The Most Shocking Results in International Football History

International breaks are often derided as an unnecessary and boring distraction from the league calendar.

However, once in a while a truly jaw dropping result reminds us exactly what is so appealing about them. Most recently this came in the form on Spain besting Germany 6-0 in Nations League. The result could represent the beginning of the end - or just the end - of the Joachim Low era and it was compulsive viewing.

Just where does it rank on the international football shock-o-meter though? Well, take a look at these other similarly unbelievable results (in no particular order) and make your own mind up.

1. England 1-2 Iceland (2016)

Let's get this one out of the way, shall we?

In what would prove to be Roy Hodgson's final every game as manager, England were booted out of Euro 2016 in the Round of 16 by Iceland - a country with a smaller population than Stoke-on-Trent.

After the game Alan Shearer described it as the worst performance he'd seen from a Three Lions team. Fair enough.

2. France 0-1 Senegal (2002)

Going into the 2002 World Cup, France were the holders and one of the favourites.

Their frontline of Sylvain Wiltord, David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry was among the very best on the planet and they were expected to dispatch Senegal easily in their first game.

That is not how it went though with El Hadji Diouf setting up Papa Bouba Diop for the game's only goal in the first half. Many of the Senegalese players were born or played in France, making the victory even sweeter.

3. England 5-1 Germany (2001)

5-1! EVEN HESKEY SCORED!

The chant remains a favourite among England's travelling support and it also gives a neat summation of the events on 1 September 2001.

Just one year removed from a disastrous Euro 2000, the Three Lions bested Germany 5-1 in their own back yard... and yes, even Heskey scored.

4. Spain 0-2 United States

The Confederations Cup may not be the most illustrious of competitions, but that did not make the United States' 2-0 over European champions Spain any less shocking.

Future misfiring Sunderland striker Jozy Altidore got the first goal while Fulham favourite Clint Dempsey grabbed the second in what was a truly incredible day for American soccer.

5. Brazil 1-7 Germany (2014)

It's difficult to describe just how momentous Brazil's 7-1 defeat to Germany felt at the time.

Mineiraço - or the Agony of Mineirão as the result has been dubbed - led to rioting in the streets, the end of several players' international careers and more Tweets than any other sporting event in history.

This wasn't just a football match, it was a significant cultural moment in Brazil's modern history.

6. Argentina 0-1 Cameroon (1990)

In 1990, reigning world champions Argentina were shocked by a Cameroon side whose club accomplishments were modest to say the least.

Just minutes after Andre Kana-Biyik was sent off on the hour mark, the Indomitable Lions took a shock lead when Nery Pumpido let Francois Omam-Biyik's header squirm under his hands.

Cameroon then did whatever it took to secure the win with Benjamin Massing nearly slicing Claudio Caniggia in half with a particularly unhinged challenge. The tackles earned him a red card and his side all three points two minutes from time.

7. Switzerland 1-0 Spain (2010)

European champions Spain were the best team in the world by some distance going into the 2010 World Cup.

Although they would go on to win the competition, things do not get off to a great start with lowly Switzerland nicking a 1-0 win against Vicente del Bosque's side on Matchday One.

Gelson Fernandes was the man with the goal - one of only two strikes Spain would concede en route to World Cup glory.

8. Brazil 1-2 Uruguay (1950)

As what learned from entry five on this list, Brazil loves to christen its humiliating results with a special name.

Maracanazo - or the agony of Maracana - started this tradition in 1950.

All Brazil needed to do to claim the World Cup on home soil was avoid defeat against an inferior Uruguay side. Some 200,000 spectators packed inside the national stadium but all of them went home disappointed as their side fell to a 2-1 defeat. Awkward.

9. Bolivia 6-1 Argentina (2009)

An Argentina team containing the likes of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano fell to a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bolivia in 2009.

The ridiculous, oxygen-starved altitude in La Paz may have played a role but still, SIX. That is ridiculous.

After the game, coach Diego Maradona said, "every goal was like a stab in my heart." Ouch.

