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There are still 6 places left for the 2026 World Cup. 16 teams will compete for four of them in Europe, and 6 teams will compete for the other two, as part of the intercontinental play-offs (to be held in March 2026).
Among these 22 teams, there are a dozen exotic teams, both for the World Cup and in general. Let's take a quick look at them.
DR Congo (56th in FIFA rankings)
While Haiti is mired in fighting and has no control over its own capital, the Democratic Republic of Congo, located in Central Africa, is still holding out, although the situation in the east of the country is dire. The country's wealth and problem are its large deposits of minerals, in particular coltan, a tantalum ore used in the production of mobile phones and other electronic systems. The echo of the "civil" war, in which Rwanda is also accused of participating, is linked to the genocide in the latter, the Tutsis, who now control the Rwandan government, are trying to catch up with the Hutus, who, after the genocide, moved to the DRC, among others. They reached the knockout stage after a struggle in the African federation, eliminating Nigeria in the last round, coach Osimhen and his teammates later complained that the Congolese were practicing voodoo. They were welcomed home with honors:
It is important not to confuse the DRC with the Republic of the Congo, the two countries are named almost identically due to the name of the region, which comes from the name of the Bakongo people who live there. The DRC has only participated in the World Cup once, in 1974, when it was still called Zaire.
Iraq (58)
Despite being the second-highest-ranked team in FIFA, Iraq have only participated in the World Cup once, in 1986. A country whose political problems at the turn of the millennium need no explanation, they failed to advance past the round of 16 in the last two Asian Cups, and in this qualifying campaign, they failed to secure a direct ticket either to the main round (losing by one point to Jordan) or to the next round.
There was a minor scandal: Saudi Arabia was allowed to advance, and the AFC decided to hold the entire three-match "group tournament" on its territory. Both the Saudis and the Iraqis beat Indonesia and drew 0-0, but since the hosts beat the Indonesians 3-2 and Iraq only 1-0, Saudi Arabia qualified for the World Cup on goal difference. The fairness of this is questionable.
Iraq needed to beat the United Arab Emirates to qualify for the intercontinental qualifiers, and they did, mind you, with a penalty in the 90th+17th minute! The penalty was awarded for a handball, Amir Al-Ammari from Krakow scored the goal.
Albania (63)
Potential debutants in the tournament, the team from the Western Balkans has never come this close to a World Cup. They played in Euro 2016 and 2024, where they scored the fastest goal in the history of the European Championship.
This second place was especially important because they beat Serbia in the qualifiers (losing only to Tuchel's crazy England). Because no matter how easy it may have been to melt relations between Serbs and Albanians, the confrontation between the nations continues. Albania played Serbia 0-0 at home and won 1-0 away in Leskovc (near Kosovo), not without a "provocative" eagle gesture by Rey Manaj, which caused a clash.
North Macedonia (65)
North Macedonia has yet to qualify for the World Cup, although it caused quite a stir in 2022 when its goal prevented Italy from going to Qatar. Depending on the draw, history could repeat itself, with teams from Pot 4 (which includes North Macedonia) playing against Pot 1, which includes Italy. We are well-acquainted with the only major tournament the team has participated in, Euro 2020, having played them in the same group.
North Macedonia fought until the last minute in qualifying to avoid finishing in this pot, but conceded 7 goals to their direct rivals, Wales, in the last round. At the same time, they failed to beat Belgium, for example, with two draws. So, they are playing in the Nations League quota, where they won 5 out of 6 games in a group with Armenia, Faroe Islands and Latvia. Impressive!
Northern Ireland (69)
Northern Ireland, like Iraq, have not played in the World Cup since 1986, although in 1958 they even advanced from the group stage and played in the quarter-finals. They failed to get past the qualifiers against Slovakia and Germany, but got a second chance in the Nations League, winning their group with Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg. They also became the lowest-placed group winners in Division C, winning only three games and failing to beat Luxembourg in the final round. But that is enough to keep them in contention for the World Cup!
And for good reason, until the draw is made, there is a scenario in which Ireland and Northern Ireland could play in the final for a place in the World Cup. To do so, they would have to beat the teams from the "higher" pot, in particular, we could be in the northern pot.
Jamaica (70)
Karaibet ishin atraksioni kryesor në turneun kualifikues të CONCACAF, duke pasur parasysh se të tre vendet kryesore në zonë tashmë po presin Kupën e Botës. Xhamajka ka marrë pjesë në turne vetëm një herë, në vitin 1998.
