Saudi Arabia crashed to a 5-0 defeat in their opening match against Russia, and Uruguay’s esteemed strike partnership of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez threatens to further damage their goal difference on Wednesday. Can they avoid being added to the nominations for the worst World Cup teams?
China 2002, Points 0, goal difference -9
China have since pumped billions into football with the aim of establishing the country as a superpower, a hotbed of tomorrow’s talent. Yet their first World Cup – held in South Korea and Japan – proved an ordeal, pitted as they were against the eventual winners Brazil and semi-finalists Turkey, together with Costa Rica. They possessed a little knowhow in the shape of Li Tie and Sun Jihai, formerly of Everton and Manchester City respectively, but a 4-0 defeat by a Brazil team including Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo showed a gulf in class. It was a learning curve for their old-school manager too, with Bora Milutinovic failing to reach the knockout stage for the first time after success with Costa Rica, Mexico, Nigeria and the USA.