Every soccer fan goals of seeing their nation in a World Cup, however for a lot of of FIFA’s 211 member associations, that ambition stays simply that: a dream.
However, the enlargement of soccer’s showpiece occasion to 48 groups for the 2026 match, which is co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, has left the door ajar to nations who beforehand would have fallen brief, whereas different nations have hit their stride at simply the appropriate time with golden generations driving them to qualification for his or her maiden finals.
The file for World Cup debutants (apart from the primary match in 1930) is six. Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago and Ukraine all made their bows on the 2006 competitors.
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While as many as 9 potential newcomers have been within the combine for 2026 heading into the March playoffs, solely 4 of these groups will probably be on the bottom when the competitors kicks off on June 11.
Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan have punched their tickets, however what will we find out about these nations, each on and off the pitch? For most followers all over the world who’ll be watching this summer time, it isn’t a complete lot.
We spoke to an professional from every debutant nation to get higher acquainted with 2026’s World Cup underdogs.
A volcanic archipelago of 10 islands off Africa’s West Coast, Cape Verde secured their spot by profitable Group D in Africa, beating Cameroon to high spot.
With a inhabitants of simply 525,000, Cape Verde is the third-smallest nation by inhabitants to qualify for a World Cup, after Iceland in 2018 and fellow 2026 debutants Curaçao. The decisive win got here on Oct.13 when Cape Verde overcame Eswatini 3-0 on dwelling soil, sparking wild celebrations within the capital Praia.
“On the day of the Eswatini game I was trying to conserve energy, but my stomach was dancing with nerves,” Cape Verde defender Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes advised ESPN.
“I was supposed to have a pre-game nap but then one of the other players got out the speakers and started playing music. We all started dancing. And then it’s like we knew that everything was going to be okay, it had to be our day.”
Music, and meals, have been an enormous a part of bonding the Cape Verde crew who come collectively from all around the world for his or her worldwide fixtures.
“Music is a huge part of the dressing-room atmosphere,” Lopes stated. “We play traditional songs, funaná music, a mix of old and modern. We eat Cachupa (a bean and corn stew) in the evening and for breakfast. It’s the national dish and we eat it together.”
The Blue Sharks have been Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinalists 2013 and 2023, so they’re no strangers to main competitors, however the enormity of qualifying for a World Cup was evident.
“We had been building for years and when the draw was done there was this determination. We thought ‘if not now, when?'” Lopes stated.
“The government gave everyone the day off work to watch the Eswatini game and to qualify means everything. We’re a very proud football nation, but these 10 tiny islands off the coast of Africa up there with the biggest names, how can you not feel proud?”
Cape Verde have been drawn in Group H to face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
“The little boy in me needs to play Brazil,” Lopes stated. “They are the symbol of the World Cup. But we’d have some work to do to get to play them! We’re happy with the group we have.”
Jordan is an Arab nation on the east financial institution of the Jordan River, bordering 5 nations: Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine‘s West Bank. It has turn into a vastly standard vacationer vacation spot, with guests flocking to see its UNESCO heritage websites and to swim within the Dead Sea, the bottom level on Earth.
“The most famous tourist site is the ancient city and archaeological site of Petra,” Jordan fan Zaid Al Atiyat advised ESPN. “It’s nicknamed the ‘Rose City’ due to its pinkish sandstone and is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World [after a campaign in 2000 to choose Wonders of the World from 200 existing monuments].
“Or, if you wish to go to Mars however do not need to journey fairly as far, Wadi Rum is an efficient second selection. Hollywood movies similar to Dune, Star Wars, The Martian and Lawrence of Arabia have been set there.”
Jordan’s nationwide dish, mansaf, manufactured from lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur, is a supply of nice delight to the nation’s 11.5 million inhabitants, however it was additionally at the center of an on-the-pitch controversy.
“At the 2023 AFC Asian Cup round-of-16 sport between Jordan and Iraq, Jordan ahead, Yazan Al-Naimat celebrated his objective by gathering his teammates right into a Bedouin-style circle and everybody gesturing with their palms as if consuming mansaf,” Al Atiyat said. “Once Iraq took the lead within the second half, the objective scorer Aymen Hussein celebrated by sitting cross-legged in a mansaf gesture of his personal, earlier than controversially getting a second yellow card by [referee] Alireza Faghani.”
Aymen Hussein has been proven a second yellow for over celebrating! #AsianCup2023 #HayyaAsia pic.twitter.com/9i90ART2zh
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 29, 2024
Jordan got the last laugh against Iraq, winning 3-2, and they went all the way to the final where they lost to hosts Qatar.
The Chivalrous Ones certified for the World Cup again in June 2025 with a 3-0 away victory over Oman that confirmed they might end second in Asia’s Group B behind South Korea.
“Growing up, I by no means imagined I’d see Jordan on the worldwide stage,” Al Atiyat said. “But the 2023 Asian Cup actually allowed us to dream massive in methods we had by no means earlier than.”
Jordan have been drawn in Group J on the World Cup and can come up towards Austria, Algeria and Argentina. While that appears like a troublesome take a look at for the debutants, they’ve some gifted gamers able to step up.
