List of worst World Cup performances

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New York New Jersey Stadium (temporarily renamed from MetLife stadium) is seen from the inside ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in East Rutherford, New Jersey on May 7, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

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Tunisia’s miserable World Cup campaign ended with zero points and a minus-10 goal difference after three Group F games following a 3-1 defeat by the Netherlands on Thursday.

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Here, AFP Sport takes a look at the previous teams to rack up a minus goal difference of double digits while failing to get a group-stage point on the board:

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North Korea (2010)

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Group record (played, won, drawn, lost, goals scored, goals against, points): 3 0 0 3 1 12 0

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— North Korea got off to a promising start in a fiendishly difficult Group G with a narrow 2-1 loss to Brazil, but were brought back down to earth by a 7-0 thumping at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and a 3-0 defeat by Ivory Coast.

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Saudi Arabia (2002)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 0 12 0

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— The Saudis got off to the worst possible start as Miroslav Klose scored his first World Cup goals with a hat-trick in an 8-0 victory for Germany, which was followed by 1-0 and 3-0 losses for Saudi Arabia to Cameroon and the Republic of Ireland respectively.

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Greece (1994)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 0 10 0

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— Another team which failed to score a goal on this list, Greece opened with 4-0 defeats by Argentina and Bulgaria, before losing 2-0 to group winners Nigeria.

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El Salvador (1982)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 1 13 0

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— El Salvador were the victims of the heaviest defeat in World Cup history when they lost 10-1 to Hungary in their opener. They then suffered further losses to Belgium and Argentina, as Hungary remarkably joined them in failing to go through.

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New Zealand (1982)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 2 12 0

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— New Zealand’s first World Cup didn’t go to plan in Spain, losing 5-2 to Scotland, 3-0 to the Soviet Union and 4-0 to Brazil.

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Mexico (1978)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 2 12 0

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— Perhaps a surprising nation on this list, Mexico kicked off their campaign in Argentina with a 3-1 defeat by Tunisia, were thumped 6-0 by reigning champions West Germany and then were beaten 3-1 by Poland.

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Zaire (1974)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 0 14 0

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— Zaire lost 9-0 to Yugoslavia, either side of a 2-0 loss to Scotland and a 3-0 reverse against Brazil. Now the Democratic Republic of Congo, they returned to the global stage earlier this month, getting their first-ever point against Portugal.

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Haiti (1974)

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Group record: 3 0 0 3 2 14

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— Like DR Congo, Haiti also last played at the World Cup 52 years ago, when they also conceded 14 goals. A creditable 3-1 loss to Italy was followed by a 7-0 humbling by Poland and a 4-1 defeat against Argentina.

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South Korea (1954)

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Group record: 2 0 0 2 0 16 0

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— Still the unwanted record holders for the worst World Cup, South Korea lost their first-ever match in the tournament 9-0 to Hungary, for whom Sandor Kocsis scored a hat-trick and Ferenc Puskas netted twice. It didn’t get much better in their second and last group match – a 7-0 thrashing by Turkey.

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Special mention – Bolivia (1950)

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Group record: 1 0 0 1 0 8 0

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— Originally a 14-team World Cup with two four-team groups and two three-team groups in 1950, Bolivia ended up with only Uruguay for company in Group 4 after France withdrew from the tournament. Uruguay made short work of the ‘group’, winning 8-0 before going on to lift the title for the second time.

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