10 Teams Who Could Surprise Us At The World Cup

10 Teams Who Could Surprise Us At The World Cup

Football Blog

10 Teams We Think Could Cause Huge Surprises At The 2026 World Cup

This summer the world's greatest tournament will return as we head to North America for the 2026 World Cup hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada as part of a co-operative effort that we're beginning to see more and more nowadays for international tournaments.

Qualification for the tournament was nothing short of stunning to watch, with some absolutely huge moments like Scotland's last-minute winners and multiple sides have qualified for their first tournament in years.

This is in part due to the changing format, which has seen an expansion in the number of teams taking part in the competition from the traditional 32 up to a whopping 48; naturally, this means a lot more games to watch and a lot more potential for upsets from teams we don't often see qualify.

With that said, here are our picks for the 10 sides we believe are best placed to cause major surprises at the 2026 World Cup.

1) Ecuador

Likely Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Galindez, Franco, Ordoñez, Pacho, Hincapié, Yeboah, Caicedo, Vite, Angulo, Paez, Plata

World Cup Group: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast

Ecuador have now been unbeaten in their last 14 games and it's not that much of a shock as to how when we look at how stacked their starting line-up is and how much of an array of talent they have.

It's generally gone under the radar that Ecuador is slowly building itself into a powerhouse in South America and they have proven this with some key results. In this 14-game unbeaten run some huge upsets have been achieved; they have beaten Argentina, drawn to Brazil and Chile, managing to hold them to clean sheets and beaten Colombia.

These are highly impressive results, no doubt but it cannot go under the radar: the confidence boost that this will give them headed into the World Cup. Argentina and Brazil are two of the bookies' favourites to win the entire competition and Ecuador held them both to clean sheets and a win against the world number 2's Argentina.

In the last 14 games as well, Ecuador have only conceded 3 goals and as we know, teams that are capable of keeping tight defences usually excel in tournaments. Of course this isn't a rule of thumb but if they can continue this, they are likely to go through the group and perhaps even a deep run dependent on the draw.

2) Norway

Likely Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Nyland, Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Moller Wolfe, Berge, Sorloth, Odegaard, Thorstvedt, Nusa, Haaland

World Cup Group: France, Senegal, Bolivia/Iraq/Suriname

I wrote a piece a few months ago talking about just how absurd this Norway side are looking at the moment and the pure quality that they possess and that much has remained true as the World Cup closes in.

This will be their first participation in a World Cup in 28 years and they look set to come back with a bang if their qualification form continues. They set some incredible records during their qualification campaign and between this and individual quality, they will have a great tournament.

I'm just going to list them to put into perspective just how good this Norway team is and why nobody should be sleeping on them. Haaland scored 16 in 8 World Cup qualifiers, the third highest in UEFA qualifying history. They broke the all-time European goal-scoring record for a campaign under 10 games.

You may think this means that Norway must've had an incredibly easy group to qualify from; however, this is not the case, which makes everything they achieved even more impressive. The group featured Italy and Israel, who are some of the top-ranked national sides.

The only thing that could be their undoing is the fact that they have been drawn into one of the 'groups of death' with current World Cup champions Argentina and AFCON champions Senegal. Despite all this, we still think Norway looks far too good to not make the knockout rounds even if this does come through a top 3rd place qualification.

3) Japan

Likely Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Hayakawa, Itakura, Taniguchi, Seko, Sugawara, Endo, Kamada, Maeda, Kubo, Minamino, Ogawa

World Cup Group: Netherlands, Tunisia, Ukraine/Sweden/Albania/Poland

Japan is one of those sides that always seem to end up in the bracket of dark horses, similar to Türkiye, except they do in fact carry out the role on occasion and have qualified for every edition of the World Cup since 1998.

At the last World Cup they were able to progress through a group stage that included Germany and Spain by beating both of them as an example of them pulling off the underdog role.

One of Japan's strengths is the pure quality that they have on the inside, and players that play in the upper echelons of the footballing world have been able to grow the mental edge needed to compete and feel as though they belong. Maeda has shown how vital he is for Celtic and Kamada was crucial in Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup just last season for example.

