2026 FIFA World Cup dark horses: Five teams that could shock the world
Every four years the conversation around the World Cup begins the same.Which country is going to win?Can Brazil get back to the top? Is this finally England’s year? Does Argentina have one more magical run left in them? Will France just dominate everyone?But then the tournament starts, the matches unfold and the summer heat settles in.One of the favorites will inevitably be toppled by an underdog nation that nobody was talking about two weeks earlier.
Suddenly, that country is standing in the quarterfinals with the entire world wondering how on earth they got there.Four years ago in Qatar, that team was Morocco.They won their Group that they were projected to finish last in.
Then they stunned the favorites Spain in the Round of 16.Upset heavily-favored Portugal in the quarterfinals, becoming the first African—and Arab—nation in World Cup history to reach the semifinals.The 2026 World Cup is spread out across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
It features an expanded field of 48 teams, playing across vast distances and time zones over 16 different host cities.That makes it ripe for upsets and surprises.
This tournament could become a playground for nations built on chemistry, athleticism, adaptability to the conditions, and most of all belief, rather than star power alone.Who will be like Morocco in 2026? The underdog that rises through the ranks to topple soccer’s giants?Here are five dark horses capable of crashing the party — and two true Cinderella stories that could make the world fall in love with them along the way.For nearly three decades, Norway has been football’s version of a luxury sports car sitting untouched in the garage.The engine still runs beautifully, but nobody can figure out why it hasn’t left the driveway.But this is the year the sleeping giant finally awakens.Making their first World Cup appearance since 1998, Norway arrives with what many consider to be their strongest squad in modern history.Any team featuring Mancheste...