Meet the four nations making their World Cup debuts | OneFootball

Just six days remain until the 2026 World cup kicks off across the United States, Mexico and Canada, with a record 48 teams set to compete – for four of them, it’s their very first time taking part.

The tournament’s expansion has opened the door for debuts from Jordan, Cape Verde, Uzbekistan and Curaçao, who had previously never qualified for the finals.

Here, FromTheSpot looks back on their history, historic qualifying runs, and how they might fare in this year’s competition.

Cape Verde

Cape Verde will become the sixth African nation competing at this year’s World Cup and the second smallest country ever to compete at the tournament.

With a population of approximately 590,000 people, roughly 1,000 more than Wyoming, the least populated state in America, their qualification highlights the scale of the nation’s achievement.

They sealed their place at the World Cup with a decisive 3-0 victory over Eswatini last October and enjoyed a strong qualifying campaign where they won eight of their ten matches.

Nicknamed the Blue Sharks, they head into the tournament ranked 69th in the world by FIFA and have been on a steady rise on the international stage in recent years.

Their 26-man squad is a true mix of backgrounds, featuring only eight Cape Verde-born players and has more playing staff that were born in Rotterdam than in its capital, Praia.

It is a team built on the country’s global diaspora, with six players born in the Netherlands, six in Portugal, two in France, one in the United States and one in Ireland.

The side are in Group H and will face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

Curaçao

Curaçao will become the smallest nation to ever compete in a World Cup tournament.

The country has a population of approximately 155,000 people, surpassing Iceland’s record of the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup after reaching the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Nicknamed the Blue Wave, they sealed their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Jamaica.

The current 26-man squad travelling to the World Cup features only one player born in Curaçao, Tahith Chong, with his teammates made up of players born in the Netherlands.

Their manager Dick Advocaat is set to become the oldest manager in World Cup history at 78 years old, to add to his achievement of leading Curacao to their first ever finals.

Ten years ago, they were ranked 150th in FIFA’s world ranking but have since risen to 82nd place.

Curaçao were drawn in Group E alongside Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador, a challenging set of fixtures that the players will nonetheless relish every minute of their World Cup debut.

Jordan

Jordan first attempted to reach a World Cup tournament 40 years ago, but had never succeeded in progressing to the Mexico 1986 finals or, indeed, any other until this year.

The nation have enjoyed a resurgence over the past few years, finishing as runners up in the 2023 Asian Cup before finally reaching the World Cup under Jemal Sellami.

Sellami, who then led Jordan on another historic run to a first ever FIFA Arab Cup final last December and going unbeaten against the UAE, Kurwait, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, was granted Jordanian citizenship by His Majesty King Abdullah II.

In 2016, former Tottenham, Portsmouth and QPR boss Harry Redknapp had a very short spell in charge of Jordan, overseeing two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures.

Al Nashama, meaning ‘The Chivalrous Ones’, sealed their place at the World Cup after beating Oman 3-0 last June.

The side are ranked above fellow debutants Cape Verde and Curaçao in the FIFA World Rankings, sitting in 64th place.

The current 26-man squad features one player born in the United States and one born in Iraq.

Jordan is in Group J alongside Argentina, Austria and Algeria.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan are one of Asia’s fastest rising national football teams and one of the first Asian sides to seal their spot in the 2026 World Cup finals after a goalless draw against the UAE.

They are the highest ranked nation making their debut this year, occupying 50th place above Cape Verde, Curaçao, and Jordan.

The White Wolves had repeatedly come close to reaching Brazil’s finals in 2014 and then Russia’s in 2018, but fell short on both occasions.

Their squad boasts Manchester City centre-back and FA Cup winner Abdukodir Khusanov, who remains the first Uzbek to play in the Premier League.

They will be competing in Group K alongside Colombia, DR Congo and Portugal.