“Mousa Al-Tamari and his lightning tempo and dribbling must be the title in everybody’s heads after they consider Jordan,” Al Atiyat said. “He is the primary Jordanian to play and rating in a high 5 league, and he has established himself as a key participant for Stade Rennais.
“Yazan Al-Arab is our pillar at center back, he’s the first Jordanian to play in K League 1 [or FC Seoul], and he was in the K League’s 2025 Team of the Year.”
An autonomous Caribbean island inside the Kingdom of the Netherlands recognized for its gorgeous seashores and diving, Curaçao also can now declare a chunk of soccer historical past. With a inhabitants of simply 156,000, Curaçao turned the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, benefiting from the absence in qualification of three of CONCACAF’s conventional giants.
Curaçao’s two important sports activities are baseball and soccer. Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Andrew Jones hails from Curaçao, however on the soccer discipline, successes till now have been more durable to return by.
“As soon as we knew the tournament would be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, we knew we could make it,” Brenton Balentien, also referred to as Captain Blue Face, a former Curaçao youth worldwide and head of the nation’s supporters’ group, advised ESPN.
But the qualification course of wasn’t with out its stresses. Curaçao needed to journey to Jamaica on the ultimate day needing a draw to e-book their place.
“When we beat Jamaica at home, I knew it was our year but then I thought I was going to die during the away fixture,” Balentien stated. “My heart stopped for a couple of seconds when they were awarded a penalty at the end, but VAR disallowed it. That feeling stays with you though!”
The majority of Curaçao’s gamers have been born within the Netherlands and so they have been led in qualification by legendary Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. Advocaat, who’s 78 years outdated, would have turn into the oldest coach ever to handle at a World Cup, however he needed to step down from the function final month for household causes. However, along with robust hyperlinks to the Netherlands, there are numerous different influences on Curaçaoan tradition.
“Curacao is a really various island, numerous totally different cultures turned one,” Balentien stated. “We speak five or six languages: Dutch, English, Spanish, Papiamento, Portuguese, French.
“Normally in the course of the World Cup, lots of people assist the Netherlands however for these born and raised on the island it’s compulsory to assist Brazil. They have been by far probably the most backed crew because the days of Pelé.”
Curaçao could have their work minimize out in Group E after they face Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast, however no matter occurs will probably be a particular time to be on the island.
“There at all times vitality, at all times a celebration, vitality overflows notably in the case of sport,” Balentien said. “We know easy methods to eat and drink nicely.
“Our specialty is Kuminda di Tera, or earth food. We eat goat and iguana, okra soup, those are favorites. To drink we have blue Curaçao (a vibrant orange flavored liquor) — the original and best in the world, which is produced in a local distillery Landhuis Chobolobo.
“It will probably be a celebration whether or not we win, lose or draw. We’ll simply be celebrating the actual fact we are able to play on such an enormous stage.”
The first Central Asian nation to qualify for a World Cup, Uzbekistan lastly exorcised the ghosts of previous near-misses to make it to soccer’s largest occasion.
Geographically, the previous Soviet republic of round 38 million inhabitants has an uncommon declare to fame that it shares with the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein. “Uzbekistan is one of the two doubly landlocked countries in the world [meaning there are two other countries between it and a coastline in any direction],” Uzbekistan supporter Jaloliddin Makhmudov advised ESPN.
“Our country once used to be the center for the Great Silk Road [a vast network of sea and land trading routes linking China to the Roman Empire, India and Africa].”
When it involves delicacies, Uzbekistan additionally has some spectacular feats to boast about.
“Our traditional food is known as plov [a hearty one-pot rice dish] and it’s served on every occasion, whether it’s a wedding party or a funeral,” Makhmudov stated. “We even set a Guinness World Record when 7,360kg [16,226 lb] of Plov was prepared in Tashkent, the capital city.”
Uzbekistan have been unbeaten all through the second qualifying spherical and secured qualification with a sport to spare after a goalless draw with the UAE. As nicely as euphoria, there was a way of aid after Uzbekistan’s historical past of heroic failures.
The White Wolves misplaced 9-8 on penalties to Jordan in a 2014 World Cup qualification playoff and have been controversially knocked out of the 2006 version on away objectives by Bahrain when the primary leg was replayed attributable to a refereeing error.
“The whole of Uzbekistan has been waiting for the World Cup for 34 years,” Makhmudov stated. “We would always fail in the last round, and that would really hurt the entire nation.
“Football is undoubtedly probably the most liked sport in Uzbekistan though we’re among the finest at boxing. So, the World Cup is a really massive event. We at all times felt able to getting there and our gamers have began shining in high 5 leagues whereas our nationwide league has improved drastically.”
Uzbekistan could have Fabio Cannavaro, Italy‘s World Cup-winning captain and a Ballon d’Or winner in 2006, on the helm. Manchester City‘s Abdukodir Khusanov will probably be their most well-known face on the pitch, however there are different thrilling gamers able to shine.
“Oston Urunov might steal the headlines along with his excellent dribbling and taking pictures expertise,” Makhmudov said. “And Abbos Fayzullaev is one other rising star who was named the 2023 AFC Youth Player of the Year on the AFC Annual Awards in 2024. Prepare to be stunned!”
