Some minnows may automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and make their historic debut.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers are already underway. In some confederations, it is already halfway done. CONMEBOL, CAF, and the AFC may see qualified teams in early 2025.
CONMEBOL has already completed 12 games in the first round, with six matches to go to determine the six sides to qualify automatically. They will be taken from the team finishing in the top six in the final standing, with the one sitting seventh to advance to the intercontinental playoff. So far, the only team in the region that has yet to make their World Cup debut is Venezuela. Salomón Rondón and Co. have the potential to qualify but might not be automatically as they are still sitting eighth with 12 points, trailing five points from Paraguay on the sixth but only one point shy from Bolivia on the seventh. They most likely would have to fight for the remaining two berths in the playoff stage.
CAF is still undergoing the first round with six games remaining. The 62 nations are divided into nine groups, and the team finishing at the top of the table secures the spot in the World Cup final round automatically. The best four runners-up will have to go through the regional playoff to seal one place in the intercontinental playoff. Two African minnows could potentially snatch their spots automatically.
Meanwhile, in the AFC, the qualifying round has reached the third round, with three groups consisting of six teams. The top two sides from each group shall fly to North America directly for the final round, while the ones sitting third and fourth will go through the continental playoff for the remaining two Asian berths. They will be seeded in two groups again, and only the group leader qualifies, whereas the runners-up from each group would square off to clinch one place in the intercontinental playoff. So far, two surprising minnows could qualify directly.
Comoros is one of the African teams that has developed quite rapidly in the past five years. They made their debut in the 2021 AFCON (African Cup of Nations) after completing the qualifying campaign positively in November 2019. It was their first major international tournament since joining FIFA.
In the final round, Comoros even managed to qualify to the round of 16 after beating Ghana 3-2 in a decisive third match at the group stage. Unfortunately, they could not ease past the host Cameroon. The Indomitable Lions had to struggle to knock them out with a narrow 2-1 win.
Comoros qualified for their second AFCON in 2025 after missing out on the 2023 edition. Stefano Cusin’s man even toppled Tunisia in the final standings of AFCON qualifiers with an unbeaten record.
In the current 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, they are also at the top of the Group I table with nine points, the same as Ghana’s in the second. Saïd Bakari and Co still have six games left to complete the qualifying round, with the away match versus Ghana and double fixtures against Mali as their most challenging ones. Should they be able to snatch another win over The Black Stars to replicate their home victory, plus another four points while meeting Mali might help them to make their World Cup debut in North America in two years’ time.
Mozambique is another potential shocking side to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They are currently sitting second in Group G at the CAF World Cup qualifiers. Chiquinho Conde’s side shares the same nine points as Algeria at the top of the standings. They also still have six games left, with the clash versus Algeria on the road and playing host to Guinea as the hardest ones.
However, in AFCON history, Mozambique has yet to progress from the group stage. Unlike Comoros, they have qualified in five AFCON editions, including the 2023 one, but always failed to go through the next round.
The 2023 Asian Cup runners-up is probably the former minnow side with the most experience at the World Cup qualifiers. They are currently in second place in group B with a fairly positive result—two wins and three draws in six matches. Their only defeat was in the home game against South Korea. Jamal Sellami’s men could take revenge in the reverse fixture, although it would be tricky. A victory over their toughest rivals, Korea and Iraq, would help them qualify automatically. Jordan is currently only two points behind Iraq on the table with nine points.
Jordan football has made an improvement since the early 2010s. They even already qualified to the interconfederation playoff for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Under the tutelage of Egyptian boss Mahmoud El-Gohary, they knocked out Uzbekistan on penalties in the continental playoff after finishing third in the third round. Unfortunately, they were hapless against Luis Suárez’s Uruguay in the playoff. La Celeste ran rampant in a 5-0 win over Jordan at their own home turf before a goalless stalemate in the second leg in Montevideo.
Last but not least, Indonesia has been considered the most unexpected minnow with its impressive form lately. It might not be their first time to reach the later stage in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but it is certainly their first since the 1986 edition. That was their last fine campaign, as they were able to reach the semifinals in the East region but lost to South Korea 6-1 on aggregate.
In the current qualifiers, Shin Tae-yong’s men are sitting third with six points from one win, three draws, and two losses. They share the same points with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain but are only one point shy of Australia in second place. Their first win over Saudi Arabia this week boosts their confidence to make their World Cup debut. Marselino Ferdinan and Co. can only hope their positive results continue in the following four games. They play host against Bahrain and China plus two tough away games versus the Socceroos and Japan. Two wins at their home turf plus avoiding another defeat on the road should help them secure their automatic berth in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Indonesian football has made a fairly unbelievable rise in the past two years, mainly due to the policy of naturalising the band of foreign-born players. The likes of Jay Idzes, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Rafael Struick, Calvin Verdonk, Justin Hubner, Martin Paes, and most recently, the brother of AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders, Eliano Reijnders, have been considered the decisive and rather instant factor in their improvement, instead of the long-term local competition and development on the grassroots level.
In the past few years, they have been able to advance further in the major competition. Indonesia only lost to Australia in their first round of 16 in the 2023 Asian Cup, and their U23 side narrowly missed the chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics following their defeat to Guinea U23 at the playoff stage.
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