What is the FIFA World Cup Curse?

Germany were the latest victims of the jinx

There is something exciting about fan-made theories, myths, and stats in football. It adds a whole new dimension to the game and teams, which is why players keep a close eye on these sorts of things. We've seen such trends previously, such as Paul the Octopus's perfect predictions during the 2010 World Cup.

Speaking of such stuff, one can never forget about one of world football's biggest curses which no one could explain - 'The World Cup Curse'. Let's go deep into this curse, do a DNA test of this theory and figure out how much truth is behind this thing.

How much truth is in the 'World Cup Curse'

The World Cup Curse started as just a fluke but its impact in the last couple of World Cups has made it a real thing. As per this theory, the World Cup winning team faces the curse in their defending campaign as they poorly tumble and fail to even get past the group stage. Considering how a World Cup-winning team can suddenly have a downfall, this theory has shocked many people.

Also Read: FIFA World Cup: List of all the winners from 1930 to 2018

Let's take the example of Germany from the 2018 World Cup to understand how deadly this curse strikes. Heading to the 2018 World Cup, Germans were one of the top horses to win the title. Prior to the showpiece, they had won the Confederations Cup in 2017 with their second-string lineup. Clearly, they were one of the hot favourites. But things got really poor in the group stages only and they lost to South Korea and Mexico to crash out of the tournament.

When did it start and who have been the victims

The World Cup Curse started after the 1998 World Cup when France, who were defending champions in the 2002 World Cup, crashed out in the group stage. So far, France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014, and Germany in 2018 have been victims of this vicious trap. Surprisingly only European World Champions have been victims of this curse. The only exception is Brazil, who were champions of the 2002 World Cup and progressed from group stages in the 2006 World Cup.

What will happen in the 2022 World Cup?

Keeping up with trend, France might face the heat of this curse and might be the latest addition to the dubious group. However, this trend started with the France team only in 1998 and its end may be destined with the French. Looking at France's current team, they are one of the strongest units in the world. They have players like Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, and Paul Pogba who can win matches on their own. But this curse has had a deadly impact in the past and even deadly-looking teams have fallen. So we'll have to wait and see.