Premier League

Top Underdog Teams That Have Reached The Finals Of World Cup

Top Underdog Teams That Have Reached The Finals Of World Cup

When nations from all corners of the footballing world come together for the sport’s most exalted carnival, narratives and stories, overflowing with raw passion and emotion, are composed for the ages. 

In every World Cup, some teams punch above their weight in such an inspiring way that they are anointed the darlings of the cup. Neutrals love them, they become everyone’s second team, and people collectively wish them success and joy because that is exactly what they offer to everyone in return.  

FootTheBall lists four underdogs who astonished the world and reached the finals of the men’s World Cup. 

Croatia – 2018, Russia

Half a year before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Croatian football was in disarray. In the first round of qualification, they had drawn against the 66th-ranked Finland and dropped to the second position, putting their progression to the finals under threat. 

Hours before the final qualifier, coach Ante Cacic was sacked. Midfield maestro Luka Modric thought the situation was “catastrophic”. The Vatreni eventually featured in the second round of qualification, defeating Greece to reach Russia. 

Coming into the World Cup, not much heed was being given to Croatia’s chances. There were other usual suspects who were hogging the attention. 

Things changed soon enough. The Croats stormed through the group stages, topping their group and defeating Argentina (3-0), Nigeria (2-0), and Iceland (2-1) in the process. 

The Vatreni kicked out Denmark and Russia in the knockouts on penalties before winning against England in extra time to reach their first-ever final, besting their historic run till the semifinal in France 1998. 

Croatia put on a fighting display in the final but the French were too good for the Croats. However, an inspired Luka Modric did win the Golden Ball award. 

West Germany – 1954, Switzerland

Post-World War II, West Germany was in flux and trying to find some identity in the early 1950s. FIFA hadn’t allowed the country to be even admitted to the World Cup in 1950. 

Leading into the 1954 World Cup, their team of semi-professionals was somewhat an unknown quantity as West Germany hadn’t had much international exposure till then. 

Slotted in a group with Hungary, Turkey, and South Korea, West Germany’s heavy loss to Hungary (8-3) meant that they had to beat Turkey twice, first in group stages and then in the playoffs to qualify, which they did. 

After convincingly beating Yugoslovakia and…

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