The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The tournament will feature an expanded field of 48 national teams and a total of 104 matches.
A Record 48 nations will participate, with a few playing in a World Cup for the first time.
Here are the teams making their first-ever World Cup appearance at 2026 FIFA World Cup — the debutants.
Cape Verde
With a population of about 600,000, Cape Verde, an archipelago off Africa’s west coast, became the second smallest nation to reach a World Cup, after Iceland in 2018, though Curacao later surpassed them.
Cape Verde secured their spot by defeating Eswatini, marking decades of football growth since their first qualifiers in 1990. Their current squad includes six Dutch-born players and one Irish-born player, Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes.
Curacao
The Caribbean island of Curacao, with a population of just over 150,000, will become the smallest nation ever to play at a World Cup after drawing with Jamaica, coached by Steve McClaren. Iceland previously held the record in 2018, but Curacao is much smaller.
Jamaica needed a win to qualify, but a late penalty was overturned by VAR. Curacao’s coach, Dick Advocaat, 78, will become the oldest World Cup coach, surpassing Otto Rehhagel. The island became a separate country within the Netherlands Kingdom in 2010.
Jordan
After 40 years of attempting to qualify, Jordan has finally secured a spot in the World Cup.
The Arab nation participated in its first qualifiers decades ago but never advanced until now, finishing second in AFC Group B behind South Korea. In 2016, former Tottenham, Portsmouth, and QPR manager Harry Redknapp briefly led Jordan during 2018 qualifiers, achieving an 8-0 win over Bangladesh and a 5-1 loss to Australia.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has qualified for the World Cup for the first time from the Asian section, after narrowly missing out in previous campaigns for Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014.
The team includes talented players such as Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who made history as the first Uzbek to play in the Premier League, highlighting the nation’s growing presence on the international football stage.
