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The greatest World Cup upset: USA 1 – England 0 at the 1950 tournament
💡 The USA's 1-0 victory over England in 1950 — scored by a part-time dishwasher's diving header — remains the World Cup's most improbable upset.
In the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, the United States — a team of part-time players including a mailman, a dishwasher, and a hearse driver — faced England, then considered the best team in the world and making their World Cup debut.
England dominated possession and hit the woodwork repeatedly, but in the 37th minute, Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens dove to head in a deflected shot. The final score: USA 1, England 0. The result was so shocking that some newspapers assumed it was a typo and reported it as 10-1 to England.
The English players were so embarrassed that the match was barely discussed in Britain for decades. Meanwhile, in Belo Horizonte where the match was played, the Brazilian crowd had cheered wildly for the Americans — they wanted Brazil's group-stage rival weakened. It remains one of sports' greatest upsets.