▲ Enthusiastic Saudi cheerleaders


As Saudi Arabia catches Argentina in the first leg of Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar World Cup group stage, attention is also drawn to historical surprises.



The match that topped the list of World Cup upsets selected by FIFA's official content platform, FIFA+, was the miracle Senegal performed at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.



Senegal defeated France 1-0 in the first leg of the group stage.



At the time, France was the defending champion, and Senegal was the first country to qualify for the World Cup.



France, who was blown away by Senegal, was eventually eliminated from the group stage with 1 draw and 2 losses.



The American sports media Sporting News also cited this match as the greatest upset ever in the World Cup.



The performance of Hiddink, who defeated Italy in the round of 16 of this tournament, was also listed as one of the greatest surprises of all time.



Korea, which was trailing 0-1, won a thrilling come-from-behind victory with Seol Ki-hyun's Gyeongnam FC coach's equalizer and MBC commentator Ahn Jung-hwan's golden goal in extra time in the second half.



"At that time, Italy's squad was full of stars," FIFA+ explained, "Korea defeated Spain in the next quarterfinals, but lost to Germany in the semifinals."



The case of North Korea's 1-0 victory over Italy in the 1966 World Cup in England was also selected by both media.



At that time, North Korea, which was the first to step foot in the finals, advanced to the quarterfinals with a miraculous victory over Italy with Park Doo-ik's winning goal.



Italy has often been the victim of an upheaval.



The 2014 tournament in Brazil also saw them lose 0-1 in the group stage to Costa Rica.



Argentina, who was beaten by Saudi Arabia in this tournament, also suffered a 0-1 loss to Cameroon in the first match of the tournament in Italy at the 1990 World Cup.



Cameroon, who defeated Argentina, advanced to the quarterfinals at the time.



In addition, the United States defeated England 1-0 in the group stage match in Brazil in 1950, and Algeria's 2-1 victory over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup in Spain were also selected as surprises.



Norway's defeat of Brazil (2-1) in the 1998 French tournament and East Germany's defeat of West Germany 1-0 in the 1974 World Cup in Germany were selected as the top 10 surprises.



FIFA+ listed Saudi Arabia's stunning performance at the World Cup in Qatar as the 11th surprise on its list.



Argentina, ranked third in the FIFA rankings, took the lead with Lionel Messi's penalty kick, but collapsed in the second half by conceding consecutive goals.



Saudi Arabia went down in history as the first Asian country to defeat Argentina in the World Cup finals.



Saudi Arabia is also the first Asian country to score a 'multi-goal' against Argentina in the World Cup finals.



In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Korea defeated Germany 2-0, the 'Miracle of Kazan', neither media picked up.



(Photo = Yonhap News)