6 Potential Debutants at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Six Potential New Teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup- Our Predictions!
The dust has barely settled on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Stadium 974 is yet to be packed away and Lionel Messi is still looking for wardrobe space for his bisht.
However, attention is already turning to the 2026 edition in Canada, Mexico and the United States, as qualification begins this year.
But who might qualify for the World Cup for the first time?
When exactly this qualification will take place remains a mystery.
South American qualification is due to get underway in March’s international break, but less than two months out no fixtures have been confirmed - a sign that even an alcohol-free World Cup can cause a hangover.
Plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
“Expansion” is very much the theme of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is appropriate given the “bigger is better” mantra often associated with one of the co-hosts.
As well as being the first World Cup hosted by three nations, one of them - Mexico - will be the first to welcome the footballing world to their shores for a third time.
But the most significant expansion comes in the form of the other teams joining the party, of which there will be forty-five.
A forty-eight team World Cup, up from thirty-two - the norm since 1998 - is the biggest expansion FIFA has ever attempted.
Questions of whether it will work were circulating at Qatar 2022, as were the questions of how it will work, with FIFA yet to confirm the exact format of the competition.
What is clearer, however, is that with so many more spots up for grabs, it presents an ideal opportunity for many nations to qualify for the first time, ending decades of near misses.
No new nations qualified for 2022, technically speaking, as the only debutants were the automatically-qualifying hosts.
Surely we are due a few newbies?
In this article, we’ve picked out six teams that could make their first World Cup appearance in 2026!
We won’t go as far as to say all six will qualify - only once since the 1930s has a tournament welcomed so many first-timers.
However, a consistent incline in recent fortunes coupled with the expansion make these ones to watch.
Which nations have never qualified for the World Cup?
The full answer to that question would require a fairly lengthy list!
Of the 211 current member nations of FIFA, 132 of them have never taken to a World Cup finals pitch.
We’ll discuss a few of them from each area of the world.
UEFA (Europe)
Twenty-two of the nations to never qualify for the World Cup are UEFA members.
However, twelve of those in effect participated as part of either the Soviet Union - including the Baltic states, those in the Caucasus and Kazakhstan - or Yugoslavia - Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
Almost all the rest are microstates, such as San Marino, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.
The exceptions are Finland - despite the production of the hugely-talented Jari Litmanen, Jussi Jääskeläinen and Teemu Pukki - and Albania, both of whom have made progress on the international scene by playing in recent Euros.
Spare a thought for Luxembourg; the only nation to have taken part in every qualification process without ever making it to the finals.
CONMEBOL (South America)
Surely the most well-known fact about Venezuelan football is that their national team is the only CONMEBOL member to have never qualified?
A latecomer compared to their South American counterparts, they have been trying and failing since 1966.
CAF (Africa)
Forty-one of CAF’s fifty-four members in Africa are still dreaming of World Cup qualification.
Egypt’s appearance in 1934 was the only one from an African nation until 1970, when the continent was finally guaranteed a place thanks to a continent-wide boycott of the 1966 tournament.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda were some of Africa’s top teams of the 1950s and 1960s, but they never got a proper chance to test themselves on the world stage.
To this day, no East African nation has made an appearance.
The Republic of Congo and Zambia join Ethiopia and Sudan as former champions of Africa to have never played at the World Cup.
AFC (Asia)
1.8 billion people in three neighbouring countries, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have never experienced seeing their respective teams on football’s biggest stage.
That fact probably does not wrangle too much in the cricket-mad part of the world.
India did in fact qualify for the 1950 tournament, but declined to participate due to the travel costs, not, as is often speculated, that FIFA refused to allow them to play barefoot.
No South East Asian nation other than Indonesia (as the Dutch East Indies) in 1938 has participated, nor have any Central Asian countries since gaining independence from the Soviet Union.
Syria, Lebanon and Vietnam all got to the third qualifying round for 2022 but went no further.
CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean)
Nicaragua, Belize and Guatemala must look on with envy at their Central American neighbours, while Guyana and Suriname are probably wise not to take on the rest of South America.
Only a handful of Caribbean countries have successfully navigated qualification.
With most lying outside the top 150 in the world rankings, that fact will not change anytime soon.
OFC (Oceania)
Australia’s membership of the AFC for the last couple of decades means New Zealand are the only current OFC members to feature at the finals, in 1982 and 2010.
The Solomon Islands (136th) are the only other OFC nation within the top 150.
Tahiti’s participation in the 2013 Confederations Cup will likely remain the only representation of Pacific Islanders at a major FIFA event for some time.
The OFC will have a direct qualifier for the first time in 2026, but it is likely to guarantee a place for New Zealand.
The world’s list of non-qualifiers could grow before it shortens, with news that the Marshall Islands are looking to field a national team for the first time next year and eventually become OFC and FIFA members.
2026 will likely come too soon for the Marshallese, but here are the nations primed and ready to join the party in three years time.
Six potential debutants at the 2026 World Cup
Our predictions for potential new teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup!
Burkina Faso
A continent benefitting significantly from the enlarged tournament is Africa.
Nine automatic places and one play-off spot for CAF means the number of African nations on show in 2026 could be double their allocation for the past seven editions.
On the cusp of something great for a decade, Burkina Faso will have their eyes focused on one of those places.
The Stallions have twice been medallists in recent Africa Cup of Nations; runners-up in 2013 and third in 2017, before reaching the last four again at the most recent edition.
