Top 12 World Cup Underdogs Who Made History

Co-hosts South Korea became the first Asian nation to reach a World Cup semifinal, eliminating Spain on penalties and Italy 2-1. Dutch coach Guus Hiddink forged relentless fitness and organization. Over 7 million Koreans gathered in public viewing areas for the semifinal against Germany, turning the Red Devils into one of football's greatest supporter movements.

The United States shocked England 1-0 in one of the greatest World Cup upsets ever. The result was so improbable that several newspapers assumed it was a misprint.

Playing in their first World Cup as an independent nation after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champions France, then beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-place playoff. Davor Suker's six goals won him the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, capping a debut that exceeded every expectation.

Morocco became the first African and Arab nation to reach a World Cup semifinal, beating Belgium, Spain (on penalties), and Portugal. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was heroic with clean sheets against Spain and Portugal. Coach Walid Regragui's compact 4-1-4-1 suffocated possession teams. The celebrations in Doha and Casablanca were among the most emotional in tournament history.

Bulgaria reached the semifinal at USA 1994 after knocking out defending champions Germany in the quarterfinals — the tournament's biggest shock. Hristo Stoichkov, who shared the tournament's Golden Boot with Russia's Oleg Salenko, drove an unforgettable run to the final four.

Turkey finished third in only their second ever World Cup. Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal in tournament history — just 11 seconds into the third-place play-off.

Algeria reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in their history at Brazil 2014, then pushed eventual champions Germany deep into extra time in the round of 16 before losing 2-1. Islam Slimani's tournament form and the team's relentless attacking play made them a breakout story of the tournament and turned the squad into national heroes back home.

Drawn into what was widely billed as the 'Group of Death' alongside former champions Uruguay, Italy, and England, Costa Rica topped the group unbeaten. They then won a penalty shootout over Greece in the round of 16 before finally falling to the Netherlands on penalties in the quarterfinals — an extraordinary overachievement for a team given little chance of even escaping the group.

Switzerland reached the quarterfinals on home soil at the 1954 World Cup, upsetting Italy 2-1 in a group-stage playoff along the way. Their run ended in one of the wildest matches in World Cup history — a 7-5 quarterfinal defeat to Austria in Lausanne, after Switzerland had raced to a 3-0 lead in stifling heat. It remains the highest-scoring match in World Cup history.