9) Cuba vs Romania 2-1 in 1938

This was a sensational result at the time. Cuba didn't manage to qualify in the first place, but were admitted when Mexico withdrew. Romania took part in both 1930 and 1934 and were established as a quality team. Cuba themselves were hammered 8-0 by Sweden in the very next round!

8) Northern Ireland vs Spain 1-0 in 1982

Not many fancied the Irish to win this match against the host nation, especially not after playing much of the game with only ten men. But they scored early in the second half and kept the lead in a match they had to win to reach the second round.

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7) Bulgaria vs Germany 2-1 in 1994

Germany, who had reached the previous three finals, looked on track to reach number four when a Lothar Matth?us penalty kick gave them the lead in this quarterfinal. But then two quick goals by Bulgaria ruined everything

6) Spain vs Denmark 5-1 in 1986

Denmark had won all their first round games, even trashing the South American champions Uruguay 6-1, and West Germany 2-0. They took the lead in this game against Spain, but then everything fell apart. Butrague?o scored four of Spain's five goals in this bizarre game

5) East Germany vs West Germany 1-0 in 1974

The day when East beat West in their first ever meeting. A goal by Sparwasser ten minutes from time settled the game. West went on to win the tournament though.

4) Cameroon vs Argentina 1-0 in 1990

Cameroon ended this match with nine men and managed to keep the defending champions at bay to secure a famous victory in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup.

3) Algeria vs West Germany 2-1 in 1982

Algeria were 1000/1 to win the cup, while West Germany were the 3/1 favorites. The Germans had only lost four matches in four years before this game. Their coach Jupp Derwall said after the match: "I still can't believe this. It's beyond my understanding."

2) North Korea vs Italy 1-0 in 1966

North Korea in their first (and only) World Cup apperance shocked the world by beating and sending home Italy after this win. When the Italians arrived at home their bus was attacked by fans wielding rotten tomatoes.

1) United States vs England 1-0 in 1950

When the news about this result arrived in England, people thought it was a misprint in the newspaper. They thought the result was 1-10 instead of 1-0. England, with legends like Billy Wright and Tom Finney, wasted lots of chances and couldn't prevent the American part-timers from winning

Courtesy of our friends at World Cup Archive