Russia

The FIFA World Cup came home to Russia in 2018, and boy did they show up! With one of the lowest rankings, it was like finding a needle in a haystack to find someone betting on them. But this underdog nation put on a display of grit and determination that left everyone speechless.

Even though they didn’t snag the win, making it to the quarterfinal stage was a monumental achievement, especially for the first World Cup held in Eastern Europe. At a whopping cost of $14.2 billion, the 2018 tournament was the priciest in history before the Qatar 2022 event took over.