Biggest ever World Cup upset? Where does Argentina's loss to Saudi Arabia stack up

Football fans may have witnessed the greatest-ever upset at a FIFA World Cup after Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday, November 22. Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi scored the opener for the Albicelestes in the tenth minute before Saudi Arabia produced an incredible comeback in the second half. 

Saleh Alshehri got a goal back in the 48th minute before his teammate scored a stunner five minutes later. As Saudi Arabia produces one of the greatest upsets at a FIFA World Cup in history, here is a look back at some others.

Biggest upsets in FIFA World Cup history

1) Germany 0-2 South Korea, 2018: The FIFA World Cup also witnessed a shocking upset in the 2018 edition when defending champions Germany lost 2-0 to South Korea. The Germans, who headed into their final group stage game against South Korea needing a win to progress to the next stage, were left stunned when they conceded two goals deep into injury time. 

Kim Young-gwon scored the opener in the 92nd minute before South Korean captain Son Heung-min netted a second four minutes after, much to the surprise of football fans around the world.

2) France 0-1 Senegal, 2002: A similar scenario was witnessed during the 2002 edition of the FIFA World Cup when defending champions France suffered a 1-0 defeat against Senegal. Senegal's win over France proved to be historic not only because of the upset but because it helped the Lions of Teranga to become only the second African nation in history to progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

3) Argentina 0-1 Cameroon, 1990: Another huge FIFA World Cup upset again features Argentina who suffered a 1-0 defeat against Cameroon in the 1990 edition of the tournament. On that occasion, Argentina entered the tournament as the defending champions, having won the World Cup in 1986 following Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal.

Despite suffering a shock defeat against Cameroon, Argentina went on to reach the finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup when they suffered a 1-0 defeat against West Germany. The Albicelestes will once again hope that their opening defeat against Saudi Arabia does not dent their chances of progressing deep in the competition, and on this occasion, they would hope that they go one step further than what they did in 1990.

4) Italy 0-1 North Korea, 1966: The Italian football team has featured in some of the biggest upsets in the history of the FIFA World Cup, having suffered a 1-0 defeat against Costa Rica in the 2014 edition and another 2-1 loss against the Korea Republic in 2002. However, the biggest shock yet perhaps emerged in the 1966 edition when two-time champions Italy lost to newcomers North Korea by a scoreline of 1-0. As a result of the defeat, Italy were knocked out of the competition.

5) England 0-1 USA, 1950: One of the biggest upsets at a FIFA World Cup took place way back in 1950 when favourites England suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat against the USA. In the first edition of the tournament post-World War II, the USA defeated England despite their side featuring part-timers, whose primary profession was not playing football.

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