Underdogs Proving Their Worth At 2026 World Cup

Underdogs Proving Their Worth At 2026 World Cup

When FIFA announced that the World Cup would expand to 48 teams, there was some concern that it would water down the competition. The results from the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the first to use the new format, prove that this couldn’t be further from the case.

The tournament has been massively elevated by a number of superb results and performances from smaller teams. While this has delighted fans, it has also reiterated how important inclusion is for emerging football nations.

Getting to World Cups can benefit countries massively over the long term. Take Canada, for example. Though granted automatic passage due to their status as a co-host nation, the improvement since their appearance four years ago has been stark.

In 2022, Les Rouges finished bottom of their group. Combined with their 1986 debut, the only other time they’d qualified, the team had never even won a World Cup game. Now, four years later, Canada is in the knockout stage. The performance jump has been remarkable, and fans can continue to back the Canucks across the country’s top World Cup betting sites.

The 2026 World Cup is still ongoing, and here are the smaller nations that are making waves with some big results, trying to follow Canada’s growth heading into 2030.

Smaller nations shine at World Cup

Two of the most electric underdog performances from the 2026 World Cup have undoubtedly come from Cabo Verde.

The Blue Sharks shocked everyone by holding tournament favourites and reigning European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw in their opening game. The real highlight was the heroic performance of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who made 7 crucial saves to keep Spain out.

Cabo Verde then followed this up with a 2-2 draw against Uruguay that was, if anything, even more impressive. The team went toe-to-toe with the South Americans, at times genuinely outplaying them, and put themselves on the brink of qualification for the knockout phase.

Elsewhere, Curaçao bounced back from a heavy opening defeat to Germany to draw their game against Ecuador 0-0. This match featured more goalkeeping heroics, with Eloy Room completing 15 saves and facing 28 shot attempts.

DR Congo have also earned their first-ever World Cup tournament point after a 1-1 draw with tournament frontrunners Portugal. Deep into stoppage time at the end of the first half, Yoane Wissa found space in the box and rose to powerfully head home Arthur Masuaku’s inch-perfect cross.

Japan an underdog of a different nature

While being a World Cup underdog usually means heroically avoiding defeat, there is another kind at the 2026 tournament. That is the arrival of Japan as a serious contender, and the questions about just how far the Blue Samurai can go.

Japanese football has been steadily growing since the country embarked on its 100-year plan to win the World Cup in 1992. At the time the football world paid little attention to it. Now, however, major nations would do well not to ignore Japan.

Filled with players inspired by Japan’s co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup, the Blue Samurai have what they consider to be their best-ever team. Early signs were present too, with Japan beating both England and Brazil in the year leading up to the tournament.

Despite being drawn in a tough Group C alongside the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia, Japan have proven mighty opponents. They’re now ready to be unleashed on the knockout stage, and be given the chance to prove just how far ahead of their 100-year schedule they are.