10. USA 1-0 England (1950)

Back in 1950, England were a footballing powerhouse. Meanwhile, the United States side was made up of part-timers and failed collegiate athletes.

Despite this, the Americans would secure a famous win at the World Cup that year with Haiti born forward Joe Gaetjens getting the only goal in a 1-0 victory.

The incredible result was scarcely believable at the time and it has since spawned a best-selling book and feature film telling the story.

11. Sweden 8-1 Belgium 1924

Going into the 1924 Olympics, Belgium were the reigning football champions, making their 8-1 defeat to Sweden quite the shock.

Rudolf Kock and Sven Rydell both bagged hat tricks for their sides in a front of a crowd of 9,000 in Paris.

12. Portugal 0-1 Greece (2004)

Greece had already performed several miracles to get to the Euro 2004 final, surely they couldn't actually win it? Their chances were especially slim as they were up against hosts Portugal and a highly partisan home crowd.

Even with the odds stacked against them, an iconic header from Angelos Charisteas saw Otto Rehhagel's side secure a famous victory which made Cristiano Ronaldo cry.

Result.

13. Italy 1-2 South Korea (2002)

In a game marred by a string of comical refereeing decisions, Italy were booted out of the 2002 World Cup by co-hosts South Korea.

After Christian Vieri had nodded his side in front, an 88th-minute Seol Ki-hyeon strike sent the game to extra time. Then things got very weird.

First Francesco Totti was sent off for a soft second yellow, before Ahn Jung-hwan won the game for Guus Hiddink's side with just three minutes to play.

14. Northern Ireland 1-0 Spain (1982)

Faltering against Northern Ireland in their final group game did not prevent hosts Spain from progressing into the Last 16 of the 1982 World Cup but oh boy, was it embarrassing.

The Boys in Green had Gerry Armstrong to thank for one of its greatest moments.

The midfielder smashed home just after half time to spark wild celebration on the streets on Belfast. The result ensured that the minnows topped Group 5 while Spain had to settle for second.

15. Liechtenstein 0-0 Republic of Ireland (1995)

Liechtenstein is a tiny microstate tucked away in the Alps with a population of less than 40,000.

Their football team are the whipping boys of Europe - even Malta smashed them 3-0 recently.

How then, did these minnows manage to grind out a 0-0 draw against a Republic of Ireland side containing Denis Irwin, Phil Babb and Niall Quinn in 1995? It's a mystery.

16. Brazil 0-2 Honduras (2001)

In what remains the biggest shock in Copa America history, Honduras managed to defeat Brazil 2-0 to reach the semi finals of the 2001 tournament.

They weren't even supposed to be in the competition originally, being drafted in to replace Argentina who withdrew at the 11th hour.

After the final whistle, Luiz Felipe Scolari said, "I will go down in history as the Brazil coach who lost to Honduras - it's horrible."

Bit harsh.

17. Algeria 2-1 West Germany

Back in the 1980s, African football was not respected in Europe. A turning point in challenging these patronising attitudes was Algeria's shock victory over West Germany during the 1982 World Cup.

All of the goals in the Desert Foxes' 2-1 win came in the second half with Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi netting either side of a Karl Heinz Rummenigge strike to secure a stunning win.

Years later in 2014, Germany would enact their revenge with a 2-1 World Cup victory of their own.

18. Greece 0-1 Faroe Islands

In terms of FIFA rankings, this is officially the biggest footballing upset of all time.

Back in 2014 18th-ranked Greece tasted a 1-0 home defeat against the Faroe Islands - ranked 187th at the time.

The Greek manager that day was Claudio Ranieri. What he orchestrated after this would be even more miraculous than what the Faroe Islands managed to achieve...

19. Spain 1-5 Netherlands (2014)

Spain's team in 2014 wasn't the all conquering tika taka machine of previous years but they were still reigning European and world champions.

This made their 5-1 defeat to Netherlands on the opening day truly incredible.

The horrific result was a sign of things to come from Spain with Del Bosque's side failing to progress from Group B.

20. West Germany 3-2 Hungary (1954)

In Germany, the 1954 World Cup final is known as the Miracle of Bern and quite rightly.

