All the big hitters have flunked in the group stage at some point. France were hilarious in 2010; Argentina made Marcelo Bielsa cry; and Pele wanted to quit playing for Brazil.
Here are all the big nations and their worst World Cup finals performance since 1966.
England
Failed to qualify: 1974, 1978, 1994
Worst performance at a finals: The Three Lions went to Brazil in 2014 and, after three games, they were on their way home again. Roy Hodgson’s men were condemned to the earliest possible exit after losing their opening two games – 2-1 on each occasion – to Italy and Uruguay. Their dead rubber against Costa Rica was a dour 0-0 stalemate as England recorded their lowest ever total in the group stage of a finals.
Brazil
Failed to qualify: Never
Worst performance at a finals: After winning the Jules Rimet trophy in 1958 and 1962, Brazil arrived in England in 1966 as firm favourites to lift a third successive title and they got off to a decent start by beating Bulgaria 2-0. But then they suffered back-to-back 3-1 defeats, first to Hungry, then to Eusebio’s Portugal. “The 1966 World Cup was the toughest experience I have ever had in football,” said Pele. “I went away from that World Cup determined never to play for Brazil again.”
Germany
Failed to qualify: Never
Worst performance at a finals: Germany went to Russia as holders after winning the 2014 World Cup and they won all 10 qualifiers, but they were sent packing after finishing bottom of their group. It was the first time since 1938 that Die Mannschaft had not reached at least the quarter-finals. Joachim Low’s side lost their opening game against Mexico and needed a 95th-minute winner to beat Sweden next. Then they f***ed it by losing 2-0 to South Korea, the goals coming in the 94th and 95th minutes. It mattered little to South Korea who lost their opening two matches, with Sweden and Mexico progressing to the knockout phase.
Argentina
Failed to qualify: 1970
Worst performance at a finals: England took revenge on Argentina for their 1998 quarter-final exit by contributing to their group stage exit in Japan and South Korea. Marcelo Bielsa’s men got off to a decent start by beating Nigeria, with Gabriel Batistuta scoring the only goal. Then they met England and fell to a 1-0 defeat with David Beckham netting from the spot, leaving them needing to beat Sweden to qualify. They did not, with Hernan Crespo’s 88th-minute strike only good for a point. Sweden and England qualified,…
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