Defending a championship can be very challenging because success begs for more success. The expectations and pressure on teams heading into a title defense campaign are always very high.

Although many have turned it into great strength, several others have faltered under the weight, and ended up having outings to forget due to how humiliating it was.

Just as it is happening to Premier League champion Manchester City at a stage in the 2024-25 campaign, we take a look at ten of the most notable instances from the 21st century, where defending champions failed to live up to their previous triumphs:

Top Ten Worst Defending Champions in the 21st Century Football

1. France at the 2002 FIFA World Cup

After clinching the 1998 World Cup on home soil, France headed to the 2002 edition as one of the favorites, with the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry in their prime.

Despite their second position on the FIFA ranking, they suffered a shocking group exit without scoring a single goal, losing to Senegal and Denmark, and drawing with Uruguay.

2. Valencia in the 2004-05 La Liga Season

Valencia won their eighth league title in the 2003-04 campaign, beating second-place Barcelona to the crown by five points, despite losing their final two games in that season.

They didn’t have it the fun way in the following season, finishing seventh on the log, as a run of one win in ten games between rounds 19 and 28 proved costly. They’ve not won another league title to date.

3. Greece at UEFA European Championship 2008

In an unforeseen turn of events, Greece went all the way to clinch the UEFA European championship title on home soil, beating Portugal in a rematch of the curtain raiser in the final.

The success made the expectations very high four years later in Austria and Switzerland, where they were the highest-rated team in Group D, facing competitions from Sweden, Russia, and eventual champions, Spain.

They endured a nightmare outing, losing all three games and scoring just a goal, which came in a 2-1 loss to Spain in their final group game.

4. Italy at FIFA World Cup 2010

Crowned champions four years earlier, the Azzurri arrived in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with less excitement as many of their stars in the previous edition had retired, while the team wasn’t the most competitive.

They endured a horrendous outing under their World Cup-winning boss Marcello Lippi after picking up two points and finishing in a group of Paraguay, Slovakia, and New Zealand, forcing the legendary manager to resign right after the tournament.

5. Egypt in AFCON 2012

The Pharaohs did not just win the 2010 AFCON tournament in Angola, they dominated like a true champion, winning all six games and scoring 15 goals, more than double any other nation.

However, they failed to make it to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon two years later to defend their crown, after a humbling qualifiers, where they finished bottom of Group G, behind Niger, South Africa, and Sierra Leone.

6. Chelsea in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League

Chelsea had a spectacular to the final of the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League, where they were crowned winners for the first time ever, after beating Bayern Munich on penalties, right in the Bavarians’ Allianz Arena in Munich.

However, the following saw a less determined team turn up, and they were eliminated in the group stage after finishing third in a group that saw Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk progress.

7. Spain at FIFA World Cup 2014

Spain’s golden generation was one of a kind. In 2012, they became the first country ever to win three consecutive major titles, winning back-to-back UEFA European championships on the back of their triumph at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

They however faltered two years later in Rio de Janeiro during the FIFA World Cup, exiting the competition after just two group games, which they lost to the Netherlands and Chile.

Vincent del Bosque’s charge had been eliminated before their 3-0 dead rubber win over Australia in their final group game.

8. Nigeria at AFCON 2015

The Super Eagles of Nigeria secured their third AFCON title in a remarkable outing in Zambia in 2013 under the watch of the late Stephen Keshi.

Unfortunately, they lost out in the qualifiers for the next edition and failed to make it to Ghana 2015, where Ivory Coast was crowned champions for the second time in their history.

Nigeria finished third, behind South Africa and Congo in a disappointing qualifying campaign, which saw them record eight points from six games.

9. Leicester City in the 2016-17 Premier League season

Leicester City had a fairytale run to the Premier League title in 2015-16, after struggling to avoid relegation in the previous season. Against the odds, the side led by Claudio Ranieri achieved one of the greatest underdog stories in football.

However, the following season wasn’t so kind. Although they have made themselves a force, they weren’t expected to repeat the feat, and they ended up in 12th in the following season.

With 44 points, Leicester City were just four points above the dropzone, had a goal difference of -15, and had one of the worst defensive records in that campaign.

10. Germany at FIFA World Cup 2018

Germany sealed their fourth FIFA World Cup title in Rio de Janeiro 2014 when they thrashed host Brazil by a record knockout round 7-1 scoreline in the semi-final and defeated Argentina in a final settled on penalties.

Four years later in Russia 2018, they were humbled extraordinarily, starting with a 2-0 loss to Mexico, they did give themselves an iota of hope thanks to a Toni Kroos penalty memorable goal from a free-kick routine to salvage a point against Sweden.

Nevertheless, their vulnerabilities were exposed again in their final group game as they bowed out of the tournament following a defeat to South Korea.