FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams has had its fair share of critics. However, the move seems to have paid off for lower ranked nations as four countries — Curaçao, Cape Verde, Jordan, Uzbekistan — qualified for their maiden World Cup.
Here is everything you need to know about the four teams that are set to make their FIFA World Cup debut this summer:
Curaçao
Curaçao, a Caribbean island that forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has a population of just over 150,000. With its qualification, it became the smallest nation by both population and land area to reach a World Cup.
Curaçao's road to 2026 FIFA World Cup saw them navigate a demanding qualification campaign going unbeaten across 10 matches and winning seven. After progressing through the second round with victories over Barbados, Aruba, Saint Lucia and Haiti, they topped a challenging final-round group featuring Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda. Their place at the World Cup was ultimately sealed with a tense 0-0 draw away to Jamaica, where a stoppage-time penalty awarded to the hosts was overturned by VAR, ensuring Curacao finished atop Group B and completed a historic qualification run.
Central midfielder Leandro Bacuna, who plays for second tier Turkish side Igdir FK, is Curaçao's key player. The 22-year-old Livano Comenencia, who represents Swiss Super League club Zürich and plays at right back, is the team's rising star.
Experienced Dutch coach Dick Advocaat led Curaçao's successful qualifying campaign and he will be there with the team for the World Cup finals as well. Advocaat is 78 years old and when the tournament gets underway, he will become the oldest man ever to coach a team in a FIFA World Cup.
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Cape Verde
While Curaçao is an island, Cape Verde is an archipelago. Cape Verde is situated about 570 kilometres off the coast of West Africa. It has a population of around 5,25,000, which makes it the third smallest nation ever, after Curacao and Iceland, to play at the FIFA World Cup.
Cape Verde secured their maiden FIFA World Cup qualification by topping a challenging CAF qualifying group featuring Cameroon and Angola. They won eight of their 10 matches, maintained a perfect home record without conceding a goal, and finished four points clear of eight-time World Cup participants Cameroon to book a historic place at the finals.
Watch out for Ryan Mendis when Cape Verde take the field at the World Cup. At 36, he is Cape Verde's most capped player and the country's all-time leading goal scorer. At the other end of the spectrum is rising star Sidny Lopes Cabral. He is 23 and has played under Jose Mourinho for Portuguese club Benfica.
Cape Verde will be playing under their former international player Pedro Leitao Brito. The head coach is nicknamed Bubista and he represented Cape Verde 21 times. This is not his first major international tournament as he has twice coached Cape Verde during the Afcons, reaching the knockouts both times.
Jordan
Heading into their maiden FIFA World Cup campaign, they are drawing inspiration from Morocco's inspirational run at the 202 Qatar World Cup and are attempting to go as further in the tournament as possible.
Jordan's road to their first-ever FIFA World Cup was built on the momentum of a remarkable run to the AFC Asian Cup final and a runner-up finish at the Arab Cup. Drawn into a challenging qualifying group featuring South Korea, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait and Palestine, Jordan rose to the occasion, securing qualification before the final matchday after beating Oman and benefiting from Iraq's defeat to South Korea. They finished second in the group with 16 points from four wins, four draws and two losses, sealing a historic place at the 2026 World Cup.
The 28-year-old winger Musal Al-Taamari is Jordan's key player. At club level, he plays for French side Rennes. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Ibrahim Sabra has been marked by the pundits as the one for the future. He plays for Croatian club Lokomotiva Zagreb and experts say that he is one of the most promising footballers from all of Asia.
Former Morocco international Jamal Sellami is the head coach of Jordan. He represented Morocco at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Uzbekistan
The Central Asian country of Uzbekistan is the fourth and the final debutant of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Uzbekistan punched their ticket for the FIFA World Cup after failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals seven times.
Uzbekistan made history by qualifying for their first-ever FIFA World Cup after finishing second in AFC qualifying Group A. The Uzbeks amassed 21 points from six wins, three draws and just one defeat, ending behind only Iran while comfortably finishing ahead of North Korea, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kyrgyzstan to secure a long-awaited place at the 2026 World Cup.
Abdukodir Khusanov is Uzbekistan's most famous player and also a key part of their World Cup squad. Khusanov is a defender and plays for Manchester City. Teenager Bekhruzdjon Karimov is Uzbekistan's young gun to watch-out for. He features at right-back and plays for Uzbekistan Super League club Surkhon.
Uzbekistan is coached by Ballon d'Or winner and Italy's 2026 World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro.
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