World Cup 2026 Teams & Newcomers: Which Rookies could be the surprise package?

One week after the World Cup draw on December 5, 2025, the groups featuring Germany and newcomers such as Curaçao are still a talking point. Event-breaks.com on World Cup outsiders with high surprise potential. 

DFB sporting director Rudi Völler thinks little of talking up Germany’s World Cup Group E (such as Ecuador). “This is a group we obviously have to get through,” said the 1990 world champion, referring to the group constellation with World Cup debutants Curaçao as the opening opponents, Ivory Coast and Ecuador, in an interview with BILD am SONNTAG (edition of December 7, 2025).

The former DFB head coach also did not want to hear anything about a “lucky draw”: “Curaçao is a bit of a sporting lucky bag for us. They are there for the first time and qualified surprisingly against Jamaica. We will go into it with full respect; nevertheless, it’s clear: As Germany, we have to win this game.”

“As Germany”… we have won only two of six group matches since the successful 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But that’s just an aside.

World Cup: The biggest surprise teams in history

Most recently, however, it was other top teams that struggled against World Cup surprise teams in Qatar in 2022. Portugal and Spain were eliminated at the desert World Cup by Morocco, which became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, where France proved too strong (0–2).

How to be a World Cup outsider was shown by Croatia in Russia in 2018. “The Fiery Ones” were not there for the first time—that was in 1998, when as debutants they knocked Germany out in the quarter-finals—but they went on an unforgettable run, still commemorated by posters in Croatian seaside resorts today, all the way to the Moscow final against France (2–4). Along the way they eliminated, among others, Denmark, hosts Russia (both after penalty shootouts), and England in the semi-final (2–1 a.e.t.). 

Germany were last world champions in 1990 and 2014. At both World Cups, so-called outsiders managed to spring surprises—such as Costa Rica, which in 2014 only lost to the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals. Before that, the Central Americans topped the so-called “group of death” D ahead of the three world champions Italy, England and Uruguay. 

Also legendary is the 1990 World Cup with the “Indomitable Lions” from Cameroon. The African team, coached by Russian trainer Valeri Kuzmich Nepomnyashchy, who did not speak a word of French, made it to the quarter-finals against England (2–3 a.e.t.) after a legendary 1–0 victory over world champions Argentina in the opening match in Milan. 

Who could slip into the role of ultimate giant-killer in 2026? Norway, for example! The Scandinavians, led by goal machine Erling Braut Haaland, are back for the first time in 28 years and, after nine wins in nine qualifying matches, have the potential to shake up Group I with France, a playoff team and Senegal.

Senegal were the big surprise team in 2002 in Japan and South Korea, among other things with a victory in the opening match against defending champions France (1–0).

Who is appearing at the World Cup for the first time?

Curaçao—among the 42 confirmed participants—is part of the quartet of World Cup debutants alongside Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan. With a population of 156,000, the Caribbean island nation replaced Iceland (World Cup 2018) as the smallest participant country of all time.

World Cup 2026 debutants: Curaçao

A 0–0 draw in the direct duel in the final and decisive qualification match against Jamaica in Kingston secured Curaçao the World Cup ticket. The 78-year-old Dutchman Dick Advocaat will, if he remains in charge during the finals, become the oldest World Cup coach of all time. 

“We’re going to the World Cup and will soon have photos in the Panini album,” rejoiced Curaçao’s Livano Comencencia of FC Zurich.

Germany will face Curaçao in Houston in the US state of Texas on June 14, 2026. 

World Cup 2026 debutants: Cape Verde

The qualification of the island nation Cape Verde was, of course, a coup. But Cape Verde has a team with surprise potential. Only involved in World Cup qualifying in Africa since 1990, national team coaches have traditionally relied on players who emigrated abroad from Cape Verde. One of them is Dailon Livramento, born in Rotterdam, who led the country to a historic 1–0 victory over Cameroon on September 9, 2025. “In fact, there are clearly more older than younger players in the squad; most have known each other for many years and form a well-drilled unit,” wrote Mark Gleeson after the perfect World Cup qualification in Kicker.
Cape Verde were drawn in Group H with Uruguay and Spain—two world champions—and will play their historic first World Cup match against European champions Spain on June 15, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia. 

World Cup 2026 debutants: Jordan

Also new are the “Nashama,” the Brave Ones, as the team from Jordan is called. The Asian side has reached the finals 40 years after its first participation in World Cup qualifying. And what would such a fairy tale be without a player who flew under the radar in Germany? Ahmad Assaf, born in Munich, was used twice at right-back during qualification. 

Jordan will meet a World Cup returnee on June 16, 2026, in San Francisco: Austria. Like Scotland and Norway, the ÖFB team is back for the first time since 1998.

World Cup 2026 debutants: Uzbekistan

After a perfect qualification, debutants Uzbekistan signed someone who knows what it feels like to be a world champion: Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro will lead the “White Wolves” as national team coach into the first World Cup in the federation’s history. 

The Uzbeks are already travel world champions: they secured their World Cup ticket 4,500 kilometers from home with a 0–0 draw in Abu Dhabi against the United Arab Emirates.

Like debutants Jordan against Argentina and Lionel Messi, Uzbekistan will also face, in the group stage in Group K, a player revered by fans as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time): Portugal’s football icon Cristiano Ronaldo—on June 23, 2026, in Houston.

However, the Asians’ first World Cup opponent has yet to be determined: New Caledonia, Jamaica or the Democratic Republic of the Congo will contest the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff. In any case, it will be exotic…