Online Reporter
Cape Verde’s players wrote their nation into World Cup folklore after upsetting the odds to hold pre-tournament favourites Spain to a goalless draw in Atlanta.
Spain’s squad boasts an embarrassment of riches, from Lamine Yamal to Rodri, but were unable to find a way through the plucky minnows in their Group H opener.
But where does this result sit in the pantheon of World Cup upsets? Daily Mail Sport runs through the biggest shocks in the tournament’s long history:
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia
(Qatar 2022)
2020 Copa America winners Argentina got their 2022 World Cup campaign off to the worst possible start in Qatar when they were shocked by Saudi Arabia.
Things looked to be going as planned for Argentina when Lionel Messi put them ahead from the penalty spot in the 10th minute.
At that point few could have imagined Saudi Arabia scoring in the game, let alone scoring twice to win it.
But in the second half, Saleh Al-Shehri drew the Arabians level, before Salem Al-Dawsari hit a beauty five minutes later from outside the box to seal a famous win for the Green Falcons.
Incredibly, Saudia Arabia were the only team the Argentines failed to beat as Messi and his men progressed all the way to the final, where they beat France on penalties after an enthralling 3-3 draw.
France 0-1 Senegal
(South Korea and Japan 2002)
Entering the 2002 World Cup as red-hot favourites, France tasted defeat in their opening game against Senegal.
A stacked French side, which featured the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Marcel Desailly were given not believe their eyes when midfielder Papa Bouba Diop converted from close range in the 30th minute.
The French huffed and puffed but could not score thanks to Senegalese goalkeeper Tony Sylva’s stellar performance. He made seven saves to thwart the French and helped to close out one of the biggest shocks in the history of international football.
Spain 2-3 Nigeria (France 1998)
At just their second ever global tournament, Nigeria pulled off a result that sent shockwaves through the footballing world.
A first-half goal from Nigeria’s Mutui Adepoju cancelled out Fernando Hierro’s opener before Raul put the Spaniards ahead early in the second half.
An unfortunate own goal from keeper Andoni Zubizarreta then pulled the Super Eagles level with just over 15 minutes left of play, before an incredible strike from Sunday Oliseh snatched an incredible win for Nigeria.
This result would go on to have serious implications for Spain. They drew the next game 0-0 against Paraguay and a 6-1 thrashing of Bulgaria in their last group stage game was too little, too late.
They were the only top seeded team to be dumped out of the 1998 World Cup in the group stage.
England 0-1 USA
(Brazil 1950)
England were heavy favourites to win the tournament in Brazil but were victims of a mighty upset against a USA side made up of semi-professional footballers.
To put the difference between the two teams into perspective, England had a post-war record of 23 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses. The USA on the other hand, had lost their last seven games by an aggregate scoreline of 45-2.
However, in the 38th minute, Joe Gaetjens, who worked away from football in a restaurant washing dishes, scored a diving header to give the USA a shock lead.
South Korea 2-1 Italy
(South Korea and Japan 2002)
After topping a group that consisted of Poland, Portugal and the USA, joint-hosts South Korea found themselves in the middle of one of the most controversial World Cup clashes against hot favourites Italy.
Byron Moreno awarded a dubious penalty to South Korea in only the fourth minute of the game, which Ahn Jung-Hwan failed to convert.
Christian Vieri then gave the Italians the lead in the 18th minute and the Azzurri looked in control for large portions of the game.
That was until Ki Hyeon Seol levelled the tie in the 88th minute and sent the game to extra time, where the ‘golden goal’ rule was enforced.
And in the 116th minute, Ahn Jung-Hwan guided a header beyond Gianluigi Buffon to seal the game for the Koreans, who went onto make it all the way to the semi-finals.
Argentina 0-1 Cameroon
(Italy 1990)
Holders Argentina faced a Cameroon team made up of many players from the lower leagues of France, whose gameplan looked to have been unravelling when Andre Kana-Biyik was sent off after bringing down Claudio Caniggia.
Despite being a man down, just six minutes later Francois Omam-Biyik climbed highest to head the Cameroonians into the lead.
Cameroon managed to hold firm and secure their place in World Cup history – Daily Mail.
