Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has framed the 2026 World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams as a watershed moment for inclusivity, opening the door for nations that have never qualified before.Indeed, four teams will be playing at their first World Cup in North America this summer: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Can you identify all 48 teams in World Cup 2026?This article will be opened in a new browser windowlist 2 of 4‘We just wanted it more’: How Kansas City became unlikely World Cup hostslist 3 of 4World Cup 2026 base camps: Where will the 48 teams stay and train?list 4 of 4FIFA warned ‘gruelling heat’ could impact a quarter of World Cup gamesend of listHere is Al Jazeera’s short guide to the debutants at this year’s competition.Cape Verde
FIFA world ranking: 69
World Cup fixtures (Group H): Spain (June 15, Atlanta), Uruguay (June 21, Miami, US), Saudi Arabia (June 26, Houston, US)
Player to watch: Garry Rodrigues
With a population of about 525,000, the small archipelago off the coast of Senegal will become the third-least populous country to participate in a World Cup after Curacao and Iceland.Ryan Mendes is not even a household name in Turkiye, where he plays for second-tier Igdir, but Cape Verde’s 35-year-old captain was at the heart of their 3-0 win over Eswatini in October, which booked their place at the World Cup.This was no freak occurrence as Cape Verde topped their group at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which included Ghana, reaching the quarterfinals where they lost on penalties to South Africa.Although they failed to reach AFCON 2025, they again topped their group in 2026 World Cup qualifying – this time finishing ahead of the once-mighty Cameroon.“We have taken part in four African Cup of Nations tournaments, and we were also very close to qualifying for the 2014 World Cup,” Mendes told the AFP news agency.“A lot has been achieved over the years. And today, we can say that this is the logical outcome.”Garry Rodrigues of Cape Verde is challenged by Onni Valakari of Finland during a match in March [Phil Walter/Getty Images]Cape Verde rely heavily on their Portuguese colonial past for a supply of diaspora talent, and also have several Dutch-born players, as well as one from Ireland – the Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes. The Dublin-born 33-year-old has a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother and was reportedly recruited for Cape Verde via LinkedIn.The team’s best-known player, however, is probably 35-year-old winger Garry Rodrigues; now at Cypriot club Apollon Limassol, he has had stints at the likes of Galatasaray and Olympiacos.But even without mega-star names, Mendes is certain that the Blue Sharks can make a mark at the tournament.“One thing’s for sure: we’re not going there just to play three games and come home,” he said.Curacao