They finished unbeaten in qualification for Qatar, drawing twice with Algeria in their Second Round group, narrowly missing out on the final round.
A format change for African qualifiers could see them avoid such big-hitters early on.
Their world ranking of 50th - the 10th best in Africa - could help them avoid the continent’s giants altogether.
Issa Kaboré, on loan at Marseille from Manchester City, was named Best Young Player at AFCON 2021.
A youthful squad, the majority of which plies its trade in strong European leagues, is spearheaded by Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore.
Mali
If the top forty-eight teams in the FIFA World Rankings today were automatically given the places at the World Cup, Mali would be the only debutants.
If Africa had had as many places in Qatar as they will do next time, Mali would have qualified.
Those two points alone are enough to argue that we should stay in West Africa and discuss Burkina Faso’s 45th-ranked neighbours.
In 2022 qualifying, Mali made it to the Third Round - the only never-qualifiers to do so - but lost to Tunisia, 1-0 on aggregate.
The loss in the home leg is their only defeat in either 90 or 120 minutes since a friendly loss to the same opponents by the same scoreline in June 2021.
However, a penalty shootout defeat to Equatorial Guinea in the Last 16 of AFCON was a disappointment.
Hard to break down, Les Aigles have a defence consisting of a solid Ligue 1 contingent, led by captain Hamari Traoré of Rennes.
The star quality comes in the form of Premier League midfielders Yves Bissouma and Cheick Doucouré, but the lack of a top goalscorer is currently holding them back.
Southampton’s Moussa Djenepo is a big hope, but he will need to improve on his three goals from twenty-nine caps.
The new 2026 FIFA World Cup logo - hosted by Mexico, Canada and the US
Oman
The only confederation to double its number of automatic qualifiers for the next World Cup is Asia’s AFC, which will now have eight, plus a play-off place.
Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Iran have been a cut above the rest of the continent where World Cup appearances have been concerned recently and would be expected to take five of those places comfortably.
As one of seven sides to be eliminated in the AFC Third Round on the road to Qatar, Oman are one of the best-placed sides to take one of the remaining places.
Oman have been making progress in recent years; in 2016, they were ranked 129th in the world, their lowest ever.
They now sit 75th, the 9th best in Asia and the highest-ranked in the continent to have never played at the World Cup.
2019 saw Al-Ahmar reach the Round of 16 of the Asian Cup, their first time beyond the groups.
Two years on, they bowed out of the Arab Cup at the Quarter-Final stage and in January 2023 they reached the Arabian Gulf Cup final.
In between these tournament betterments, Oman finished fourth in their Third Round group for Qatar 2022, behind Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia, where a 1-0 away win over Japan was the highlight.
Coached by Croatian Branko Ivanovic, the squad is entirely home-based, which was not a hindrance for neighbouring Saudi Arabia when they came up against Argentina in Qatar.
World Cup qualification would be the biggest step for Oman, but if they continue moving in the right direction, it should not be beyond them.
Venezuela
As we have already proven, it is impossible to talk about teams with zero World Cup appearances without mentioning La Vinotinto from South America.
Last place in 2022 CONMEBOL qualification with three wins from eighteen matches, you may think their chances in 2026 may too be impossible.
The appointment of new head coach Jose Pekerman could change all that.
The Argentine qualified Colombia for Brazil 2014, their first finals for sixteen years, where they would reach the last eight.
Lifting a national team from the doldrums, Pekerman could well be the man to raise Venezuela from the basement of South America.
With the top six in CONMEBOL qualifying automatically and the seventh going to the play-offs, the task at hand is much more manageable for Venezuela, who will have Bolivia and Paraguay in their sights.
They will need to get the better of one more team to reach the playoffs, where the 55th-ranked team could well be in the unfamiliar position of favourites for a World Cup qualifier.
How they overcome both challenges remains to be seen.
Curaçao
Aiming to be the first Caribbean nation since Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 to reach the World Cup, Curaçao have made great strides since the Netherlands Antilles team was dissolved in 2010.
86th in the world at present, they are now regulars in League A of the CONCACAF Nations League.
A Covid-19 outbreak robbed them of their place in the 2021 Gold Cup, after a Quarter-Final placing in 2019.
A 2-1 aggregate loss to Panama in the Second Round was the closest a potential new qualifier from CONCACAF came to reaching Qatar 2022.
The top three from Qatar qualification were Canada, Mexico and the United States.
With those three hosting this time, the fight for three more automatic places and two play-off spots looks tantalisingly open.
At least one of the main Central American powers will have to be toppled, but Curaçao, who rely heavily on the Bacuna brothers - Leandro and Juninho - of the English Championship, have what it takes.
North Macedonia
An allocation increase from thirteen to sixteen will do precious little to water down the competitiveness of UEFA qualification.
But if you want one team to make it out of the European cauldron for the first time, look no further than giant-killing North Macedonia.
Some argued they did not merit their first major tournament qualification, reaching Euro 2020 via the furthest-back of back doors; UEFA Nations League D.
But an unlikely 2-1 win away versus Germany secured their place in the World Cup play-offs, where they surprised everyone once again, beating European champions Italy 1-0 in Palermo.
They ultimately fell at the final hurdle to Portugal, but now there is no doubt that Lisovi, 101 places higher in the rankings than they were in 2017, are rapidly moving in the right direction.
Goran Pandev has moved on, but in Napoli’s Elif Elmas they already have their new heavyweight.
Do you agree with our potential debutants for 2026? Let us know in the comments!
Head over to our football blog for more World Cup predictions!
