Least Likely To Win: Ten World Cup Underdogs Quiz

Answer: Cameroon

The 1990 World Cup was held in Italy and is infamously known as one of the World cups with the fewest goals in modern history. Cameroon was part of Group B alongside Romania, the Soviet Union, and Argentina (winners of the previous World Cup in Mexico). The Cameroonians were not among the favorites to even make it past the group stage, but that changed in their shocking 1-0 win over Argentina in their first match of the tournament. By also beating Romania and through a lucky combination of other scores in the group, Cameroon qualified for the knockout stage as the leader of Group B even after suffering a 4-0 loss against the Soviet Union.

The "Indomitable Lions" surprised the world again when they beat Colombia by 2-1 in a round of 16 match where all three goals were scored at extra time. Striker Roger Milla scored both of Cameroon's goals within two minutes! Unfortunately for the Cameroonians, their journey came to an end in a heart-stopping match against England. Cameroon was ahead at one point by 2-1, but two late penalty kick goals scored by Gary Lineker sealed England's win.

Answer: Bulgaria

Before 1994, Bulgaria had competed in five World Cups with very little success. The Balkan nation had never made it past the group stage before 1986, and then only did so by tying two matches. USA 1994 was different though, since they managed to beat Argentina (a favorite to win the tournament) and Greece to advance as Group D's second place. Led by striker Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgaria then knocked out Mexico in the Round of 16 and achieved a shocking 2-1 victory over Germany. Their lucky strike was cut short by Italy in the semi-finals, though Stoichkov's goal in that match (his sixth in the tournament) earned him the Golden Boot for top goal-scorer. Bulgaria played the third-place match against Sweden but lost by 4-0.

This fourth place was arguably one of Bulgarian football's most important international accomplishments, perhaps next to their silver medal in the Mexico 1968 Olympics and their bronze medal in the 1956 edition of the Olympic Games.

Answer: Third place

Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. When the Croatian national football team qualified for the 1998 World Cup held in France, not much was expected of them. They had classified for the tournament as the second place in Group A in UEFA qualifiers and were drawn into a group with Argentina. Croatia's first two matches did not disappoint their fans, since they beat Jamaica by 3-1 and then Japan through a single goal by Davor Suker. Despite losing their match to Argentina, Croatia still made it to the Round of 16 in the second place of Group H.

Croatia's luck came to an end when they lost against the hosts, France, by 2-1 in the semi-finals. France went on to become champions for the first time, but Croatia didn't leave empty-handed since they ultimately ended up in third place by defeating the Netherlands by 2-1. A goal by Davor Suker in this match earned him the Golden Boot.

Answer: Brazil

The Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup had several surprises that made it an exciting tournament. Turkey's first match of the Cup was precisely against Brazil, in a Group C match-up that Brazil won 2-1. Despite this initial setback, Turkey tied with Costa Rica and defeated China, managing to go onto the round of 16 in second place. Turkey really stepped up in the knockout stage, first beating co-hosts Japan in a shocking 1-0 victory and then achieving the same result against Senegal in the quarter-finals.

Turkey faced Brazil in the semi-finals in a repeat of their Group C match. Despite putting up a fight, the Turks were unable to overcome the Brazilians and lost by 1-0 thanks to a goal by Ronaldo. Brazil went on to win the championship by beating Germany in the final, and Turkey defeated another co-host, South Korea, in the third-place match by 3-2. A goal by Hakan Sukur less than eleven seconds after the match started became at that point the fastest-ever World Cup goal.

Answer: Mexico

After Japan was knocked out in the Round of 16 by Turkey, South Korea was the only host remaining in the competition. The Koreans had an excellent group stage with victories against Poland and Portugal and a tie against the United States. Portugal was expected to at least go through the next stage, but they were eliminated in the group stage by South Korea and the U.S.

South Korea's next opponent in the round of 16 was Italy, in what became one of the most controversial matches in World Cup history. Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno made several dubious calls against the Italians that tainted Korea's win. South Korea then shocked the world again by beating Spain in the quarter-finals, finally losing to Germany in the semi-finals, and then against Turkey in the third-place match.

In the 2002 World Cup, Mexico finished as the surprising leader of Group G but was eliminated by the United States in the Round of 16.