Ata mund ta kishin bërë përsëri këtë, por nuk arritën ta mposhtnin ekipin vendas të Curacaos në ndeshjen vendimtare ballë për ballë të raundit të fundit, e cila u luajt gjithashtu në shtëpi në Kingston. Në të njëjtën kohë, ekipi ka disa lojtarë që luajnë ose kanë luajtur së fundmi në Premier League, Rico Henry dhe Ethan Pinnock nga Brentford, Bobby Decordova-Reid , i cili luajti për Fulham, Isaac Hayden , i cili luajti për Newcastle për gati një dekadë dhe Demarai Gray.
Steve McClaren e udhëhoqi ekipin deri në fishkëllimën e fundit të barazimit 0-0 me Curacaon. Pas ndeshjes, ai njoftoi dorëheqjen e tij, duke thënë se e kishte marrë vendimin pas një shqyrtimi të kujdesshëm:
Bolivi (76)
Bolivianëve nuk iu desh një fushatë e fortë kualifikuese për Kupën e Botës: ata humbën 10 nga 18 ndeshje dhe përfunduan të katërtit nga fundi në tabelë. Megjithatë, falë faktit se ka vetëm 10 federata në Amerikën e Jugut dhe 6 bileta direkte dhe një në fazën eliminatore, ata janë ende në garë.
Ndeshja vendimtare që i lejoi ata të arrinin në fazën eliminatore ndërkontinentale u zhvillua në raundin e fundit: ata mundën Brazilin 1-0 në shtëpi. Lartësia e madhe i ndihmoi në këtë, stadiumi El Alto, ku u luajt ndeshja, ndodhet në një lartësi prej 4,088 metrash mbi nivelin e detit. Në një kohë, brazilianët ishin të vetmit që mbështetën ndalimin e ndeshjeve ndërkombëtare në lartësi mbi 3,000 metra.
Bolivia luajti për herë të fundit në Kupën e Botës në vitin 1994, dhe para kësaj në vitet 1930 dhe 1950.
Kosova (80)
Një nga tre vendet pritëse të Kupës së Botës 2026 nuk e njeh pavarësinë e Kosovës nga Serbia, dhe kjo është Meksika. Edhe pse ka pasur valë ngrohjeje në marrëdhëniet ndërshtetërore midis Kosovës dhe Serbisë (si në vitin 2023, kur serbët njohën dokumentet dhe simbolet kombëtare të Kosovës), këto janë zëvendësuar nga valë provokimesh (si vota e Serbisë kundër anëtarësimit të Kosovës në Këshillin e Evropës ose mbyllja e zyrave postare serbe nga ana e Kosovës).
Kjo skuadër relativisht e re, për të cilën ky është vetëm cikli i tretë kualifikues i Kupës së Botës, iu afrua kualifikimit, duke përfunduar përkatësisht në vendin e gjashtë dhe të pestë. Kjo ndodhi pjesërisht për shkak të dështimit epik të suedezëve, të cilët përfunduan vetëm të katërtit, por edhe falë trajnerit relativisht të njohur Franco Foda. Ai stërviti ekipin kombëtar austriak nga viti 2018 deri në vitin 2022.
Surinami (123)
Suriname is another unique country in the context of football because, despite its geographical location in South America, it plays in the CONCACAF zone together with other former Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, as well as Guyana and French Guiana. This ticket was given to the country, a significant part of whose national team was born in the Netherlands, by the Guatemalan Nicolas Samayoa. In the last round, Suriname was losing 0:3 to its opponent until the 90+3 minute, which gave it a goal difference of +2, respectively, Honduras passed it in the ranking of second places with +3. In the 90+4 minute, Samayoa headed the ball into his own goal, raising Suriname in the ranking, after scoring nine goals and Honduras only five. Suriname has never played in the World Cup and its closest European neighbor in the FIFA rankings is the Faroe Islands national team, which is ranked 125th.
New Caledonia (149)
The expansion of the World Cup has made it theoretically possible for two more countries from Oceania to participate: New Zealand will now (always?) qualify directly, while the OFC qualifying finalist will enter the intercontinental play-offs.
New Caledonia, only Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and San Marino are below them in the FIFA rankings among European teams. However, in Oceania, they are considered one of the major forces outside of New Zealand, in particular, they reached the final of the Oceania Cup in 2008 and 2012.
They could have done so again in 2024, but they pulled out of the tournament. Politics also played a role here: the country is an overseas territory of France with a degree of autonomy and has been embroiled in a struggle between supporters of independence and those who oppose it. Last year, this struggle led to serious protests in the country, and in July 2025, the governments of France and New Caledonia agreed to create a “state within a state,” but this decision must still be approved by the French parliament and local residents in a referendum.
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