8 worst teams to play in a World Cup

Defeated by rout and, at times, without scoring a single goal in the World Cup, these teams experienced true humiliation.

Every World Cup year, it's common for us to take our national team's shirt out of the drawer and set up a meeting point with friends to watch the games. In any case, we always prepare to see our team shine and we are ready to cheer with the crowd when the players score goals.

The truth is that as loyal fans, all we have left is to keep our expectations high and hope that our team emerges from the World Cup as champions.

However, this festive atmosphere was not always enough for the worst teams that played in a World Cup. After all, there are teams that went through the World Cup and marked their history with a lot of shame and embarrassment, even with a hopeful fan base. Follow along below!

1.  Saudi Arabia

In 2002, it was Saudi Arabia's turn to become one of the worst teams to play in the World Cup. In this edition, the Arabs conceded 12 goals in a total of 3 games, of which 8 were scored by the German team, in the first game. Is it or isn't it to discourage anyone?

Unfortunately, the team returned home without a single goal scored in the World Cup in the edition in which our team was five-times champion.

2.  China

Although it is a great power, China has only been to the World Cup once in the 2002 edition. In the group stage, the Chinese team played against Costa Rica, Turkey and Brazil, losing to all of them. In fact, the biggest defeat suffered was against Brazil, as the Canarian team scored 4-0.

3.  Greece

Not even the Greeks were left out of this. The Greek team's debut in the World Cup was in 1994, the same year in which our team lifted the tetra cup. However, it was not such a happy moment for the Greeks, as they barely arrived and left the championship without points, not even goals.

4.  Zaire

What happened to Zaire in the 1974 World Cup is proof that a lack of investment in sport can demotivate any athlete. At the time, players from Zaire, currently the Democratic Republic of Congo, went to the World Cup without any motivation, as they would not receive anything from the local government.

And then you saw it. The selection received 14 goals during the World Cup and left without scoring at least one goal. In the game against Yugoslavia alone there were 9 goals.

5. Haiti

Debuting in the 1974 World Cup, Haiti finished the championship, conceding 14 goals during the three games they played. And his worst performance was in the game against Poland, when they lost 7-0. Did you think that was terrible? The biggest scandal wasn't even that rout, but the doping of athlete Ernst Jean-Joseph with ephedrine.

This was the first doping scandal in the history of the World Cup. The player in question was tortured and imprisoned by Baby Doc.

6. El Salvador

El Salvador is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the worst teams to have played in the World Cup. And this nickname is due to two participations in the World Cup. In both, the Salvadoran team did not win any matches.

In 1970, they played against Belgium and won 3-0. Against Mexico he was surprised by the 4×0 victory, and in the dispute against the Soviet Union 2×0. Now, in the 1982 edition, the selection conceded 10 goals in a match against Hungary. And the worst: the team was eliminated, as they did not score points in the World Cup. A shame, no?!

7. South Korea

In the 1954 edition, South Korea was marked in the world cup after taking some chocolates. It is worth mentioning that the team at the time was made up of amateur army soldiers in the football world.

That said, let's move on to the embarrassments. The Koreans lost 9-0 to Hungary in the first game and, in the second, 7-0 to Turkey. Now, the most amazing thing is that, these days, South Korea consists of largest selection in Asian football. If that isn't rising from the ashes, we don't know what is.

8. Bolivia

A single victory kept the Bolivian team out of the next phase of the 1950 World Cup. However, in the decisive match against Uruguay, the Bolivians returned home after conceding 8 goals. In fact, it is worth highlighting that this edition of the championship took place in Brazilian lands, more precisely at the Independência Stadium, in Minas Gerais.

Did you enjoy getting to know the worst teams that played in the World Cup? So share this post with your friends on social media and stay with us for more content like this. In fact, you already checked What interesting facts have we listed about the Qatar Cup?