The Underdogs of the World Cup

During the World Cup there is most likely going to be an underdog of the tournament. An underdog is a team who is not good but performs well at the World Cup. Over the years 8 teams have had an underdog story at the World Cup. Sweden had an underdog story at the 1958 World Cup in which they reached the final against Brazil but lost 5-2. The next underdog story was at the 1966 World Cup, in which North Korea reached the quarter finals but lost to Portugal 5-3. The next underdog story would not happen until the 1998 World Cup with Croatia, a nation that qualified for the first ever time reached the semis finals but lost to France 2-1 but won their third place match against Netherlands 1-2.

There were two underdogs at the 2002 World Cup which were Turkey and South Korea. Unfortunately South Korea rigged the knockout stage Beating Italy and Spain. They would lose to Germany and lose their third place match. Turkey did not win it and would beat Japan and Senegal but lost to Brazil and won their third place match against South Korea. There was not an underdog at the 2006 World Cup but there was one at the 2010 World Cup which was Ghana. Ghana would reach the quarter finals beating USA. During the quarter finals Luis Suarez would get sent off because he blocked Ghana goal at the 120th minute. But Asamonh Gyan missed their penalty. And went to penalties and lost. In the 2014 World Cup Costa Rica got first place in an impossible group and beat Greece on penalties. And lost to Netherlands on penalties as well.

In the 2018 World Cup Croatia would be an underdog for the second time. They reached the final beating Denmark 1-1 and won 3-2 on penalties. Then beat Russia 2-2 and won 3-4 on penalties. Then beat England 2-1 in extra time. But lost to France 4-2 in the final. In the latest World Cup, Morocco was an underdog being the first African nation to reach the semi finals. Morocco would get first place in their group and beat Spain 0-0 and 3-0 in penalties. Then they beat Portugal 1-0 in the quarter finals. But lost to France 2-0 in the semi finals and lost the third place match 2-1. The best underdog I say in my opinion would be Turkey because they hadn’t qualified for a world cup in a while and got third place. And those are the underdogs of the World Cup.

Predictions for the winner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 Fifa World Cup is coming up in 2 years, 48 teams compete for a trophy. With a new format and more teams than ever, Including a new knockout stage. Some people are thinking who will win the next world cup. The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be hosted in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Some people think Argentina or France might win it. But we don’t know if Messi will be playing at that world cup. A lot of star players from previous world cups will either be old or retired. Some say it’s Brazil since they will have Neymar, Rogydro, Ederson, Vini Jr, and Dante, but they probably won’t win. Some say it’s Argentina since they have Emi Martinez and Mac Aillister. But some will say it’s France since they have Mbappe and Griezmann. All though nobody knows who will win it.

There will most likely be an underdog of the tournament since they will expand the teams from 32 to 48. And with a new knockout format, some teams that aren’t good can make their first appearance and reach the knockout stage. With the 3rd place rankings, there can possibly be teams like Wales or North Macedonia who aren’t good but their 3rd place ranking was good enough to get then sent to the Round of 32. In my opinion I could see Mexico being an underdog while as a co-host because they will have Santiago Gimenez and Edson Alvarez who both play in Europe. All though there have been some problems with the federations and corruption. I think they can still make it to possibly the quarter finals and maybe semis. And that’s who we think will win the 2026 Fifa World Cup.