Sweden 7-1 Cuba: 1958 World Cup Quarterfinal

Sweden 7-1 Cuba: The Last Stand of the Caribbean Dark Horse

1958. Sweden. World Cup quarter-finals. Sweden vs Cuba. How did Cuba reach the World Cup quarter-finals? They were made up of a group of amateur players, training on sandy pitches in the streets of Havana. In the first round, they sensationally eliminated Romania—a European team—and miraculously advanced to the knockout stage.

But the miracle came to a halt in the quarter-finals. The hosts Sweden—the team boasting the Gre-No-Li trio—gave Cuba no chance. 7-1. Sweden's attacking firepower was overwhelming; they eventually finished as runners-up in that World Cup, losing at home to a 17-year-old Brazilian kid named Pelé. Cuba's World Cup journey was over, but their quarter-final record has stood to this day—no Caribbean team has ever gone further in the World Cup. More than sixty years later, Cuba can still say: 'We once reached the World Cup quarter-finals.' That statement came at the cost of a 7-1 thrashing.