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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Win makes the list of great upsets
Source: Agencies |
June 26, 2009, Friday
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Print Edition
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THE United States' 2-0 victory over European champion Spain on Wednesday earned a place on the list of great international upsets.
The US stunned England way back in the 1950 World Cup.
FIFA's own Website posed the question: "Is this the greatest upset ever in a FIFA competition?"
It left the answer open, but the result ranks alongside North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy in the 1966 World Cup finals, Cameroon's 1-0 win over then world champion Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup and Senegal's 1-0 victory over then world champion France in the 2002 World Cup finals.
Denmark's astonishing success in the 1992 European championship, when it won the tournament in Sweden a few weeks after reassembling from holiday and being given a place in the finals when Yugoslavia was disqualified, also takes its place as does Greece's win in Euro 2004 when it started the tournament as rank outsiders.
Two successive World Cup finals also produced huge shocks. In 1950, Brazil was odds-on favorites to beat Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro to become world champion for the first time but lost 1-2.
Four years later Hungary's "mighty Magyars", who had not lost for more than four years, met West Germany in the final, a few weeks after trouncing it 8-3 in the group stage. Hungary, one of the greatest sides ever assembled in world football, led 2-0 early in the game but ended up being beaten 2-3.
It is not the first time Spain has been the victims of an upset: it surprisingly lost 2-3 to Nigeria in the 1998 World Cup finals in Nantes.
This upset surpasses that though as Spain is currently No. 1 in FIFA's world rankings, had been unbeaten for nearly three years and 35 matches and had won its previous 15 games.
The US stunned England way back in the 1950 World Cup.
FIFA's own Website posed the question: "Is this the greatest upset ever in a FIFA competition?"
It left the answer open, but the result ranks alongside North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy in the 1966 World Cup finals, Cameroon's 1-0 win over then world champion Argentina in the opening match of the 1990 World Cup and Senegal's 1-0 victory over then world champion France in the 2002 World Cup finals.
Denmark's astonishing success in the 1992 European championship, when it won the tournament in Sweden a few weeks after reassembling from holiday and being given a place in the finals when Yugoslavia was disqualified, also takes its place as does Greece's win in Euro 2004 when it started the tournament as rank outsiders.
Two successive World Cup finals also produced huge shocks. In 1950, Brazil was odds-on favorites to beat Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro to become world champion for the first time but lost 1-2.
Four years later Hungary's "mighty Magyars", who had not lost for more than four years, met West Germany in the final, a few weeks after trouncing it 8-3 in the group stage. Hungary, one of the greatest sides ever assembled in world football, led 2-0 early in the game but ended up being beaten 2-3.
It is not the first time Spain has been the victims of an upset: it surprisingly lost 2-3 to Nigeria in the 1998 World Cup finals in Nantes.
This upset surpasses that though as Spain is currently No. 1 in FIFA's world rankings, had been unbeaten for nearly three years and 35 matches and had won its previous 15 games.
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