{"id":1478911,"date":"2026-08-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=cult-corner&#038;p=1478911"},"modified":"2026-08-13T16:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T15:18:08","slug":"post-world-cup-football-shocks","status":"publish","type":"cult-corner","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/cult-corner\/post-world-cup-football-shocks\/","title":{"rendered":"13 shocks to have come in seasons following World Cups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>There is a lot of excitement heading into the 2026\/27 season.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Football has felt pretty much nonstop over the summer due to the World Cup, and that was barely done before preparations started for the new campaign. There has been talk of this being an unpredictable season in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/premier-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Premier League<\/a>, with so many new managers and changes to teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Little do they know. In the past, some of the seasons immediately following a World Cup have brought up big shocks both in leagues and cups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;ve taken a trip down memory lane, in anticipation for what could really be a crazy campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-blackburn-make-unwanted-history\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blackburn make unwanted history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>1998\/99<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/blackburn-rovers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blackburn Rovers<\/a> already pulled off a shock when winning the Premier League in 1994\/95, coming the campaign after a World Cup. It was their first league title since before the First World War, and third overall. But what came four years later was probably the even bigger shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having finished sixth in 1997\/98, Blackburn were competing in the Uefa Cup after France 98 but were knocked out in the first round. Rovers had lost some of their big names across 1998\/99 and despite spending big to add to their squad, the quality wasn&#8217;t there &#8212; from new faces and old. Chris Sutton, who had scored 18 league goals in 1997\/98, netted three in 1998\/99. A season to forget, Blackburn finished 19th and became the first-ever former Premier League champions to suffer relegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-palmeiras-suffer-first\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Palmeiras suffer first<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2002 World Cup came inbetween this infamous year for Palmeiras, but the memorable moment came after the tournament was done. Palmeiras are one of Brazil&#8217;s biggest clubs, and had reached the Copa Libertadores semi-finals in 2001. But that wasn&#8217;t a sign of things to come. Palmeiras were in a new era without the financial backing they had previously had, losing key sponsor Parmalat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After watching Brazil lift the World Cup in Asia, club football returned with the second-half competition &#8212; the Brazilian Serie A. Palmeiras had finished second in the league stage of their regional championship, level on points with Corinthians. They were only knocked out in the semi-finals on fair play. So their struggle in the Serie A wasn&#8217;t expected. But Palmeiras won just six of their 25 league games &#8212; the joint-least &#8212; alongside nine draws and 10 defeats, sending them down for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-west-ham-not-too-good-to-go-down\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">West Ham not too good to go down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2002\/03<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you hear talk of a team not being &#8220;too good to go down&#8221;, English football fans of a certain age will most likely be thinking of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/west-ham-united\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">West Ham United<\/a>. To this day, their relegation remains the biggest in Premier League history based on points. The Hammers&#8217; 42 points would have seen them finish 16th in both 2001\/02 and 2003\/04. But the level was higher in 2002\/03.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West Ham&#8217;s shock relegation came after their had finished seventh in 2001\/02, boasting a lot of young English stars. But they had started the new campaign poorly, and sitting bottom of the table at Christmas after winning only three of their opening 24 games. They looked dead and buried going into February, but did turn things around. West Ham only lost one of their final 11 league games, winning six including a win over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/chelsea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chelsea<\/a> in their last home game. But a final-day draw against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/birmingham-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Birmingham City<\/a>, coupled with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/bolton-wanderers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bolton Wanderers<\/a>&#8216; win over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/middlesbrough\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Middlesbrough<\/a> saw the Hammers condemned to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/championship\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-real-sociedad-say-goodbye\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Real Sociedad say goodbye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2006\/07<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the 2006 World Cup ended, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/real-sociedad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Real Sociedad<\/a> were preparing for their 40th season in Spain&#8217;s top flight. During that time they had won two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/la-liga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">La Liga<\/a> titles and finished in the top four nine times in total. But their time was up. This wasn&#8217;t necessarily a shock relegation, it had been on the cards with three successive bottom-half finishes. But it was still a big moment for the former champions to end an era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lack of goals was the real killer for La Real, who needed a league-low 30 goals en route to relegation. Savio was their top scorer in the league, netting five goals in 19 games having joined midway through the season. That alone should show how poor Real Sociedad&#8217;s attack was. They finished the campaign five points from safety, with just eight wins from 38 and would spend three seasons in the second tier before finally returning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-deportivo-la-coruna-depart\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deportivo La Coruna depart <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another big-name Spanish relegation followed the 2010 World Cup, won by Spain. