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When FIFA announced it would expand the field of the men's World Cup, many fans had visions of a field full of minnows, with virtually unknown countries filling out the 48-team bracket.
While many of the additional teams that qualified were old reliables, there are four teams debuting at this summer's tournament. Here is the complete list and what to know about each team:
The "Blue Sharks" of Cape Verde hail from a nation made up of a chain of islands settled by Portuguese explorers. Manager Bubista played for Cape Verde as a defender but became a hero by leading the national team through African qualification and into the World Cup for the first time.
His squad won seven of the 10 matches played in World Cup qualification, shocking favorite Cameroon with a 1-0 win in Praia, Cape Verde's capital in November 2025 that helped it top the qualification group.
Cape Verde has strengthened its group with eligible players born abroad, including Philadelphia-born San Diego FC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos and PSG youth prospect Fabio Domingos, born in Luxembourg. The core of the team, though, remains regulars like attacker Ryan Mendes, center back Diney and defender Steven Moreira, who plays club soccer with the Columbus Crew.
Cape Verde faces a daunting opener, debuting in the World Cup against Spain on June 15 before matches with Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
The smallest country ever to make the World Cup, Caribbean country Curacao has a population of just more than 150,000 people. Already known for a wildly high number of professional baseball players per capita, Curacao announced itself as a soccer nation by clinching World Cup qualification in the Concacaf region.
A home victory over Jamaica on October 2025 set the stage for a final day match against the Reggae Boyz in Kingston with the winner knowing it would clinch a place at the World Cup. Curacao had the upper hand, however, with a draw also putting The Blue Wave through.
Curacao held on in a scoreless draw and booked its place on the big stage. Curacao is a constituent country of the Netherlands, and the majority of its roster was born in Europe and developed in Dutch academies. Players like Leandro Bacuna, his brother Juninho and goalkeeper Eloy Room have been making the commute to put on the two-island nation's shirt for a decade or longer, though the team also got a boost from the additions of center back Armando Obispo and forward Sontje Hansen during qualification.
After quitting the role to attend to a family health issue, Dick Advocaat was coaxed back to lead the squad. The 78-year-old becomes the oldest manager to coach at a World Cup. Curacao starts its journey against Germany, then meets Ecuador and Ivory Coast.
Expectations were high in Jordan after a surprise run to the final of the 2023 Asian Cup, and Jamal Sellami's squad delivered. The West Asian nation fell just twice in the third round of World Cup qualification, once to Korea and once in a dead rubber with Iraq.
The team is still heavily dependent on players from the domestic league, though captain Musa Al-Taamari starts regularly for Rennes in the French Ligue 1, and the squd also has a handful of players who are in other Asian leagues.
Jordan will go up against Austria, Algeria and defending champion Argentina in the World Cup group stage.
After consistent success at the youth level, Uzbekistan was able to break through on the senior stage, falling just once in the final round of World Cup qualification to book a place in North America.
Abdukodir Khusanov, a frequent presence in the Manchester City back line, is the biggest name internationally, while dedicated fans may also recognize the name of Eldor Shomurodov, the country's all-time leading scorer who currently plays in Turkey but spent many years in Italy's Serie A.
While Uzbek manager Timur Kapadze guided the team to qualification, he was replaced by a much bigger name as the actual tournament approached. Former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro took over in October 2025 and managed two matches in the November FIFA window and two in March.
Uzbekistan begins the tournament in Mexico City with a game against Colombia before tilts in the U.S. with Portugal and DR Congo.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, Uzbekistan make World Cup debuts in 2026
Continue reading...
While many of the additional teams that qualified were old reliables, there are four teams debuting at this summer's tournament. Here is the complete list and what to know about each team:
Cape Verde
The "Blue Sharks" of Cape Verde hail from a nation made up of a chain of islands settled by Portuguese explorers. Manager Bubista played for Cape Verde as a defender but became a hero by leading the national team through African qualification and into the World Cup for the first time.
His squad won seven of the 10 matches played in World Cup qualification, shocking favorite Cameroon with a 1-0 win in Praia, Cape Verde's capital in November 2025 that helped it top the qualification group.
Cape Verde has strengthened its group with eligible players born abroad, including Philadelphia-born San Diego FC goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos and PSG youth prospect Fabio Domingos, born in Luxembourg. The core of the team, though, remains regulars like attacker Ryan Mendes, center back Diney and defender Steven Moreira, who plays club soccer with the Columbus Crew.
Cape Verde faces a daunting opener, debuting in the World Cup against Spain on June 15 before matches with Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Curacao
The smallest country ever to make the World Cup, Caribbean country Curacao has a population of just more than 150,000 people. Already known for a wildly high number of professional baseball players per capita, Curacao announced itself as a soccer nation by clinching World Cup qualification in the Concacaf region.
A home victory over Jamaica on October 2025 set the stage for a final day match against the Reggae Boyz in Kingston with the winner knowing it would clinch a place at the World Cup. Curacao had the upper hand, however, with a draw also putting The Blue Wave through.
Curacao held on in a scoreless draw and booked its place on the big stage. Curacao is a constituent country of the Netherlands, and the majority of its roster was born in Europe and developed in Dutch academies. Players like Leandro Bacuna, his brother Juninho and goalkeeper Eloy Room have been making the commute to put on the two-island nation's shirt for a decade or longer, though the team also got a boost from the additions of center back Armando Obispo and forward Sontje Hansen during qualification.
After quitting the role to attend to a family health issue, Dick Advocaat was coaxed back to lead the squad. The 78-year-old becomes the oldest manager to coach at a World Cup. Curacao starts its journey against Germany, then meets Ecuador and Ivory Coast.
Jordan
Expectations were high in Jordan after a surprise run to the final of the 2023 Asian Cup, and Jamal Sellami's squad delivered. The West Asian nation fell just twice in the third round of World Cup qualification, once to Korea and once in a dead rubber with Iraq.
The team is still heavily dependent on players from the domestic league, though captain Musa Al-Taamari starts regularly for Rennes in the French Ligue 1, and the squd also has a handful of players who are in other Asian leagues.
Jordan will go up against Austria, Algeria and defending champion Argentina in the World Cup group stage.
Uzbekistan
After consistent success at the youth level, Uzbekistan was able to break through on the senior stage, falling just once in the final round of World Cup qualification to book a place in North America.
Abdukodir Khusanov, a frequent presence in the Manchester City back line, is the biggest name internationally, while dedicated fans may also recognize the name of Eldor Shomurodov, the country's all-time leading scorer who currently plays in Turkey but spent many years in Italy's Serie A.
While Uzbek manager Timur Kapadze guided the team to qualification, he was replaced by a much bigger name as the actual tournament approached. Former Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro took over in October 2025 and managed two matches in the November FIFA window and two in March.
Uzbekistan begins the tournament in Mexico City with a game against Colombia before tilts in the U.S. with Portugal and DR Congo.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, Uzbekistan make World Cup debuts in 2026
Continue reading...
