From North Korea to Senegal: the great surprises of World Cup debutants
North Korea in 1966, Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 toppled giants on their debut. In 2026 Cape Verde and Curaçao aim to follow suit.
World Cup history is full of debutants who dared to take on the favourites. The first big blow came from North Korea in 1966: they beat Italy 1-0 on 19 July, through a Pak Doo-ik goal, and reached the quarter-finals. There they even led Portugal 3-0 before losing 5-3 to a towering Eusébio, who scored four.
In 1990, Cameroon pulled off another feat. The «Indomitable Lions» toppled reigning champions Argentina (1-0, an Omam-Biyik goal) in the opening match and became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals, with an eternal Roger Milla coming off the bench.
The script repeated in 2002: debutants Senegal beat world champions France 1-0 in the opening match through a Papa Bouba Diop goal, and also reached the last eight. Four years earlier, Croatia had finished third on their first participation as an independent nation (1998), with Davor Šuker as top scorer.
In 2026, the baton passes to this edition's debutants, such as Cape Verde and Curaçao — the latter the least populous nation ever to qualify for a World Cup. History says the newcomers should never be underestimated.
Source: Wikipedia (1966, 1990, 1998 and 2002 World Cups).