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/deportivo-de-la-coruna\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deportivo La Coruna<\/a> shocked everyone with their La Liga title win in 1999\/2000, finishing five points clear of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/barcelona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barcelona<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/valencia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Valencia<\/a>. They built on that with four more top-four finishes, becoming a regular face in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/champions-league-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Champions League<\/a>. But it wouldn&#8217;t last. Deportivo La Coruna&#8217;s relegation was a bit more of a shock than Real Sociedad&#8217;s, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Deportivo La Coruna had fallen out of Champions League continue, they hadn&#8217;t dropped too much. Deportivo finished eighth twice, but one of those campaigns saw them qualify for the Intertoto Cup. They had dropped as low as 13th in 2006\/07, but still bounced back enough to qualify for the Uefa Cup through a sixth-placed finish. In 2009\/10, Deportivo finished 10th, but a year later, they were down. It was partly due to a more-competive league, with Deportivo having just four fewer points than the previous campaign. But the real problem was a lack of goals, just 31 scored &#8212; the lowest in the division &#8212; and 13 draws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-birmingham-stun-gunners\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Birmingham stun Gunners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Post-World Cup craziness isn&#8217;t always bad. Birmingham City can attest to that, to some extent. The Blues were relegated from the Premier League in 2010\/11, finishing 18th in their second campaign back in the top flight. It had come after a ninth-placed finish on their return, which might have had Birmingham fans dreaming of a long stay. But while they did suffer relegation, there was cup success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For just the second time in their history, Birmingham won a major trophy, lifting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/efl-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">League Cup<\/a> for the second time. The Blues were massive underdogs going into the 2011 final, facing an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/arsenal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arsenal<\/a> side looking to end a growing trophy drought. Birmingham took the lead against Arsenal just before the half-hour mark through Nikola Zigic, but Robin van Persie had the Gunners level by half-time. Just as the game looked to be edging towards extra time, though, Obafemi Martins capitalised on a mistake by Laurent Koscielny to score and win the cup for Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-river-plate-class-of-2011-make-history\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">River Plate class of 2011 make history<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back to the bad shocks, River Plate were relegated for the first time in their 110-year history in 2010\/11. And this may have been a bigger shock for those who weren&#8217;t affair of the Argentine Primera Division system. Relegation from the nation&#8217;s top flight worked over three seasons, punishing consistently poor campaigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">River Plate&#8217;s run started in 2008\/09 when they picked up 41 points, only improving that to 43 the following campaign. It meant that a 57-point season in 2010\/11 wasn&#8217;t enough to save them from the relegation play-off. Their average of 1.237 was less than the likes of Olimpo (1.263) and All Boys (1.342) who were only present for the 2010\/11 campaign. River played Belgrano in their two-legged playoff match, losing the first game 2-0. The return fixture finished 1-1 but had to be abandoned in the final minute due to fan unrest. It was dubbed the saddest day in River Plate&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-sampdoria-relegated\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sampdoria relegated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sampdoria had finished fourth in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/serie-a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Serie A<\/a> in 2010\/11, entering the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. They were matched up against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/werder-bremen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Werder Bremen<\/a> and only lost 5-4 on aggregate after extra time in the second leg. Still, they made it to the Europa League group stage. But a potential dream season turned out to be a nightmare, with Sampdoria relegated from Serie A at the end of 2010\/11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They started the season well enough, losing just three of their first 16 fixtures before the winter break. Although they did also draw eight alongside five wins. But the real killer came in the second half of the season. Sampdoria won just three of their final 22 games, alongside four draws and 15 defeats &#8212; including a run of nine matches without victory. It saw them finish five points behind 17th-placed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/lecce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lecce<\/a>, and drop to Serie B. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-lille-end-long-wait\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lille end long wait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back to some happiness in the 2010\/11 season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/lille\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lille<\/a> ended a 56-year wait for a trophy by lifting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/ligue-1-predictions-betting-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ligue 1<\/a> title. It was also their first league title in 57 years, and just a third overall, while being part of a Double thanks to the Coupe de France win. This title win hadn&#8217;t really been on the cards, though Lille were improving. They had slowly climbed the table, but their previous four league finishes read 10th, seventh, fifth and fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Lille side was special though. It boasted the likes of Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye and Gervinho, as well as Idrissa Gueye, Adil Rami and Mathieu Debuchy. Moussa Sow was the goalscoring maestro as Lille dropped to the title with the best attack in the league. They won 21 of their 38 games, finishing eight points clear of second-placed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/olympique-marseille\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marseille<\/a> who were also the defending champions. They also lost just four times, the fewest in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-dortmund-s-shock-title-win\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dortmund&#8217;s shock title win<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2010\/11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In hindsight, this won&#8217;t look like a surprise. It was the first of two successive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/bundesliga\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bundesliga<\/a> title wins