The World Cup is entering its quarterfinal stage after a wild roller-coaster ride that has produced plenty of shocking moments during the first three weeks of the tournament.
Spain, Argentina, Portugal and Germany have crashed out, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leaving within hours of each other – and arguably that wasn’t the biggest shock of the tournament.
Here are the top ten biggest shocks of the World Cup so far.
DE GEA GAFFE COSTS SPAIN
David de Gea came into this World Cup after the latest in a long line of stunning seasons at Manchester United had earned him the reputation as the best goalkeeper in the world.
It took one game for a hole to be poked in that resume, as he spilled a tame shot from Ronaldo into the net during Spain’s 3-3 draw with Portugal.
MESSI’S PENALTY MISS
Speaking of holes being poked, this was not a kind tournament for Messi. It all started with a missed penalty against Iceland.
Despite Messi’s patchy record from 12 yards, few would have doubted him as he strode to the spot against Iceland, only for the Barcelona superstar to hit a tame penalty that was saved by Hannes Halldorsson.
MEXICO STUN CHAMPIONS
Germany’s World Cup went from bad to worse. This was the bad.
Perhaps the signs should have been there as the reigning champions laboured through a five-match winless run during friendlies after they’d already qualified, but nobody expected that they’d come up against Mexico and do anything other than win.
Hirving Lozano and company had other ideas.
CROATIA DOMINATE ARGENTINA
Messi’s penalty miss against Iceland was only the beginning of his misery.
His Argentina side struggling even with him in their line-up is a familiar story, but being outclassed like this is a rare experience. Croatia showed up and played Jorge Sampaoli’s side off the pitch in a 3-0 trouncing inspired by a superb performance from Luka Modric.
SHAQIRI, XHAKA MAKE STATEMENT, EARN WRATH
Normally, two players scoring goals in a come-from-behind win at the World Cup would be beyond reproach from their own fans. But Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka earned the wrath of the Swiss faithful despite leading their team to a 2-1 win.
The reason? Both Shaqiri and Xhaka were born to ethnic Albanian parents from Kosovo, a country born out of a long history of suppression by Yugoslavia, what is now Serbia – as fate would have it, the team on the receiving end of the Shaqiri and Xhaka-inspired comeback. So both players made the Albanian eagle with their arms during their goal celebrations. The Swiss fans – who have not been universally welcoming of players with mixed ethnic backgrounds – were not happy.
For Albanians and Kosovans, however, the celebrations were inspirational.
SOUTH KOREA SEND GERMANY PACKING
Germany had beaten Sweden to get their World Cup back on track – or so it seemed. Instead, this was when it went from bad to worse.
The champions huffed and puffed and all but blew the door down – except the door was a wall in front of the South Korea goal. And a combination of superb defending and goalkeeping and Germany’s own profligacy meant they couldn’t score. Then, the sucker punches came, as two injury-time goals gave the Koreans their most famous win – and sent Die Mannschaft home after a shocking early exit.
JAPAN QUALIFY IN FARCE
10 minutes left in Group H. Japan, losing 1-0 to Poland, were second in the table by the skin of their teeth. Senegal were losing by the same score to Colombia, and Japan went on to seal a qualification place from the group – on fair play. If the Samurai Blue conceded another goal, picked up two more yellow cards, or Senegal scored, they’d be out.
So, instead of pushing for an equaliser that would make their spot in the knockout stage secure, Japan decided the safest way to win was to not play at all. Their players passed the ball amongst themselves at the back, making sure their game would end exactly as it was – a 1-0 defeat, no more bookings – and hoping Senegal’s would too.
That’s exactly what happened. But the farcical end left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.
MESSI, RONALDO GO HOME TOGETHER
If anyone had asked World Cup organisers what a dream scenario for this tournament would have been, either Messi or Ronaldo lifting the trophy would have been near the top of the list. So the events of June 30 were a near nightmare. Messi’s Argentina lost to France, and hours later, Uruguay dumped out Ronaldo and Portugal. The two legends were going home on the same day.
This summer was looked at as a chance for one of the two to strike a definitive blow in the “greatest of all time” debate. Instead, all that’s really happened is that they’ve been pulled back to the pack by previous legends who have football’s biggest trophy on their resume.
HOSTS GIVE SPAIN COLD SHOULDER
Even accounting for Russia’s home advantage, they weren’t expected to reach the knockouts this summer. Not when they were the lowest-ranked side at the tournament when it began.
But if qualifying from their group was defying expectations, that was nothing compared to what happened next. Going up against Spain, the hosts eschewed the exciting, goal-laden football that had captured the hearts of their home fans but did them one better, stifling the Spaniards and then knocking them out in a dramatic penalty shootout.
ENGLAND BURY PENALTY GHOSTS
What could be more shocking than England winning a penalty shootout?
It had never happened at a World Cup before. Indeed, penalty shootout heartache is woven into the fabric of England’s footballing culture. They just don’t win them.
But this is a new England. After being pegged back by Colombia’s injury-time equaliser, their confidence must have taken a hit, but they kept their nerve after a cagey extra-time period to stun the world by doing the one thing they’re not supposed to do. They won a penalty shootout.