10 Countries That Could Cause a SHOCK at World Cup 2026

10 Countries That Could Cause a SHOCK at World Cup 2026

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the underdog nations that could go on to cause shocking upsets at the 2026 edition of international football’s biggest event, the FIFA World Cup.

Curaçao

Whether the country was known as Netherlands Antilles or Curaçao, the World Cup never saw the Caribbean perform. Well, until 2026. Unbeaten throughout CONCACAF qualification, Curaçao has progressed to its debut World Cup. With a population just over 150,000, the Blue Wave will sweep into the tournament's history books as the smallest nation to qualify and having the oldest manager, Dick Advocaat, who’ll be 78. While Curaçao has one of the lowest odds of winning the competition, fate loves an underdog. In a group alongside Germany, Ecuador, and the Ivory Coast, it doesn’t look great for them. Yet with Leandro Bacuna and Tahith Chong leading Curaçao, an upset or two isn’t out of the question.

Ecuador

With the pressure of playing the first game of the 2022 tournament against host country Qatar, Ecuador got off to a great start thanks to the legendary Enner Valencia. While they were gone in the group stage, the South Americans quietly gathered a star-studded squad of youngsters mixed with veterans. With stars such as captain Valencia, Kendry Páez, and Moisés Caicedo, Ecuador had an impressive CONMEBOL qualification, despite having a three-point penalty for fielding an ineligible player. Ending in second place, La Tricolor beat reigning World champs Argentina, who finished top. With a strong defence, Ecuador only conceded five goals in qualification. The next least, Argentina and Paraguay, had ten. As such, teams will struggle to break Ecuador down.

Turkey

It’s been a long wait for the European nation. The last time Turkey was in the World Cup was in 2002, when, despite Brazil’s Rivaldo sullying the experience, they finished in shocking third place. With Vincenzo Montella in charge, the Turkish team in recent years has become a serious threat with stars such as captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Arda Güler, and Barış Alper Yılmaz. After finishing second, only three points behind Spain in UEFA qualification, the Crescent-Stars had to go through the play-offs. Yet they left Romania and Kosovo in their wake to qualify for the World Cup. Turkey has been placed in a group featuring the US, Paraguay, and Australia. With little between the nations, Turkey, with their venomous frontline, is going to cause problems.

Colombia

Over a decade since the 2014 World Cup, everyone still fondly remembers James Rodríguez’s phenomenal goal for Colombia. With him still representing his country as captain, he may provide another shock in 2026. Having missed out on the 2022 World Cup, Colombia finished third in CONMEBOL for the 2026 tournament. The icing on the cake was that Los Cafeteros surprisingly beat Brazil on their way to doing so. While Colombia conceded the most out of the automatic qualifying teams, only Argentina scored more goals. So, expect goals galore whenever they’re playing. Every area of their squad is brimming with talent, such as Yáser Asprilla, Luis Díaz, and Daniel Muñoz, alongside the experience of David Ospina and Juan Cuadrado.

USA

Starting with Uruguay in the first World Cup in 1930, altogether six host nations have gone on to win the tournament. Except in two incidents, the hosts have progressed from the group stage each time. So, with that, it’s looking good for the US as one of the 2026 co-hosts. However, despite the US women being a dominant force at their World Cup, it hasn’t been the case for the men. After all, they haven’t gone further than the round of 16 since 2002. Yet with home advantage and host pressure, we could see something magical. With a decorated Mauricio Pochettino managing, the US team features exciting talent like Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, and Christian Pulisic, who’ll be looking to leave their mark.

Mexico

One of the 2026 co-hosts, Mexico, has added pressure since they’ll be platforming and competing in the opening game against South Africa. El Tri has a good record at the tournament, only missing out on five World Cups, two of which were due to withdrawing or a ban. With Javier Aguirre enjoying his third stint as Mexico’s manager, the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners will be looking to prove a point after exiting the 2022 World Cup in the group stage. With a squad containing stars such as Raúl Jiménez, Hirving Lozano, and an up-and-coming Gilberto Mora, Mexico will be a threat. Plus, the legendary Guillermo Ochoa, who seems to only appear every four years, could make his sixth World Cup, which is incredible.

Canada

As a co-host, Canada got to skip any qualification chaos. And with their history in the World Cup, where they’ve only qualified twice, that’s only made them look like write-offs. After all, at the 2022 tournament, Canada scored their first, and so far, only, World Cup goal before exiting in the group stage. All of that is a delicious recipe for a major upset in 2026. In a group featuring Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Switzerland, the Canucks have talent within their squad. Captain Canada, Alphonso Davies, will be looking to put the past couple of years of injuries behind him to lift his nation to success. With support from the threatening Jonathan David and the experience of Jonathan Osorio, Canada may go far.

Norway

At the 1998 World Cup, Norway left a lasting impression by beating eventual runner-ups Brazil in the group stage. Thankfully, they did that, as Norwegians haven’t had another World Cup memory since. Well, that's obviously changed for 2026. Landslaget ran riot in their qualification. Scoring 37 goals and conceding only five, Norway won every game to finish top above Italy, which has a storied history in the tournament. The Scandinavians are powered by a golden generation of stars playing club football in the world’s best leagues. Spearheaded by their record goal scorer, Erling Haaland, and captained by the creative Martin Ødegaard, the team also features a myriad of talent, including Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sørloth, and Kristoffer Ajer.

Morocco

The most shocking nation of the 2022 tournament, Morocco, turned everyone’s heads on the iconic run, defeating big nations like Belgium, Portugal, and Spain, albeit on penalties, as they finished the tournament in fourth place. So, could they do it again? Yep, very much so. Only this time, no one knows how far they could go. Yet even with a mark against Morocco following controversially being awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Atlas Lions stormed through CAF qualification by winning every group game, scoring 22 and conceding only two. With the added pressure of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, Morocco could upset everything again with stars such as captain Achraf Hakimi, Brahim Díaz, and goalkeeper Yassine “Bono” Bounou as the backbone.

Japan

While Japan fans are known for cleaning up stadiums at World Cups, their team is ferocious. In qualification, the Samurai Blue finished top of their two groups, scoring 54 goals and conceding three altogether. They only lost once and drew twice in 16 games. In Japan’s World Cup history, they haven’t gone further than the round of 16. And that could be about to change. However, there is a spanner in the works; an injury to the phenomenal Kaoru Mitoma, resulting in him missing the tournament. Yet with captain Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo, and Ayase Ueda, Japan still has plenty of threat. Plus, they can rely on the vast experience of Yūto Nagatomo, who’ll become the first Asian player to go to five World Cups.

Besides from your own nation, which other country will you be rooting for at the 2026 World Cup? Let us know below!