Somehow, Die Mannschaft managed to defeat one of the greatest international sides of all time, Hungary's Golden Team aka the Mighty Magyars.

It remains one of the greatest World Cup shocks ever and its legendary status would only increased when the 1956 Hungarian Revolution tragically broke up the defeated finalists.

21. Ivory Coast 3-0 Algeria (1982)

This is considered one of the biggest shocks in African football history.

Algeria had won the Africa Cup of Nations two years before but they fell two goals behind the Ivory Coast inside 45 minutes, with Abdoulaye Traore and Youssouf Falikou Fofana getting on the scoresheet.

Joel Tiehi rounded off the scoring.

22. Iraq 3-1 Australia (2007)

You'd think Australia would have a pretty good record in the Asian Cup, but their only success in the tournament came in 2015.

In 2007, the Socceroos participated in the competition for the first time and were surprisingly smashed by Iraq, a country hardly known for its footballing prowess.

Strangely enough, the Western Asian nation would win the tournament, beating Saudi Arabia in the final.

23. Brazil 0-3 France (1998)

Did Ronaldo have a seizure? Well, he clearly wasn't in the right state to play a game of football, let alone a World Cup final.

Brazil's players were evidently shaken by the legendary striker's wellbeing and they fell to a 3-0 defeat to France courtesy of goals from Zinedine Zidane and Emmanuel Petit.

Ronaldo later revealed: "We lost the World Cup but I won another cup – my life."

24. Italy 1-1 New Zealand (2010)

Defending champions Italy had a massive mare at the 2010 World Cup. Not a small one, a massive one.

Group F returned four draws from six games but New Zealand holding the Azzurri, having taken the lead through Shane Smeltz, was remarkable.

A 3-2 defeat to Slovakia saw Italy finish bottom of the group, behind New Zealand who drew all three of their games.

25. North Korea 1-0 Italy (1966)

North Korea made their World Cup debut in 1966. They may have only featured in the competition once since then, but their first campaign saw them claim a brilliant victory over Italy.

Doo-Ik Pak got the goal at Ayresome Park, helping his side beat a nation that had previously won the tournament in 1934.

26. USA 2-0 Spain (2009)

OK, so maybe the Confederations Cup isn't given the most respect when compared to other international tournaments.

That being said, not many expected Spain, a side then in their prime, to suffer defeat to the USA.

Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey secured of their country's greatest ever victories, though they would lose to Brazil 3-2 after taking a two-goal lead.

27. Belgium 1-3 Wales (2016)

Hal Robson-Kanu etched his name into Welsh footballing history in this Euro 2016 quarter final, sending Belgium's defence for multiple hotdogs before firing past Thibaut Courtois.

Radja Nainggolan had put the favourites ahead with a rocket from distance, but Wales captain Ashley Williams equalised before Robson-Kanu netted his iconic strike.

The win was wrapped up when Sam Vokes' towering header flew past Courtois in the 85th minute.

28. Germany 0-2 South Korea (2018)

This game is forgotten a little too easily, especially given that Manuel Neuer decided to play as an attacking midfielder in the late stages.

The Germans, defending World Cup champions, couldn't find the breakthrough they needed to send them through to the knockout stages of the 2018 World Cup before Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min scored in injury time.

It was the first time since 1938 that either West Germany or a unified German team had failed to advance beyond the first stage of the competition.

29. Netherlands 2-3 Czech Republic (2015)

Most neutral supporters were sad to see the Netherlands fail to qualify for the 2016 Euros.

The Dutch had finished third at the 2014 World Cup but lost their way in the next couple of years, culminating in a 3-2 defeat to the Czech Republic.

The visitors played with two men for most of the fixture, but the Netherlands failed to make their numerical advantage pay.

30. Australia 31-0 American Samoa (2001)

Right, so it's probably not a shock to see Australia beating American Samoa. But 31-0? Really? That's like a goal every three minutes.

Archie Thompson ended up getting 13 goals and FIFA changed their qualifying rules shortly afterwards so results like this wouldn't happen again.