Which is the only nation to win FIFA World Cup after losing opening match?

A feat like this took place only once in the history of the iconic tournament.

FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of international football and every player dreams of winning it for their country. Just to get into the tournament’s main stage requires a herculean effort to navigate past the qualifiers. It is one of the most-watched tournaments in the world. Winning it is extremely tough, particularly because of the competitiveness and unpredictability of the tournament. 

A peculiar fact about the FIFA World Cup is that only once has a nation won it after losing its opening fixture. Spain won the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa after losing their first match against Switzerland in a tough Group H that also had Chile and Honduras. 

The Spaniards had to win their next two matches against Honduras and Chile respectively, to finish top of the group despite the opening loss. The knockout stages saw Spain beat the likes of Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and finally Netherlands in the final. 

That remains the only occasion when a national team went on to win the FIFA World Cup despite losing the opening match.

Can Argentina repeat the same?

Argentina’s FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign began on a shocking note. They lost their opening fixture to Saudi Arabia by a 2-1 scoreline after taking an early lead through Lionel Messi. Many experts were of the opinion that the South American nation is a huge favourite to win the tournament that is taking place in Qatar.

However, with a demoralising defeat against Saudi Arabia, the task become mighty difficult. Argentina is yet to play Mexico and Poland in the upcoming fixtures. Anything short of two wins might not get them a place in the knockout stages. 

Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s manager, will hope to deliver the World Cup given that it is possibly the last one Lionel Messi will feature in.