National cup

The format of national cups vary from country to country but they usually share many characteristics. The tournament is typically a knockout format where matchups can be played as a single match or a two-legged tie.^[1] Teams may enter the tournament in different rounds depending on their league rank.^[4] Lower ranked teams would enter in earlier rounds or in a qualifier for the main tournament. A national cup will be played over several months and runs concurrently with the league season. The winner of a national cup may qualify to a super cup or a continental competition.^[5]

A giant-killing, also known as an upset, is when lower-league sides slay the 'giant' of a team objectively viewed as the odds-on favorite to win the tie, or the whole tournament.^[6]

Whereas Points-based competitions such as the Premier League rely on teams maintaining consistent form for the duration of the campaign, the stakes are much higher in national cup matches, which follow a knockout format, as everything is on the line during the course of a single match.

Some examples of giant-killings include :

• Hereford United 2-1 Newcastle United, which was an FA Cup Third round replay after the first match had resulted in a 2–2 draw. The result, a 2–1 extra time victory for Hereford, is notable for being one of the greatest shocks of all time in the history of the FA Cup, as Hereford were the lowest-ranked non-league side to beat a top-flight opposition in English footballing history. The home team, Hereford United, were playing in the Southern Football League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The away team, Newcastle United, played in the English First Division, the first tier. ^[7]
• A major upset in Spanish football was the Alcorconazo, when in the first leg of a 2009–10 Copa del Rey AD Alcorcón won over Real Madrid 4–0.^[8] Real Madrid is one of the largest clubs in Spanish football and the world while Alcorcón team played in the third-tier Segunda División B. Because Real Madrid won the second leg only 1–0, Alcorcón advanced victorious to the next round. The half-time substitution of Guti when the score was 3–0 and when he was booked before was another topic in the Spanish press because of words exchanged between the player and his coach, Manuel Pellegrini.^[9]
• 1. FC Saarbrücken (as a 3. Liga side), managed to string together a run of giant-killings. They upset Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich with a historic 2–1 win to advance to the round of 16 in the 2023–24 DFB-Pokal. At this stage they met Eintracht Frankfurt, another of the most well-established teams in the Bundesliga. An eventful second-half left the home side 2–0 victors and moving through to the quarterfinals. They went on to beat another Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–1 to advance to the semi-finals for the 5th time in club history. They met the 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, losing at home 0–2.^[10]
• Calais RUFC entered the international spotlight during their run to the final of the 2000 Coupe de France, under Spanish coach Ladislas Lozano. Made up of teachers, dock workers and office clerks, Calais' ten-round cup run saw the team defeat regional heavyweights Lille and first division teams Racing Strasbourg and Bordeaux;^[11] they played no games at their own ground, drawn as the away team in most rounds and the later 'home' ties played at the Stade Félix-Bollaert in Lens due to issues with facilities and capacity. They eventually lost 2–1 to Nantes in the final at the Stade de France in Paris on 7 May 2000, despite leading 1–0 at half-time.^[12][13]

• League cup