The quirkiest facts about the teams heading to the World Cup | OneFootball

The definition of the groups for next year's tournament will take place this Friday from 2 PM in Washington, United States.

In the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup draw, which will be held this Friday at 2 PM in Washington, United States, here’s a look at some curious facts about different national teams ahead of the tournament, which will be played from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

1. Ghana

Asamoah Gyan, the Ghanaian player, shares a record that nobody wants to have: along with Lionel Messi, he is the player who has missed the most penalties in a World Cup (not counting shootouts), with two misses each. Gyan failed against the Czech Republic in 2006 and against Uruguay in 2010. Messi, for his part, missed against Iceland in 2018 and against Poland in 2022.

2. Germany

Miroslav Klose is the absolute record holder for goals in World Cups: 16 in total. He scored five in 2002, five in 2006, four in 2010, and two in 2014. All were scored inside the box, a perfect demonstration of his goal-scoring instinct.

3. Japan

Japan, along with South Korea, was a pioneer in co-hosting a World Cup in 2002. The 2026 edition will be only the second time the tournament is played in more than one country and the first time in history with three hosts.

4. Brazil

The only national team Brazil has faced and never beaten is Norway. They have met four times: they drew in friendlies in 1988 and 2006, the Norwegians won another in 1997, and in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup.

5. Portugal

Before the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal had played in only three World Cups (1966, 1986, and 2002). Since his debut in 2003, they have qualified for six consecutive editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026). A before and after marked by one figure.

6. Senegal

In 2018, the Senegalese national team experienced an unprecedented elimination: they were knocked out due to fair play points. They finished level in everything with Japan but received more yellow cards and said goodbye in the group stage because of that criterion.

7. Switzerland

In 2006, they became the only team in World Cup history to finish the tournament without conceding a single goal, although that didn’t help them advance to the later stages: they lost in the round of 16 on penalties to Ukraine after a 0-0 draw. In the group stage, they had two wins against South Korea and Togo (2-0; 2-0) and a draw against France (0-0).

8. Curaçao

Curaçao is the smallest country, in both population and area, to have qualified for a World Cup. It has about 185,000 inhabitants and just 444 km². To put it in perspective: in that territory, the former Soviet Union—the largest country ever to compete in the tournament—could have fit more than 50,000 times.

9. Ecuador

Ecuador was the last Conmebol country to debut in a World Cup: they did so in 2002. Only Venezuela has yet to qualify. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru (1930), and Colombia (1962) had all participated before.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.