The group draw should be very helpful for Japan and their aim of finally reaching a World Cup quarter-final. The Netherlands are a very good side; however, Japan have shown a giant-killing ability, as they recently beat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly. Meanwhile, Tunisia should be a straightforward game for the side. Furthermore, whoever of the late qualifiers gets drawn into the group should realistically be one that Japan can get a result against too.

4) Jordan

Likely Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Abulaila, Nasib, Al Rosan, Al Dahab, Smeeri, Al Rashdan, Jamous, Taha, Zraiq, Al Mardi, Olwan

World Cup Group: Argentina, Austria, Algeria

Jordan may well be the biggest shock inclusion in this list but their recent form is simply too good to overlook; they have beaten Egypt and Saudi Arabia recently and in their last outing were only beaten by Morocco in the dying minutes of the game in the final of the Arab Cup.

In 3 of their last 5 games they have been able to keep a clean sheet, showing defensive prowess, and scored 10, showing attacking prowess. Another thing that will be on Jordan's side is the likelihood of them becoming the tournament underdog that everyone starts to root for; support will be fantastic as a result, which can propel them hugely.

The issue for Jordan will be the group they have been drawn into, which is very, very tough. What can play into their favour, though, is that they will be severely underestimated by the majority of sides in this and could pick up shock points. They may not get through the group but will be a hugely exciting watch and could go through as one of the best third-placed sides.

5) Uruguay

Likely Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Fiermarin, Nandez, Araujo, Olivera, Vina, Ugarte, Bentancur, Valverde, De Arrascaeta, Araujo, Vinas

World Cup Group: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia

It's hardly a secret that Uruguay are one of the top South American sides but they have shown very mixed form recently, including suffering a shock 5-1 battering at the hands of the USA.

One of the main factors for Uruguay is the sheer array of talent at their disposal and this historically has always been the case for them; they are a huge footballing nation despite their relatively small population. Players like Araujo and Valverde will be vital to their upcoming campaign but the vast majority of their squad have a mental understanding of playing at the top level even if they themselves are not huge names.

On top of all of this, they have Argentine icon Marcelo Bielsa in charge of the club so it's safe to say that their games are going to be box office, insanely entertaining matches if nothing else.

Uruguay have had a very kind draw in comparison to some of the other sides in this list for the group stage. Spain is a very tough game but aside from this, and not in a dismissive way, Saudi Arabia should be a straightforward victory, as should Cape Verde.

6) Morocco

Likely Starting XI (4-3-3): Bono, Hakimi, Aguerd, Masina, Mazraoui, El Khannouss, El Aynaoui, Saibari, Brahim Diaz, El Kaabi, Ben Seghir

World Cup Group: Brazil, Haiti, Scotland

Morocco has already fulfilled an underdog role in the World Cup, managing to reach the semi-finals last year, beating Spain and Portugal on the way before a loss to France. Since this, they have actually gotten stronger and look like a genuine top 10 side in this tournament.

The quality on the side makes it clear why they are the best African nation; despite the loss of the AFCON final, Hakimi is the best right-back in the world, Brahim Diaz is a regular for the biggest club in the world and some huge young players are making waves throughout Europe, such as Ben Seghir and Saibari.

In their last 5 games, Morocco have also shown to have been able to keep it tidy at the back, just like they did to make it all the way through to the semi-finals last tournament. They have kept 5 clean sheets and only conceded 2 in their last 7, which includes their entire tournament at AFCON.

The group they have been drawn into isn't straightforward by any means; Brazil are one of the favourites for the entire tournament and Scotland have shown to be dark horses in their own right with a highly impressive qualifying campaign. That said, Morocco should be able to navigate it with relative ease to confirm a spot in the knockouts; after this there are very few teams with the capacity to blow them away so who knows what they can achieve?

7) Austria

Likely Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Schlager, Laimer, Lienhart, Danso, Mwene, Seiwald, Schlager, Wimmer, Baumgartner, Sabitzer, Arnautovic

World Cup Group: Argentina, Jordan, Algeria

Austria is another one of the teams making their first World Cup appearance of this century in North America this summer after a solid qualifying campaign saw them make their long-anticipated return.

It's a shock that it's taken so long, really, with some of the talent that gets produced and this much is true for the side as of now. This current Austrian side has a very nice blend of experience and grit with youth and energy that should be able to carry them through to at least the knockout stages.