for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/borussia-dortmund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Borussia Dortmund<\/a> under Jurgen Klopp. But when the first title came in 2010\/11, it wasn&#8217;t on the cards. The Black-Yellow had finished fifth the season prior, 13 points behind champions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/bayern-munchen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bayern Munich<\/a>. Dortmund went big in the summer, though, signing some soon-to-be very recognisable names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A young Polish striker called Robert Lewandowski was signed from Lech Poznan, also joined in the window by Shinji Kagawa and Lukasz Piszczek. Now, Lewandowski only scored eight goals and his real impact didn&#8217;t come until the following year. But it marked the start of a new era. Lucas Barrios was Dortmund&#8217;s top scorer that season, netting 16 goals in the league en route to the title. Dortmund finished seven points clear at the top of the table and 10 ahead of defending champions Bayern, who had to settle for third. They beat Bayern home and away in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-bradford-s-great-cupset\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bradford&#8217;s great cupset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2014\/15<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now this was just a shock result in a single game. But it&#8217;s worth a mention as one of the biggest moments of the post-2014 World Cup campaign. Chelsea were en route to the Premier League and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/efl-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Capital One Cup<\/a> and may have gone for in their quest for a treble or even a Quadruple. Then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/bradford-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bradford City<\/a> came to Stamford Bridge. The Bantams were in League One at the time and more interested in becoming third-tier mainstays. And their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/fa-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FA Cup<\/a> run appeared to be finishing in the fourth round when Chelsea took a 2-0 lead in the first half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Jon Stead scored just before half-time to keep Bradford in the tie. They were level in the 75th minute thanks to former Chelsea player Filipe Morais and rather than holding out for a replay, Bradford went for it. Andy Halliday gave the visitors a dream lead with less than 10 minutes to go, before Mark Yeates came off the bench to wrap up the 4-2 victory. They weren&#8217;t facing a team full of rotated players either. Petr Cech, Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ramires, Oscar and Didier Drogba all started for Chelsea. And Eden Hazard came off the bench after Bradford&#8217;s equaliser. A giant-killing worthy of the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-corner-taken-quickly\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Corner taken quickly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2018\/19<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/barcelona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barcelona<\/a> made history in 2017, with the largest comeback in Champions League history. Their 6-5 aggregate victory over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/paris-saint-germain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paris Saint-Germain<\/a> in the last-16 was immortalised as La Remontada. But they have been on the receiving end of a few comebacks since. One came in the season following the 2018 World Cup, when they were seeking to reach the Champions League final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Blaugrana looked on course to reach the final in Madrid, beating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/liverpool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Liverpool<\/a> 3-0 in the first leg thanks to Luis Suarez and a brace from Lionel Messi. They travelled to Anfield feeling in control and Liverpool&#8217;s 1-0 lead at half-time through Divock Origi wouldn&#8217;t have worried Barcelona too much. But Liverpool were level on aggregate before the hour-mark, with Georginio Wijnaldum scoring twice in three minutes. Then came the moment, Trent Alexander-Arnold took a corner quickly with Barcelona caught unawares, finding Origi in the box to finish and complete the comeback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-leicester-join-blackburn\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leicester join Blackburn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Season: <\/strong>2022\/23<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/leicester-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leicester City<\/a> will be playing League One football in 2026\/27. If you had told their fans that in the summer of 2022, you&#8217;d have been laughed at. The Foxes had finished eighth in 2021\/22, also winning the Community Shield and reaching the semi-finals of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/europa-conference-league\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Europa Conference League<\/a>. Their summer transfer business wasn&#8217;t drastic either, with only Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel the significant departures.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Leicester started the season in terrible fashion, taking just one point from their opening seven games. That did include fixtures against Arsenal, Chelsea, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/manchester-united\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manchester United<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/tottenham-hotspur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tottenham Hotspur<\/a>. They did get a god run of form going, with five wins from their next eight games. And then the Premier League took a break for the 2022 World Cup. Leicester lost their first four games when the Premier League returned, and won just five of their final 22 league games. They lost 14 of those and suffered a nine-game streak without victory in which they only picked up one point. The second former Premier League champions to be relegated from the top flight.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football betting tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a lot of excitement heading into the 2026\/27 season. Football has felt pretty much nonstop over the summer due to the World Cup, and that was barely done before preparations started for the new campaign. There has been talk of this being an unpredictable season in the Premier League, with so many new&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":1479593,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"post-world cup shocks","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"There is a lot of excitement heading into the 2026\/27 season and campaigns following World Cups have been known for their shocks.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1478911","cult-corner","type-cult-corner","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>13 shocks to have come in seasons following World Cups | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is a lot of excitement 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