footballing nation brings down one of the sport’s powers. Three tests decide how big a result really is.
- The gap between the two teams before kickoff, measured in titles, history and what each squad had already achieved at this tournament.
- The stage, because a group game and a knockout game do not cost the same, and an exit carries more weight than a stumble.
- What the result cost the beaten side, since an early exit hurts far more than a defeat that still leaves a path to the final.
The ten results below are ordered by all three tests together.
The 10 biggest World Cup upsets, ranked
These are the ten results, counted down so the biggest comes last.
10. Paraguay knock Germany out, 2026
The round of 32 produced Germany 1-1 Paraguay after extra time, and Paraguay took the shootout 4-3 on penalties. On June 29, Julio Enciso headed Paraguay in front in the first half and Kai Havertz equalized after halftime, before a video review ruled out Jonathan Tah’s header in extra time. Jose Canale scored the winning kick in sudden death. Germany, four-time champions, had won all four of their previous World Cup shootouts.
9. Norway knock Brazil out, 2026
Norway beat Brazil 2-1 in the round of 16. On July 5 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Erling Haaland scored in the 79th and 90th minutes, and Neymar’s stoppage-time penalty came too late. Norway reached a World Cup quarterfinal for the first time, at their first World Cup in 28 years, before losing that quarterfinal 2-1 to England after extra time. Brazil, five-time champions, went home.
8. Morocco reach the semifinals, 2022
Morocco earned this place with a run rather than one result. They beat Belgium 2-0 and topped their group. A 0-0 draw with Spain in the round of 16 went to penalties, which Morocco won, and Youssef En-Nesyri’s header beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinal. No African team had ever reached a World Cup semifinal before them. France ended the run 2-0 in the semifinal, and Morocco finished fourth.
7. North Korea 1-0 Italy, 1966
The final group game, played on July 19 in Middlesbrough, matched World Cup debutants against a nation holding two titles. Pak Doo-ik scored just before halftime. The champions of 1934 and 1938 were out in the group stage, while North Korea went on to reach the quarterfinal.
6. Cameroon 1-0 Argentina, 1990
Milan’s San Siro staged the opening match of the tournament on June 8, with Argentina defending the title they had won in 1986. Francois Omam-Biyik scored in the 67th minute, and Cameroon, reduced to nine men by the end, refused to give the lead back. Argentina recovered well enough to reach the final, where they lost 1-0 to West Germany.
5. The United States 1-0 England, 1950
The group game in Belo Horizonte on June 29 came at England’s first World Cup. Joe Gaetjens scored in the 38th minute, and England went out in the group stage.
4. Senegal 1-0 France, 2002
Seoul hosted the tournament’s opening match on May 31, the holders against a Senegal side playing the first World Cup match in the country’s history. Papa Bouba Diop scored in the 30th minute. France went out in the group stage without scoring a goal, collecting a single point from three games, while Senegal rode that opening win all the way to the quarterfinal.
3. Germany out in the group stage to South Korea, 2018
South Korea beat the holders Germany 2-0 in Kazan on June 27. Kim Young-gwon’s goal, two minutes into stoppage time, was flagged offside and then given after a video review, and Son Heung-min scored the second into an empty net with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer upfield. Germany suffered their first first-round exit since 1938, the fourth holders in five tournaments to fall at the group stage.
2. Uruguay 2-1 Brazil, 1950
The deciding match of the four-team final round came to the Maracana on July 16, 1950, with an official attendance of 173,850, and Brazil needed only a draw. Friaca scored first, in the 47th minute, but Juan Schiaffino equalized in the 66th and Alcides Ghiggia won it in the 79th. Uruguay left with their second World Cup title, and Brazil lost the deciding match at home.
1. Saudi Arabia 2-1 Argentina, 2022
On November 22, 2022 at Lusail, Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the penalty spot and three first-half goals were ruled out for offside. Then Saleh Al-Shehri scored in the 48th minute and Salem Al-Dawsari in the 53rd, ending Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten run. Argentina answered the shock by winning the whole tournament, beating France on penalties in the final on December 18, 2022.
Which upsets happened at the 2026 World Cup?
The two biggest upsets of the 2026 World Cup were Norway knocking out Brazil and Paraguay knocking out Germany, with Cape Verde’s goalless draw against Spain close behind them. On June 15 in Atlanta, Spain, the European champions, took 27 shots, 7 of them on target, and were held 0-0 by Cape Verde, a team playing its first World Cup.
| Round | Result | Why it was a shock |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Spain 0-0 Cape Verde | The European champions held scoreless by debutants |
| Round of 32 | Germany 1-1 Paraguay (Paraguay won 4-3 on penalties) | The four-time champions lost a World Cup shootout for the first time |
| Round of 16 | Brazil 1-2 Norway | Five-time champions out as Norway reached their first quarterfinal |
All three hosts went out in the round of 16, the United States last, beaten 4-1 by Belgium on July 6. Two of the three rows above are numbers 10 and 9 in the ranking. Spain went on to win the tournament, beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time. You can follow the story of the 2026 final for how Spain closed out the tournament.
How did Morocco become the World Cup’s giant killers?
In 2022 Morocco became the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal, and in 2026 they reached the quarterfinal again, the first African nation to reach successive quarterfinals. Belgium, Spain and Portugal all fell to the 2022 side on the way to the semifinal. Four years later they finished second in a group with Brazil, beating Scotland and Haiti, then put out the Netherlands on penalties in the round of 32 and swept Canada 3-0 in the round of 16. France stopped them both times, 2-0 in the 2022 semifinal and 2-0 in the 2026 quarterfinal on July 9.
What is the biggest knockout-stage upset?
The short answer
What is the biggest loss in World Cup history?
The short answer
Has a host nation ever gone out in the group stage?
The short answer
Would video review have changed any of these results?
The short answer
