Spain 1950
Spain at Brazil 1950 produced a performance that lives among the great forgotten achievements of World Cup history. In the final round-robin the unique format that replaced a knockout bracket Spain stunned England 1-0 in one of the most significant results of the early World Cup era, with Telmo Zarra heading the winner. It was England's first ever World Cup defeat. Zarra, the prolific Athletic Bilbao striker, finished as one of the tournament's top scorers. Spain also drew with Uruguay before a heavy 6-1 defeat to Brazil ended their hopes of the title. They finished fourth Spain's best World Cup result until their triumph in 2010, sixty years later. In an era when Spanish football rarely competed on the world stage, the 1950 campaign was a rare moment of international prestige.