The Worst Performing World Cup Host Nations

Usually, home advantage gives the nations hosting a World Cup a big boost on the pitch, but that’s not always the case.

While those playing host have ended the tournament as World Champions on six occasions, others haven’t done nearly as well on home turf.

Here are the five worst performing host nations in World Cup history.

5. Japan (2002)

Japan World Cup — Japan made the last 16 in 2002. | Getty/AFP

Relative to expectations, Japan didn’t do too badly in 2002, and they only make our top five because host nations usually perform so well.

Having played three World Cup matches and lost all three prior to the edition they co-hosted with South Korea, few expected them to earn a point—let alone reach the last 16. Yet they did just that, thanks to a draw with Belgium and wins over Russia and Tunisia.

That gave fans hope they could beat Turkey, but it wasn’t to be—a 1-0 loss ended their run.

4. South Africa (2010)

South Africa became the first ever host nation to exit at the group stage in 2010 and, frankly, weren’t very good—but they still exceeded expectations.

Bafana Bafana drew with Mexico and beat France, although that victory is slightly less impressive given that the French staff and players were literally at each other’s throats at the time.

Siphiwe Tshabalala scoring the tournament’s opening goal, however, was undoubtedly the high point—immediately cementing itself as one of the all-time great World Cup moments.

3. USA (1994)

The USA were naff on home soil in 1994. | Getty/AFP

FIFA hoped that hosting the World Cup in the United States would finally break America—making “actual” football popular across the pond—but the quality of the USMNT at the time made that a difficult task.

They scraped through the group stage as one of the best third-placed sides, thanks to a win over a Colombia team many claimed was bribed—which says it all.

Brazil then arrived and made light work of the U.S., bringing their disappointing tournament to an end.

Oh, and Diana Ross missed a penalty in the opening ceremony.

2. Spain (1982)

Spain England 1982 World Cup — Spain were no match for England in 1982. | Getty

Heading into the 1982 World Cup, Spain hadn’t made it past the first round since 1950, and hosting didn’t exactly improve their fortunes.

They stumbled through the opening stage, losing to Northern Ireland, drawing with Honduras and narrowly beating Yugoslavia, before crashing out in the second group stage after a loss to West Germany and a somewhat fortunate 0-0 draw with England.

1. Qatar (2022)

Most expected Qatar to be the worst World Cup host nation ever—and they didn’t disappoint.

Dreadful in their opening group match against Ecuador, with a 2-0 defeat that flattered them, they were then beaten 3-1 by Senegal and 2-0 by the Netherlands—crashing out with no points, seven goals conceded and just one scored.

They became the only host nation ever to record “nul points,” as the French say.

Shambolic.