When it comes to the World Cup possibly the biggest surprise is that pundits and fans are still surprised when a favourite is beaten by an unfancied nation. It happens at nearly every tournament and no doubt there will be unexpected results in Qatar, when the 2022 tournament gets under way in November. Who knows, maybe Ghana will repeat their great result from the World Cup in South Africa, when they managed to qualify to the quarter-final, where they lost to Uruguay after penalties.
The betting odds for the tournament will always favour the historically stronger international teams, so when it comes to World Cup 2022 betting tips, it is unlikely any will be predicting major upsets; but over the years there have been many, and some of the most unexpected are highlighted here. The odds for the World Cup are available at almost every bookmaker, and the best ones of them, offer players special promotions available, when you have their code, like 1XBET promo code, which you can find at the JohnnyBet website.
Uruguay 2-1 Brazil, 1950
This tournament was the only one in which the winner was decided in a group situation, rather than a one-off final. Brazil were the hosts and only needed to avoid defeat to be crowned world champions. They were massive favourites, having scored 23 goals in the previous 5 games and proceeded to take the lead early in the second-half. However, the plucky Uruguayans hadn't read the script and hit back with two late goals and snatched the trophy from the Brazilians grasp. There were officially 173,850 people in attendance, although others believe the number to be over 200,000. Either way it's the highest ever attendance, and those there witnessed one of the greatest shocks ever at a World Cup.
England 0-1 USA, 1950
In the lead up to this match The United States had lost seven internationals by a combined score of 45-2. England on the other hand were strongly fancied to go on and potentially lift the trophy. They were almost arrogant in their approach, seemingly believing they simply had to turn up to win. Incredibly a goal just before half-time by a part time dishwasher gave the Americans the lead and against all the odds, they held on to clinch one of the most unlikely victories in World Cup history.
West Germany 3-2 Hungary, 1954
It could be argued that Hungary have never fully recovered from this result. They were widely accepted as the best in the world at that time; unbeaten in 31 games, reigning Olympic champions, and full of highly talented players such as Ferenc Puskas and Nandor Hidegkuti. The Germans on the other hand had only played a few friendlies, as they were eased back into the international fold, after a period of exile after the war. The Hungarians raced into a two goal lead after just 8 minutes, but remarkably Germany overturned the scoreline to run out 3-2 winners. Hungary were never the same force again.
Algeria 2-1 West Germany, 1982
The Germans came into the game as European champions and tournament favourites, whilst Algeria were making their World Cup debut. In the lead up to the game German players were predicting eight goals in a shocking show off disrespect. It didn't take long for them to realise they'd massively underestimated their opponents and for long periods they simply couldn't get near the talented North Africans. At 1-1 the Algerians produced a marvellous passing move that ripped the German defence apart and gave them the lead, which they comfortably held onto, to seal a famous victory. Sadly a controversial win over Austria in the final group game for the Germans denied Algerian progress into the next stage of the competition.
Cameroon 1-0 Argentina, 1990
Argentina had won the 1986 World Cup and were expected to do well again, with what appeared a straightforward opener against the African nation that were largely unknown in footballing terms. However, The Indomitable Lions, as they were nicknamed, proved too strong and too skilful for the South Americans, who couldn't find a way back after a goal for Cameroon mid-way through the second half, who incredibly also finished the game with nine men, after having 2 sent-off, but still remained largely untroubled. They would go onto reach the Quarter-Finals, and frightening the life out of England, before eventually bowing out in extra-time.
France 0-1 Senegal, 2002
This game looked a complete mismatch. France came into the game as reigning World Cup winners, whereas this was Senegal's first ever appearance. The French were sluggish from the off, seemingly totally underestimating their opponents and it proved to be to their cost. El Hadji Diouf, who would go onto pay in the English Premier League, was the star of the show and once the West Africans got their noses in front, the holders never looked likely to find a way back and suffered a humiliating defeat.
It shows that bookmakers winning odds do not always tell the true story of how a contest will shape up. At Johnnybet's community of tipsters some enlightened member can spot these types of upsets through thorough analysis; something that the so called experts blatantly fail to do, or to be more accurate, never bother to do.