Answer: David Villa

Paraguay qualified for the South Africa 2010 World Cup in a strong fashion, ending in third place in the South American qualification standings (one spot above Argentina). They were drawn to Group F with Italy, Slovakia, and New Zealand. Despite Italy being the overwhelming favorite to lead the group, the Azzurri failed to win a single match in the group stage and were embarrassingly knocked out in the group stage, in the last place. Paraguay, on the other hand, beat Slovakia and tied with Italy and New Zealand to become the surprising leader of the group.

The "Guaranies" accomplished an even more impressive feat when they won their round of 16 match against Japan, earning a chance to play against Spain in the quarter-finals. Though Paraguay gave a good fight, a late goal by David Villa finally ended the Paraguayans' tournament in a match that saw one missed penalty per team. Regardless, Paraguay was very close to making it to the semi-finals when few thought they could even make it past the group stage.

David Villa was an important part of the Spanish squad that won the 2010 World Cup. Villa is a striker who had a brilliant 20-year career with memorable moments in Zaragoza, Valencia, Barcelona, and Atletico de Madrid. Villa also played for the American club New York City FC and retired in 2020 after playing for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe.

Answer: Uruguay

Ghana was drawn to Group D and faced three tough opponents: Germany, Australia, and Serbia. The Ghanaians managed to win their first match against Serbia, which was their only victory in the group stage. Nevertheless, a lucky combination of scores and the fact that Australia received four goals from Germany allowed Ghana to advance to the knockout stage in second place. Ghana went on to face the United States in the round of 16 and won by 2-1 with an extra-time goal scored by Asamoah Gyan.

Their opponents in the quarter-finals were Uruguay, and even though Ghana arrived yet again as the underdogs, they were extremely close to beating the South American squad. Muntari first scored for Ghana and Forlan quickly responded for Uruguay, taking the match to extra time. In one of the most controversial (and for many, most unfair) World Cup plays in recent history, Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez stood right at the goal line when Ghana was attacking. He first blocked a shot with his knee, and when another Ghanian player headed the ball, Suarez used his hands to block the ball. Though he was sent off, Ghana missed the penalty kick and was then eliminated in a subsequent penalty shootout.

Ghana's accomplishment was still remarkable, as it joined a very select club of African nations who have made it to the quarter-finals.

Answer: Uruguay and Italy

Costa Rica became a fan favorite during the 2014 World Cup because of their incredible performances. The Central American national squad was drawn to Group D, which became known as "the group of death" because three football powerhouses were also in the group: England, Italy, and Uruguay (all countries that have won the tournament before). After the draw, coach Jorge Luis Pinto said that his team feared nobody and that every World Cup has its surprises. He certainly wasn't wrong!

Costa Rica kicked off its participation in the World Cup by beating Uruguay 3-1. In yet another surprise, they beat Italy by 1-0, and then tied 0-0 with England. Incredibly, both England and Italy (widely considered to be the two favorites to advance to the next round) were eliminated in the group stage. Costa Rica continued their seemingly miraculous journey by beating Greece in the round of 16 through a penalty shoot-out. Their amazing feat came to an end when they faced the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Despite a great match by the Costa Ricans, the match again ended in a penalty shoot-out that the Dutch won. This game was memorable for many reasons, one of which was coach Louis van Gaal substituting his goalkeeper before the shootout in an apparent psychological play.

Answer: Sweden

The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia between June and July. Germany, the previous World Cup champions, was expected to easily make it through the group stage. Surprisingly, they lost against both Mexico and South Korea and were eliminated as the last place in the group. Strangely, Sweden lost against Germany but won their matches against Mexico and South Korea. The Swedes and the Mexicans were tied in points, but Sweden's better goal difference earned them the first place.

Sweden then beat Switzerland in a tough round of 16 match-up, and was finally knocked out by England in the quarter-finals.

Answer: Yes

Croatia's national team in the Russia 2018 World Cup was considered by many to be a "golden generation", full of stars like Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Ivan Rakitic. Croatia was the undisputed leader of Group D by beating all three of its opponents. They first defeated Nigeria by 2-0, followed by a 3-0 victory over Argentina in a match marked by goalkeeper Willy Caballero's mistakes. Finally, Croatia beat Iceland 2-1 to achieve a perfect group stage. Croatia was the only team, with the exception of Uruguay and Belgium, to win all three of its group stage matches.

Croatia's path to the final was consolidated by defeating Denmark in the round of 16, then beating the hosts (Russia) in the quarter-finals, and winning against England in a dramatic semi-final. The final between France and Croatia was exciting and riveting, as evidenced by the 4-2 final score. Even though France ended up taking the trophy home, Croatia's accomplishment was still a remarkable one.