Soccer’s world governing physique, FIFA, has framed the 2026 World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 groups as a watershed second for inclusivity, opening the door for nations which have by no means certified earlier than.
Certainly, 4 groups will likely be enjoying at their first World Cup in North America this summer time: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.
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Right here is Al Jazeera’s brief information to the debutants at this 12 months’s competitors.
Cape Verde
- FIFA world rating: 69
- World Cup fixtures (Group H): Spain (June 15, Atlanta), Uruguay (June 21, Miami, US), Saudi Arabia (June 26, Houston, US)
- Participant to look at: Garry Rodrigues
With a inhabitants of about 525,000, the small archipelago off the coast of Senegal will turn out to be the third-least populous nation to take part in a World Cup after Curacao and Iceland.
Ryan Mendes will not be even a family identify in Turkiye, the place he performs for second-tier Igdir, however Cape Verde’s 35-year-old captain was on the coronary heart of their 3-0 win over Eswatini in October, which booked their place on the World Cup.
This was no freak prevalence as Cape Verde topped their group on the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which included Ghana, reaching the quarterfinals the place they lost on penalties to South Africa.
Though they failed to achieve AFCON 2025, they once more topped their group in 2026 World Cup qualifying – this time ending forward of the once-mighty Cameroon.
“We’ve got taken half in 4 African Cup of Nations tournaments, and we had been additionally very near qualifying for the 2014 World Cup,” Mendes instructed the AFP information company.
“Rather a lot has been achieved through the years. And in the present day, we are able to say that that is the logical final result.”
Cape Verde rely closely on their Portuguese colonial previous for a provide of diaspora expertise, and still have a number of Dutch-born gamers, in addition to one from Eire – the Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes. The Dublin-born 33-year-old has a Cape Verdean father and Irish mom and was reportedly recruited for Cape Verde through LinkedIn.
The staff’s best-known participant, nevertheless, might be 35-year-old winger Garry Rodrigues; now at Cypriot membership Apollon Limassol, he has had stints on the likes of Galatasaray and Olympiacos.
However even with out mega-star names, Mendes is definite that the Blue Sharks could make a mark on the match.
“One factor’s for certain: we’re not going there simply to play three video games and are available residence,” he mentioned.
Curacao
- FIFA world rating: 82
- World Cup fixtures (Group E): Germany (June 14, Houston, US), Ecuador (June 20, Kansas Metropolis, US), Ivory Coast (June 25, Philadelphia, US)
- Participant to look at: Tahith Chong
“Small island, massive desires” reads a poster for the soccer staff of the Caribbean island of Curacao – the smallest nation ever, by inhabitants, to qualify for soccer’s World Cup.
Since Curacao clinched qualification with a hard-fought 0-0 draw in opposition to Steven McClaren’s Jamaica in November, the 160,000 inhabitants of the Dutch island famed for its eponymous sapphire liqueur are using the crest of the Blue Wave, because the nationwide facet is dubbed.
Probably the most well-known individual across the squad is Curacao’s boss Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old former Netherlands, PSV and Rangers supervisor who guided the Curacaoans to qualification. He’s set to turn out to be the oldest supervisor ever at a World Cup.
In the meantime, as a self-governing entity inside the Netherlands, the island owes its World Cup squad completely to its Dutch-based diaspora, the president of Curacao’s soccer federation, Gilbert Martina, admitted.
“All of the gamers on the nationwide staff play in overseas leagues,” he instructed AFP.
Maybe the best-known participant is former Dutch youth worldwide Tahith Chong, now at Championship facet Sheffield United. The one staff member born on Curacao, Chong moved to the Netherlands on the age of 13.
The 26-year-old winger or attacking midfielder is thought for his tempo, dribbling and a depraved left foot.
Probably the most well-known Curacaoan might be former Ajax and Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert, who was born to a Surinamese father and a mom from Curacao.
“It’s unbelievable that the island is within the World Cup,” Kluivert, who coached the Curacaoan facet between 2015 and 2016, instructed AFP.
“In my day, [football] was not that massive on the island, however the gamers have given Curacao visibility. It’s vital for the long run, for the subsequent era.”
Jordan
- FIFA world rating: 63
- World Cup fixtures (Group J): Austria (June 16, San Francisco, US), Algeria (June 22, San Francisco, US), Argentina (June 27, Dallas, US)
- Participant to look at: Musa Al-Taamari
Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami has referred to as on his gamers to emulate Morocco’s shock run to the final 4 of the World Cup in 2022 as they put together for his or her first look on the match.
“In massive competitions, many groups can shock. My nation, Morocco, reached the semifinals within the final World Cup,” Reuters quoted him as saying throughout a coaching camp in Antalya, Turkiye in late March. “That offers us perception.”
Regardless of their underdog standing, the gamers say they don’t seem to be going to the World Cup simply to make up the numbers.
“For us, we aren’t going only for participation,” midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh added. “We’re aiming to go as far as we are able to within the match.
“To be sincere, typically we don’t sleep after we give it some thought,” he added. “It’s a dream come true for us.”
The Rennes winger Musa Al-Taamari might be the staff’s standout participant – he was the important thing artistic pressure as Jordan secured an computerized berth on the World Cup after ending second behind South Korea of their Asian qualifying group.
Sellami mentioned the camp in Antalya, which concerned video games in opposition to Costa Rica and Nigeria, was a key stage in constructing expertise earlier than going through elite opposition.
“We are getting ready step-by-step. We’ve performed in opposition to completely different soccer cultures,” he mentioned.
“We’re amassing expertise and, Inshallah [God willing], we are going to shock many individuals.”
Uzbekistan
- FIFA world rating: 50
- World Cup fixtures (Group Ok): Colombia (June 17, Mexico Metropolis, Mexico), Portugal (June 23, Houston, US), DR Congo (June 27, Atlanta, US)
- Participant to look at: Abdukodir Khusanov
Uzbekistan FA Vice President Ravshan Irmatov is not any stranger to the World Cup, having refereed at three finals, however believes the Central Asian nation’s long-awaited qualification is merely the newest step in its soccer growth.
“Qualifying for the World Cup has been a dream for 38 million folks for 34 years,” Irmatov mentioned. “You’ll be able to perceive how vital it was for the Uzbek nation, we waited so lengthy.”
Uzbekistan’s first qualification comes after seven makes an attempt to safe a finals spot because the nation was granted FIFA membership in 1994 following the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Slovenian coach Srecko Katanec guided a staff constructed totally on home-based expertise to the cusp of the finals earlier than well being points pressured him to face down, leaving Olympic staff coach Timur Kapadze to safe the ticket for the 2026 match.
Captain Eldor Shomurodov, on mortgage at Istanbul Basaksehir from Roma, is the nation’s high scorer with 44 targets in 90 video games and scored 21 Turkish Tremendous League targets this season.
However the staff’s best-known participant might be Manchester Metropolis’s Abdukodir Khusanov. The 22-year-old centre again has turn out to be a key a part of the defence this season, well-regarded for his positional play, tempo, energy and quiet management.
Uzbekistan confirmed their place on the finals with a 0-0 draw in opposition to the United Arab Emirates in June, and since then, former Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro has taken over as coach.
“I’ll let you know what I all the time repeat to my gamers: for the primary time you’ll play in a World Cup, you don’t have anything to lose,” Cannavaro was quoted as saying by The Mirror newspaper in March.
“Method each match with most calm, take pleasure in yourselves as a lot as attainable, and in case you really feel anxiousness, let or not it’s optimistic anxiousness.”
