Biggest Upset in Football in 2025

Football has seen its fare share of highs and lows. In 2025 we have seen some closely fought contests and some one sided ones while there were also some teams who played above their level and caused upsets to the biggest teams. In this article we will look at three biggest Upset in Football this year. The international matches did not see many upsets so we focus on the domestic side and dive deep into the world of underdogs.

1. Al-Hilal 4-3 Manchester City (Round of 16)

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal stunned Manchester City 4-3 in extra-time in Orlando to pull off one of the biggest shocks of the Club World Cup and set up a quarterfinal clash. Marcos Leonardo scored his second of the night in the 112th minute as Al Hilal beat the Premier League club, who had taken a ninth minute lead through Bernardo

Silva. The scores were even and the match went to extra time.

Al Hilal went ahead four minutes into extra-time when Koulibaly rose to glance home a header from a corner but City levelled once again, substitutes Rayan Cherki and Foden combining for the England international to steer a sublime volley. Al-Hilal would not be denied and Leonardo claimed his second of the night after seeing Ederson save Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s header, the weary Brazilian stumbling as he steered the winner home.

2. Botafogo 1-0 PSG (group stage)

This was arguably one of the biggest upset of the year. Igor Jesus scored as Brazilian side Botafogo beat European champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 1-0 in their group stage match in the FIFA Club World Cup, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, United States. It was the first loss for the French side in the tournament while Botafogo played out of their skins to pull of the win.

Igor Jesus was the star as he scored in the first half when his strike from outside the area deflected off defender Willian Pacho and past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Botafogo defended superbly for the rest of the game to keep out PSG side, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Goncalo Ramos missing out some good chances to equalise. The victory meant Botafogo, who won their first Copa Libertadores title in 2024 were on the brink of qualification to the knockout stages.

3. Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea (group stage)

Flamengo bounced back a first-half deficit to defeat Chelsea 3-1 in their Club World Cup Group D. They had an excellent second half with goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace Yan securing the Brazilian side’s second consecutive win in the tournament. Pedro Neto’s early strike had put Chelsea ahead, but the Premier League side squandered several opportunities to extend its lead, allowing Flamengo to stage a stirring comeback.

Flamengo continued to look for the equaliser and the Brazilian side were again denied an opportunity when Gonzalo Plata failed to connect. Flamengo would eventually level the clash when sub Bruno Henrique poked home a header in the 62^nd minute. Filipe Luis’ side would take the lead just three minutes later when Danilo tucked home Bruno Henrique’s header. Chelsea were then hit by a red card as Nicolas Jackson, who had only just come onto the pitch, was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Ayrton Lucas, which would see Chelsea reduced to 10 players with 20 minutes remaining. The three points were sealed in the 83^rd minute when Wallace Yan connected with Plata to find the bottom-right corner and score his first goal for the Brazilian side. This was a memorable clash and one of the great come from behind victories.