To agree with the exceptional Garry Lineker on this one, football truly is a simple game where the Germans eventually win. But what makes football truly interesting is where a dog finally has its day in the sun.
Today we talk about those underdogs and the unexpected wins recorded by lesser teams. And there have been a few occasions where the Germans also lost. If you want to predict the next underdog win, be sure to do that with bet365 nj.
Brazil vs Uruguay 1-2 (1950 World Cup)
The 1950 World Cup did not have a final. Instead it had a round-robin system where four of the group winners needed to play against each other to determine the champion.
Brazil was not only the favorite to win because of being the host nation. They also had a remarkable team comprised of respectful players. And they only needed a draw.
However, Uruguay was not having it and they won both the game and the 1950 World Cup trophy by getting a 2-1 victory at the famous Maracana stadium in Rio.
West Germany vs Algeria 1-2 (1982 World Cup)
West Germany were the current ruling European Champions during the 1982 World Cup. They had a team that was pitted to go all the way and win the cup. Instead they finished as the runners up by going down against Italy by 3-1.
But an early indication of the West Germans not having a good tournament was the inaugural loss that they suffered at the hands of Algeria in the group stages. Algeria won the game by 2-1 and West Germany edged out a spot for the next round with a controversial victory against the Austrians in the final match.
Greece vs Portugal 1-0 (2004 Euro Cup)
Nothing about this tournament made sense. Eventually, the Greek side took advantage of the entire situation and unexpectedly won the competition with a win over Portugal in the finals.
The hosts of Euro 2004 were seen as early favorites and everyone predicted a landslide victory for the Portugal side that featured the likes of Luis Figo and Rui Costa. But the match was settled in the 57th minute when Charisteas scored the most important goal in Greek football history and brought them the trophy.
Liverpool vs Milan 3-3: 3-2 pen (2005 Champions League)
The 2005 Champions League final is perhaps the greatest comeback in world football history. AC Milan was the favorites to win and their odds jumped much higher when they took a decisive 3:0 lead before the end of the half.
However the second part of the game was a different story. Liverpool managed to rally back and send the game to penalties. Jerzy Dudek found the strength to claw back from a bust to a hero and helped Liverpool record their newest Champions League Trophy.
Senegal vs France 1-0 (2002 World Cup)
The 2002 World Cup had many shockers that are even talked about today. But none underdog victory was more shocking than the one seen in the opening game. Senegal was the team that had qualified for the World Cup final stage for the first time and many saw them as only being happy to be there. France, on the other hand, was the ruling Euro Cup champion and defending champion. So nothing less than a landslide victory was expected.
However, Senegal proved everyone wrong by scoring a 1-0 victory courtesy of Papa Bouba Diop. Interestingly, the Senegal entire squad was composed of players that played for French clubs, so they knew the French system well and had prepared for it.
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