Five of the Best International Football Shocks

1. Greece winning Euro 2004

Perhaps the greatest football shock of all time was Greece's sensational triumph at Euro 2004, in what was only the second time they had ever qualified for the European Championships. Expected to be at the tournament merely to make up the numbers, despite topping their qualification group ahead of Spain, Greece's run started with a 2-1 win over Portgual. They then drew with Spain, but were inches away from being eliminated during a 2-1 defeat to Russia - had Russia scored a third late on, Greece would have been eliminated. In the quarter-finals, they defeated holders France 1-0 with a goal from Angelos Charisteas to become the first team ever to defeat both the hosts and defending champions in the same tournament. The semi-finals saw them face the much fancied Czech Republic and it took a silver goal header from Traianos Dellas to send them through to the final against hosts Portugal. The final took place in front of a partisan home Portuguese crowd but Charisteas' second half header was enough to secure Greece a 1-0 and complete one of the greatest upsets in football history.

2. Cameroon 1-0 Argentina, World Cup 1990

In the opening round in Italy, World Cup holders Argentina - who had won the competition in Mexico four years earlier - faced Cameroon. The Africans soaked up pressure from the South Americans for much of the first half, and were reduced to ten men early in the second half when Andre Kana was sent off. But the ten-men of Cameroon took a shock lead thanks to a header from Francois Omam Biyik. Argentina continued to press, and despite Cameroon having a second man sent off in the dying minutes, they held on to pull off a major upset. Argentina still went on to reach the World Cup final again that year, losing to West Germany.

3. North Korea 1-0 Italy, World Cup 1966

Middlesbrough was the unlikely scene for this World Cup shock, when North Korea defeated Italy 1-0 thanks to a Park Doo-Ik goal in the 1966 World Cup to reach the quarter-finals. They became the first Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals, and in turn eliminated the Italians. Their style of play captured the hearts of fans in Middlesbrough, who followed them in their thousands to Liverpool for their last eight game where they went 3-0 up against Eusebio's Portugal before eventually losing 5-3. North Korea haven't been at a World Cup since, but have recently qualified for next year's showpiece in South Africa, and who's to say they can't pull off another shock...

4. South Korea 2-1 Italy, World Cup 2002

Some 36 years after their Korean rivals had done the same, South Korea shocked Italy in the 2002 World Cup on home soil. Ahn Jung-Hwan, who ironically played his club football for Italian side Perugia, scored a golden goal winner to send the co-hosts through to the quarter finals. Jung-Hwan saw an early penalty saved by Italy 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who then took the lead through Christian Vieri. Seol Ki-Hyeon's 88th minute equaliser sent the game to extra time, and with just minutes to play, Jung-Hwan's header sealed an incredible win. Their win was even more notable as it meant teams from each of Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia reached the quarter-finals of the same tournament. South Korea then defeated Spain on penalties to become the first Asian team ever to reach the World Cup semi-finals, and write their names in to history. They went on to lose the semi-final 1-0 to Germany.

5. USA 1-0 England, World Cup 1950

We couldn't do a feature on football shocks without mentioning the 1950 World Cup and the USA's 1-0 defeat of England in a game dubbed the "Miracle on Grass". The semi-professional Americans took on England, widely regarding as one of the best sides in the world, and took a shock lead in the 37th minute when Joe Gaetjens found the back of the net. The Americans held on to record a shock win. It was so unexpected that newspapers in both the US and England neglected to give the game much coverage, with some presuming the result was a typing error and that England had in fact won 10-0 or 11-1. It remains the USA's biggest victory ever in football, despite the 2-0 win over Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup.

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