First-timers: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Uzbekistan and more
The 48-team era fulfills more nations' dreams. How Cape Verde, Curaçao, Uzbekistan and Iraq qualified—and why neutrals should watch.
Expansion sends first-time or long-absent nations to the world stage. Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan write new chapters—perfect neutral-fan narratives.
Cape Verde (Group H) debut against Spain, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay—brutal, but their qualifying pace earned African dark-horse tags. Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia in round three may shape best-third-place maths.
Curaçao (Group E)—a tiny Caribbean nation in a group with Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador. Many players come through the Dutch system; the Germany fixture is global mismatch theatre.
Uzbekistan (Group K) with Portugal, Colombia and DR Congo—Central Asia's first World Cup.
Iraq (Group I) carry emotional weight alongside France, Norway and Senegal—every match is underdog theatre.
Also watch Haiti, DR Congo and Scotland. Longer spotlight articles cover some debutants in Chinese.
Track groups and FAQ for third-place rules. Based on FIFA lists and Yahoo Sports draw coverage.