Eight Surprising Moments in World Cup History

VIVA – The 2022 World Cup will be presented in a matter of days, starting on November 20 to December 18, 2022. The edition for this year will be the first time World Cup will be held in winter. As remembered, the host of Qatar is in the Middle East region which makes this championship impossible to hold in the summer.

Although there are few changes, the World Cup remains one of the most eagerly awaited football matches for the public because this tournament between countries is sure to bring up many interesting stories, such as champions and others.

Here are some surprising moments in World Cup History:

1. National Team of France Had Elimination in the Group Stage of the 2002 World Cup

France's elimination in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup was one of the most unexpected things to come out of that edition. How could it not be, they came with the status of defending champions and consisted of world-class players ranging from Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira, and Fabien Barthez.

In fact, It was not enough to make Les Bleus repeat its glory in the 1998 edition when it hosted. France's poor performance continued into the next match where they were held to a goalless draw by Uruguay (0-0) and lost to Denmark 0-2.

France also returned home early because they finished as caretakers of Group A after only being able to collect one point from three matches.

2. South Korea Finished Fourth in the 2002 World Cup

South Korea is one of the national teams that have many proud players, such as Park Ji-sung, Hwang Sun-hong, and Ahn Jung-hwan. The team also had an impressive coach, Guus Hiddink who made the South Korean team progress further.

A convincing performance was shown starting from the group phase by defeating Poland and Portugal. One other match ended in a draw against the United States. South Korea finished as Group D champions with 7 points.