It's hard to imagine a worse World Cup than Tunisia's 2026 campaign.
After two matches, the Eagles of Carthage are already eliminated from contention for the knockout stages. They've been hammered 5-1 by Sweden and 4-0 by Japan, giving them a minus-8 goal differential. Their final match is against the Netherlands, which has every incentive to bury Tunisia to try to top Group F. The Dutch are currently level with Japan atop the group, and their result against Tunisia will decide if they win the group or go through in second.
For good measure, Tunisia fired its coach, Sabri Lamouchi, after the loss to Sweden. Tunisia brought in Herve Renard to try to fix things, to no avail. That marked the first time a team had fired their coach after one World Cup match. By every account, Tunisia's World Cup has been a disaster.
And yet, it might not be the worst World Cup performance of all time. Here's a look at the absolute worst World Cup teams in history.
Zaire (1974)
This remains the absolute lead standard, because of dictatorial interference. Zaire, now DR Congo, saw its soccer team as a vehicle for dictator Mobutu Sese Seko to rally national pride. As such, Mobutu invested heavily in the national team, giving the players a car and a house for qualifying.
However, he neglected to pay them, and the players protested. After giving a credible showing in a 2-0 loss to Scotland, the players debated forfeiting to Yugoslavia. But when Mobutu threatened their families if they refused to play, they took the pitch and provided no opposition, losing 9-0. A humiliated Mobutu told his players that if they lost by four goals or more to Brazil, they wouldn't be allowed to return home.
They lost 3-0 and were instead not allowed to leave the country once they returned. Zaire's record: Zero goals scored, 14 against. No country has ever performed that poorly, and DR Congo didn't make the World Cup again until this year.
Haiti (1974)
At least the Haitians scored. In fact, they scored first against Italy, an absolute shock to everyone. It was mostly downhill from there, as they fell 3-1 to the Azzurri. Losses to Poland (7-0) and Argentina (4-1) followed, leaving the Haitians with a minus-12 goal differential.
Haiti didn't have the excuse of a power-mad dictator interfering with the team. It was merely overmatched. Had Zaire not actively protested its nation, Haiti would be remembered as the worst World Cup team in history.
El Salvador (1982)
The Salvadorans were never supposed to get through. CONCACAF had only ever had one representative until 1982, and Honduras and Mexico were supposed to be the two teams. But Mexico managed to draw three of its five qualifiers, finishing one point behind second-place El Salvador.
El Salvador's government treated the shock qualification as a party. Literally. The team was allocated 22 roster spots, but the Salvadoran government used two of them to send government officials to Spain for a paid vacation. Despite the players trying to raise money themselves to get their final two teammates to Spain, it was to no avail, as the Salvadoran Football Federation claimed a 20-man squad was more than enough.
It wasn't, as El Salvador found itself on the wrong end of a 10-1 beating against Hungary. It remains the largest rout in World Cup history. Things got weirder from there: the players overthrew coach Mauricio Rodriguez, played a scrimmage against their hotel's staff to rebuild their confidence and actually played decently in their remaining matches, losing 1-0 to Belgium and 2-0 to Argentina. El Salvador has never returned to the World Cup.
China and Saudi Arabia (2002)
The first World Cup to be held in Asia featured some truly awful squads. With South Korea and Japan removed from qualifying as co-hosts, the door was opened for the rest of Asia to come through. China and Saudi Arabia got through, with hopes that the short travel would give them favorable odds.
It didn't work for either one. Saudi Arabia lost its opening match 8-0 to Germany, and China proved almost as poor in a 2-0 loss to a much weaker Costa Rica. For the tournament, China and Saudi Arabia were outscored by a combined 21-0, and the Saudis edged the Chinese for last place by virtue of conceding 12 to China's 9.
Amazingly, they weren't the only teams to get shut out at the 2002 World Cup. Defending champion France also failed to score, the only time that's happened. France's rotten showing sucked up all the headlines, allowing China and Saudi Arabia to slink off in anonymous disgrace.
Qatar (2022)
Usually, the host nation shines at the World Cup. In 1998, France won its first title. In 2002, South Korea made the semifinals. This year, all three of Mexico, Canada and the United States eased past the group stage. Only twice has a host failed to get past the first hurdle: South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022.
At least South Africa managed to beat France and finish third in its group. Qatar, however, became the first host nation to lose all three group matches. The Crimsons had no business being in a 32-team World Cup, and played like it. They scored on Senegal, but a minus-6 goal differential and three defeats is easily the worst host showing of all time.
Tunisia (2026)
With a coaching change and two heavy defeats, it really has been that bad. What's remarkable is that Tunisia was actually very good during qualifying. In fact, the Eagles of Carthage did something no other country has, as they qualified without ever giving up a goal.
Maybe things would have been different if Equatorial Guinea hadn't forfeited three matches and been able to make Tunisia work for qualification. Regardless, Tunisia has been overmatched from the opening minute.
Now comes the Netherlands, and with it one final chance to salvage some dignity. Lose by five or fewer and Tunisia avoids the ignominious territory Zaire occupies alone. Lose by six or more with no outside forces to point to, and this squad has a strong claim to the worst World Cup performance in history.
The record books are watching.
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