There are few things in international football more embarrassing than losing to a much smaller country – just ask India after their World Cup 2018 qualifying defeat to Guam.
The tiny US territory, smaller than the Isle of Wight, has a population of just 150,000.
However they took giantkilling to new heights by seeing off a country with more than 7,000 times as many people.
To put this into perspective, Guam have only played two World Cup qualifying matches in their history – but their 16-0 defeat to Tajikistan and 19-0 loss against Iran were more than a decade ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y_8N2d0x_A
Managed by English coach Gary White, whose playing career in his home country consisted of 28 games for lowly Bognor Regis Town, Guam are ranked 174th in the world, between Turkmenistan and Laos.
Their goals against India were scored by Brandon McDonald, a 29-year-old defender without a club since his release by Swedish second-tier side Ljungskile in 2014, and Travis Nicklaw, a 21-year-old student at San Diego State University in the US.
https://twitter.com/tnicklaw/status/610760007160717312
So is this the biggest international giantkilling ever? JOE took a look back through history at some other contenders.
American Samoa 2-1 Tonga, November 2011
Back in the first qualifying round for the 2002 World Cup, American Samoa claimed an unwanted record when they lost 31-0 to Australia – the biggest ever defeat in international football.
A decade later the tiny US territory was still without a competitive win, but an overhaul of their setup, documented in Mike Brett and Steve Jamison’s excellent film Next Goal Wins, meant there was a wave of optimism going into qualifying for the 2014 tournament.
Nevertheless, their 2-1 win over Tonga was a remarkable achievement, particularly when you consider that even now no American Samoa player has more than two international goals to their name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GO5QZEQ3LU
North Korea 1-0 Italy, July 1966
When North Korea travelled to England for the 1966 World Cup, Asian teams were yet to win or even draw a game in the competition.
As a result, little was expected (or indeed known) of the country. However, they remarkably made it to the knock-out stages after snatching a late point against Chile and stunning Italy with a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park.
They almost made it even further, opening up an early three-goal lead against quarter-final opponents Portugal, only for the great Eusebio to take over and inspire a turnaround for the European side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV0L-4k38cc
Bolivia 6-1 Argentina, April 2009
Sometimes it’s the manner of defeat that hurts as much as the result, and Diego Maradona’s tenure as Argentina coach reached its nadir on April Fool’s Day.
The world cup winner must have felt like the butt of a particularly unfunny joke when his team failed to cope with the altitude in La Paz, watching on as a hat-trick from Joaquin Botero helped the unfancied Bolivians to a famous victory.
Greece 0-1 Faroe Islands, November 2014, and Faroe Islands 2-1 Greece, June 2015
The Faroe Islands, with a population of less than 50,000, were without a win since June 2011 when they travelled to Athens for a qualifier against 2004 European Championships winners Greece.
Not only did they beat their illustrious opponents, who made the second round of the World Cup in Brazil just months earlier, but they then completed an historic double in Torshavn seven months later.
That’s something to celebrate, as we’re sure you can agree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TsvXJvKcbM
