Tunisia join unwanted World Cup club, from Bolivia 1930 to South Korea 1954 to Greece 1994 | OneFootball

Tunisia’s 1-5 loss to Sweden followed by a 0-4 defeat to Japan has put them in an unwanted World Cup club. According to L'Équipe, only Bolivia 1930, South Korea 1954 and Greece 1994 had previously lost their opening two finals matches by four goals or more.

At the inaugural 1930 tournament, Bolivia stood out for their shirts as much as their football. Their players wore white tops bearing single letters to spell Viva Uruguay for a pre-match photo, but a late-arriving team-mate left it reading Viva Urugay. On the pitch they lost 0-4 to Yugoslavia, then 0-4 to Brazil, both in white kits distinguished only by blue Brazilian shorts and black Bolivian shorts, and they waited 64 years for their only World Cup point, 0-0 with South Korea.

South Korea reached Switzerland 1954 six years after the team’s creation and a year after the ceasefire with North Korea, becoming Asia’s second finalists after the Dutch East Indies. Drawn against future finalists Hungary and Türkiye, they had only two group games. Hungary won 9-0 as Sandor Kocsis hit a hat-trick, and coach Gusztav Sebes remarked that the Koreans showed spirit but lacked refined technique and tactical know-how.

Greece’s World Cup bow came at Foxborough on 21 June 1994, forever tied to Diego Maradona’s final Argentina goal, a left-foot curler into the top corner. The 34-year-old was later found to have tested positive for ephedrine, while Gabriel Batistuta struck a hat-trick in a 4-0 win.

Four days on, Greece lost 4-0 to Bulgaria as Hristo Stoitchkov scored twice on his Ballon d’Or year. Beaten 0-2 by Nigeria in their third game, they would wait 16 years for a World Cup win, beating the same Super Eagles 2-1 in 2010.

Source: L'Équipe