FIFA Men's World Cup

World Cup's 101 Most Memorable Moments: Andres Escobar's tragedy

Published Nov. 6, 2022 7:35 p.m. ET

Editor's note: Each day between now and the kickoff of the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we'll unveil a different memory from World Cup history. The countdown from 101 continues with Andres Escobar's fatal shooting.

Perhaps the darkest, most shameful moment in World Cup history came thousands of miles off the field, 10 days after Colombia captain Andrés Escobar's own goal in a group stage loss to the host United States in 1994.

Los Cafeteros were considered a dark horse to win the title that year. With a stacked team anchored by central defender Escobar, expectations were sky-high back home. But after an opening match loss to Romania, the Colombian team received what they regarded as credible death threats — the South American country was in mired in a violent drug war at the time — at the team hotel. Their nerves frayed, Colombia played tight against the home team. Seven minutes before halftime, the worst case scenario happened: trying to block a cross, Escobar inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net. The U.S. scored another after the break and held on to win 2-1, eliminating Colombia from knockout state contention before their final group match.

Back home in the city Medellín less than two weeks later, Escobar was confronted in a parking lot by a gang of criminals who had reportedly lost huge sums of money betting on Colombia's games. They taunted him for the own goal before gunning him down in cold blood in retaliation for the mistake. Escobar was just 27 years old.

The tragedy of Andres Escobar

Andres Escobar was shot and killed in Colombia for his mistake at the World Cup.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.