The 2026 World Cup starts today! No sporting tournament captures the imagination quite like it – people from across the globe will be waiting feverishly to watch their team battle it out in the greatest spectacle on Earth.
Invariably, however, many of these people will be disappointed. After all, only one team can win the whole thing – and no one remembers a World Cup loser.
Of course, not all disappointments are created equally. Today, we’ll be looking at the five most underwhelming World Cup campaigns in history, from the very inception of the competition to the present day.
Brazil 1966
From the late 1950s to the 1970s, Brazil had an indomitable aura of invincibility around them. This might have eroded somewhat in the modern era – but back then, the Canarinho truly were A Maior do Mundo.
In 1966, however, this was not the case. After winning the 1958 and 1962 iterations of the tournament in dominant fashion, they were dumped out in the group stage when they travelled to England. In their defence, it wasn’t entirely their fault. Their opponents knew how much of a threat Pele was and targeted him accordingly.
Receiving little protection from the officials, Pele was ultimately injured and ruled out after just one game. With their star player neutralised, Brazil lost their next two group games, leaving them third in their table. To this day, this remains just the second time in which Brazil had ever failed to escape the group stage – and it happened during the height of their footballing dominance.
France 2002
France entered the 2002 World Cup as hot favourites. Having won the previous tournament in dominant style, Les Bleus were expected to make a deep run in South Korea – as you can probably imagine by their inclusion on this list, it did not happen.
Like Brazil in ’66, they were also hampered by injuries – their star player, Zinedine Zidane, wasn’t available to play until their final group game. By this point, France were already ‘hanging by a thread’ according to the contemporary BBC Sport match report. Having picked up just one point in their first two Group A games, their efforts were hampered further still when Thierry Henry was sent off against Uruguay.
Zidane finally returned to action for their third game against Denmark, but it was clear that ‘Zizou’ wasn’t match fit. Succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against the Danes, France finished bottom of their group with just a single point from three games.
Italy 2010
Italy’s 2006 World Cup campaign was magical. After 24 years without a World Cup trophy, Gli Azzurri put forth an herculean effort to return to the summit of the footballing heirarchy – not without a bit of rule-bending here and there, mind you.
Manager Marcello Lippi left his post under controversial circumstances after the tournament – nevertheless, he was re-appointed after Italy’s disappointing Euro 2008 performance. Unfortunately, he was unable to recreate the good fortunes of four years prior. Entering the tournament with a real ‘dad’s army’, nine players in their 23-man squad were over the age of 30.
Alarm bells immediately began to ring when they drew their first game with Paraguay, but the panic truly set in when they similarly were forced into a stalemate with highly-unfancied New Zealand in their second group match. The Italians needed to beat Slovakia in the third game – instead, they fell to a 3-2 defeat as their once-formidable backline crumbled under the pressure. Still, at least they qualified for this one.
France 2010
France pop up for the second time in this list – likewise, Italy’s campaign wasn’t the only disaster that befell a favoured team in the South Africa World Cup. While Italy’s petered out into depressing disappointment, France’s featured a complete internal implosion under the stewardship of the enigmatic Raymond Domenech. They almost failed to qualify, only making it to the tournament courtesy of a blatant handall from Thierry Henry against the Republic of Ireland.
Truthfully, the rot had set in well before 2010. They had led a dismal campaign in Euro 2008 under Domenech, but nothing could prepare Les Bleus for the catastrophy that awaited them. Domenech famously fell out with Nicolas Anelka, leading to the entire team going on strike mid-tournament. As matters off the field worsen, their performances on the pitch were even worse.
Drawing their first game against Uruguay, they then lost their following two group matches against Mexico and South Africa, having scored just one goal over the course of the entire tournament. Domenech was sacked, he in turn sued the French FA and the team returned home on an economy-class flight.
Spain 2014
Prior to 2014, Spain had won their previous three international tournaments – Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 were all largely dominated by the Spaniards. Nevertheless, no-one could have predicted their unprecedented collapse just two years later.
Coming up against The Netherlands in ther first game, Louis van Gaal had a clear plan to take on La Roja. Looking to make the game physical and direct, the Flying Dutchmen’s approach worked a treat – they opened Spain up time and time again, demolishing them by a score of 5-1 in one of the World Cup’s greatest-ever shocks.
Reeling from this, Spain would fail to rediscover their mojo. As The Netherlands defeated Australia, they needed to avoid defeat against Chile to avoid being dumped out. Nevertheless, the Chileans were fired up – they lived up to their billing as tournament dark horses, outclassing Spain to win by a score of 2-0. After just two games, the reigning champions were out.