If the Republic of Ireland manage to win in France tomorrow night and make it to the World Cup finals it will be arguably the biggest victory in the nation’s history.
And there have been a few in the not-too-distant past – remember Italy in New York? But there have been plenty of international football shocks down the years – here’s just a few of them.
USA 1 ENGLAND 0: 1950
England were beaten by a combination of a part-time dishwasher and student accountant when a cross from Walter Bahr was glanced into the net by Joe Gaetjens at the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil. The result is widely regarded as the biggest ever World Cup shock.
FRANCE 0 SENEGAL 1: 2002
France were the dual World Cup and European Championship holders when they took on World Cup debutants Senegal in the opening match in 2002. Papa Bouba Diop’s first half goal stunned Les Bleus and the impact in Africa was profound. The French never recovered and failed to go beyond the group stage.
ARGENTINA 0 CAMEROON 1: 1990
Holders Argentina appeared to be in control of this World Cup curtain raiser when Cameroon were reduced to 10 men early in the second half. But Francois Oman Biyik’s headed goal gave the African’s a landmark win – although Argentina recovered from this humiliating loss to reach the final.
ALGERIA 2 WEST GERMANY 1: 1982
June 16th 1982 was another great day for African football. West Germany went into this World Cup clash against Algeria in Spain with the likes of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Paul Breitner and Pierre Littbarski in their line-up. However, the 1980 European champions were left shell-shocked after losing 2-1, with the Algerian winner coming from Lakdhar Belloumi.
NORTH KOREA 1 ITALY 0: 1966
The 18,000 people who packed into Ayresome Park to watch this 1966 World Cup encounter will never forget what they saw. The Koreans were complete outsiders but Park Doo-Ik wrote his name into the record books with a stunning strike to win the match.
SPAIN 0 NORTHERN IRELAND 1: 1982
In Spain’s own back yard, the Luis Cassanova Stadium, Valencia to be exact, Northern Ireland enjoyed one of their most celebrated football nights after beating the hosts at the 1982 World Cup finals. Ireland had to play most of the game with 10 men after Mal Donaghy was sent off, but they still pulled off a remarkable victory thanks to a goal from Gerry Armstrong.
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