Talents like Seiwald have started to emerge as hot prospects in Europe as of late but Austria won't be relying on this; Arnautovic and Sabitzer for example, have played at the top level of European football for years and years now and know the grit it can take to grind through tournaments and get results.

Their qualification campaign was also relatively straightforward and saw some huge results like a 10-0 hammering of San Marino. They were also the last side to give Norway a hammering of their own when they beat them 5-1 all the way back in October 2024. Half of Austria's qualifying games ended with clean sheets and they were able to score a whopping 23 in 8 games.

8) Mexico

Likely Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Rangel, Ledezma, Reyes, Del Villar, Gallardo, Lira, Alvarado, Ruiz, Gutierrez, Alvarez, Gonzalez

World Cup Group: South Africa, South Korea, North Macedonia/Denmark/Czechia/Republic of Ireland

As one of the co-hosts of the whole tournament and huge communities of fans in both Canada and the USA, the support for Mexico will be monumental and virtually every game will feel like a home game.

On top of this,, Mexico have been in fine form recently, winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year and only having lost 2 of their last 16 games in all competitions. This is all despite having on paper their worst squad in decades, as commentators and analysts have described.

The group stage draw has fallen very nicely for Mexico, to a point that they would probably be very upset if they didn't make it through to the knockout stages. This is not to dismiss the ability of the other sides but in comparison to some of the other groups out there, Mexican fans will be very happy with their outcome.

9) Switzerland

Likely Starting XI (4-3-3): Kobel, Widmer, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Aebischer, Xhaka, Sow, Manzambi, Embolo, Vargas

World Cup Group: Canada, Qatar, Italy/Northern Ireland/Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina

Switzerland is yet another one of the sides that you can put down as a perineal underdog and yet they perform every single time and have reached the knockout rounds of their last 6 major tournaments and should do again this time.

The best way to describe Switzerland's squad is efficient and effective; players like Xhaka and Akanji have huge top-level experience that radiates throughout the team and just gets the job done. There's very rarely drama when it comes to Switzerland; if they pull off upsets, they do it in a very straightforward way, none of this late comeback stuff, just outplaying a side comfortably.

This was basically the story of their qualifying campaign, which they went unbeaten in and ended up topping the group ahead of favourites Sweden whilst only conceding 2 on the way to doing so.

In relation to the group, it wouldn't be a shock if this were another one that Switzerland topped; Canada and Qatar are easily beatable if Switzerland are on form, as are really any of the late qualifiers. They won't necessarily win every single game; however, reaching the knockout stages undefeated would not surprise us. After that it's dependent on the draw but Switzerland loves an upset so there's a potential for a deep run.

10) Scotland

Likely Starting XI (4-4-2): Gordon, Hickey, Hanley, McKenna, Robertson, Christie, Ferguson, McGinn, Doak, McTominay, Dykes

World Cup Group: Brazil, Haiti, Morocco

Scotland shocked everyone when they managed to finish top of their qualification group, which included Denmark, Greece and Belarus but there's certainly a question as to whether we should have really been that shocked that they were able to do so.

Yet another one of the sides who have not played in the World Cup since 1998, Scotland will have a lot to prove and have already done so with a stellar qualifying campaign, as mentioned.

Some of the talent in the Scotland squad is genuinely top-tier; McTominay has had a renaissance over in Naples and is now worshipped like a god, much to everyone's surprise, after he left Manchester United and has finally been profiled correctly as a late runner into the box. McGinn has also had a very solid spell as captain of Aston Villa and has been vital in guiding the side towards Champions League finishes. As well as this, some huge young talent like Doaks is available to the nation.

Scotland will also suffer from being in an unlucky World Cup group, having to try to pip one of Brazil or Morocco, two of the best teams in the tournament, to an automatic qualification spot into the knockout rounds. That said, they have a track record of surprising the world recently and with one of the best squads and talent pools they've had in years, what better time to put on a run to make the world and their neighbours serious?

Mathew Musgrave
Mathew Musgrave Writer at FootballPark

My name is Mathew Musgrave and I'm one of the writers at Football Park. I'm an Arsenal fan and enjoy writing about any and all football. Most of my knowledge is around English Football but being a big fan of research, I will gladly write about anything.

View all articles by Mathew Musgrave →

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