Cheer up Brazil – here’s 7 of the worst ever World Cup losses
Published:They say that records are there to be broken but heading into their semi-final encounter with Germany, it’s unlikely that many Brazil fans would have expected 16 different records to be either equalled or broken and especially not in the way it panned out.
Miroslav Klose eclipsed Ronaldo’s World Cup goalscoring record with his 16th strike, though Oscar’s late consolation goal in the 7-1 humiliation did at least ensure that the result only equalled their previous worst ever World Cup defeat – a 6-0 loss to Uruguay way back in 1920.
Then again, it was the first time Brazil had ever shipped seven goals in a competitive game on home soil – something that is likely to stay with the national team for some time to come.
But here at Ladbrokes we’re keen to remind Samba supporters that it’s not all doom and gloom – check out these seven spectacular capitulations!
Soviet Union 6-0 Hungary (1986)
Finalists way back in 1954, Hungary’s last trip to a World Cup was a disastrous one, with the Magical Magyars losing their opening game 6-0. Beaten 8-0 by Holland in qualifying for this World Cup, don’t expect to see them back at the finals any time soon.
Czechoslovakia 5-1 USA (1990)
It’s impressive to see how far Team USA have come since a near-amateur side lost all three of their fixtures at the 1990 finals in Italy. A 1-0 defeat to the hosts represented a bright spot, while a 5-1 loss to European dark horses Czechoslovakia was the lowest of lows for the Americans.
Russia 6-1 Cameroon (1994)
Already out after defeats to Brazil and Sweden, Russia salvaged some pride with this 6-1 hammering of a hapless Cameroon team still carrying Roger Milla well into his 40s. The Indomitable Lions star scored here but it was Oleg Salenko who broke records with five goals that helped him win the Golden Boot.
Spain 6-1 Bulgaria (1998)
Going into this final group game Spain knew that only a win would do against Bulgaria and even then they were relying on Nigeria to get a result against Paraguay. But as the goals began to fly in news got through that the South Americans were winning, something that prompted Spain to fire in even more, though it was ultimately in vain.
Germany 8-0 Saudi Arabia (2002)
The game that started it all for Miroslav Klose saw the World Cup’s all-time top scorer get off the mark with a hat-trick of headers. That Bayern Munich freak Carsten Jancker and an ageing Oliver Bierhoff also got found the net should tell you more than enough about the quality of opposition.
Argentina 6-0 Serbia & Montenegro (2006)
Jose Pekerman may have impressed at the helm of Colombia, but his true crowning moment at the World Cup remains this impressive dismantling of a team that qualified ahead of Spain in their group. Featuring the best team goal ever scored from Cambiasso and a goal from a young Lionel Messi, this game may just be the pick of the bunch.
Portugal 7-0 North Korea (2010)
North Korea were delighted after losing just 2-1 to Brazil in their opening game at this World Cup, though the same could not be said for their encounter with football’s other Selecao. A game featuring six different scorers, Cristiano Ronaldo had arguably the strangest, scoring after a strange bit of improvised back-of-the-head ball control.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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