SCOTLAND won’t be the biggest underdogs at next summer’s World Cup – tiny Curaçao, war-torn Haiti and the Cape Verde holiday islands will be longer shots.
Joining them are minnows Jordan, Qatar, Panama and Uzbekistan, where fans danced in the streets at the news that they would be joining the greatest sporting show on Earth.
The decision by football’s governing body FIFA to increase the number of teams in the finals to 48 teams from the normal 32 gave them a chance at the big time.
Curacao, which is the size of the Isle of Man and has a 155,000 population similar to the size of Cambridge, will be the smallest nation to ever kick a ball in the finals.
Their winger Kenji Gorre, 31, who used to play for third tier Northampton Town, says: “It’s an impossibility that is made possible.”
But he’s not the only one pinching himself that he’s going to the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
It is so dangerous in lawless Haiti that the manager has never been there and the team has to play abroad.
Cape Verde has no professional football league and Jordan were thrashed 6-0 by Norway only two years ago.
Meanwhile, Panama has been threatened with invasion by US president Donald Trump.
I witnessed the intense joy of Cape Verdeans when they qualified last month, with the capital city Praia transformed into one massive street party.
While there are critics of the enlarged tournament there is no doubt the beautiful game is spreading joy to all points of the planet.
Here we look at the miracle minnows heading to the World Cup.
Curacao
FIFA World ranking: 82
This Caribbean island is part of the Kingdom of Holland and only gained autonomy in 2010.
Legend has it that the country’s name comes from the Portuguese phrase Ilha da Curação, which means Island of Healing because sailors dropped off there suffering from scurvy would be cured by the citrus fruits.
It is now a popular tourist destination and also has oil resources.
The disadvantage of its glorious location is that it’s only 42 miles from Venezuela, whose citizens are feeling the authoritarian regime.
Currently, 17,000 refugees are being held on the tiny island which is only 275 square miles in size.
Curacao are managed by former Dutch coach Dick Advocaat and secured top spot in their group with a 0-0 draw against Steve McClaren’s Jamaica side on Wednesday.
Kenji Gorre, who like most of the squad was born in Holland, says: “For my family, like my mum, who is from Curaçao, and her mum, my grandma, and they’ve got so much family in Curaçao as well that I’m just proud. And that just does something to my soul.”
Haiti
Ranking: 84
The Caribbean country’s capital Port-au-Prince is controlled by murderous gangs – meaning the nation’s football team can’t play there.
The side’s manager Sebastien Migne, a 52-year-old Frenchman, has never been to Haiti “because it’s too dangerous.”
No international flights land there, foreigners risk being kidnapped and the country’s previous prime minister Ariel Henry resigned in April 2024 having been unable to return due to militia violence.
More than 1.3million Haitians have fled the country where heavily-armed gangs rampage into neighbourhoods killing dozens at a time.
Anything remains possible
Haiti’s presidential office
On top of that Haiti, which has a population of 12 million, is still recovering from the 2010 earthquake and suffered many losses in storm Melissa last month.
The Haitian presidential office said in a statement: “This qualification reignites hope, inspires young people, strengthens national cohesion and restores to an entire people the conviction that together, anything remains possible.”
The team, which includes Wolves Premier league midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, play home matches in Curacao.
The Grenadiers will hope to improve on their only previous appearance in the World Cup finals, when they lost all their matches in 1974.
Cape Verde
Ranking: 68
The ten inhabited Atlantic islands set 500 miles from the coast of Africa didn’t have enough money to try to qualify for the World Cup in the run up to the 2002 tournament.
There is no professional league, with the distances between the volcanic islands too far to maintain regular matches.
But the Blue Sharks have been able to tap into the resources of Cape Verdeans who moved abroad for better opportunities.
They include Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Carlos ‘Pico’ Lopes, 33, who told The Sun: “We’ll play anybody in the World Cup, we don’t mind. Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, England it doesn’t matter who it is.”
The nation of just 540,000 people caused a major upset by topping a group that included Cameroon, whose squad includes Manchester United’s £70million striker Bryan Mbeumo.
Nearly 250,000 Brits holiday there every year, but the country – which only gained independence from Portugal in 1975 – is fighting against South American drug cartels that use it to transport cocaine to Europe.
Uzbekistan
Ranking: 50
The former Soviet central Asian nation only became an independent country in 1998 and this will be its first ever World Cup finals.
But Uzbekistan is not to be underestimated.
Ranked 50th in the world by FIFA they have some top players including Man City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
After qualifying, the oil and gas-rich Muslim nation appointed Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro as manager in the hope of doing well in North America.
The country’s FA Vice-President Ravshan Irmatov, who refereed at three World Cups, says: “Qualifying for the World Cup has been a dream for 38 million people for 34 years. You can understand how important it was for the Uzbek nation, we waited so long.”
There are questions about human rights and democracy in Uzbekistan, where opposition to the authoritarian president Shavkat Mirziyoyev is suppressed.
Jordan
Ranking: 66
The Middle Eastern nation will be making its World Cup debut after their hero striker Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Oman in June.
Unlike many of the other rank outsiders, Jordan, which has a population of 11million, has a squad made up mainly of footballers plying their trade in its own pro league.
Although, the 89-cap winger Musa Al-Tamari does play for top French side Rennes.
Once a British colony, Jordan maintains close ties, with King Abdullah II of Jordan having been educated at St Edmund’s prep school in Surrey.
Jordan, which borders Syria and the West Bank in Israel, hosts one of the largest numbers of refugees per capita in the world.
Despite lacking natural resources, the land-locked and largely desert nation is reasonably stable politically.
Panama
Ranking: 30
The central American nation famous for its canal, hats and cigars is ranked higher than Scotland – but has only played in one previous World Cup.
A few members of England’s current squad will know them well, with captain Harry Kane having scored a hat-trick when they thrashed Panama 6-1 in the group stage of the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Panama lost all three of their games, so will be hoping to do a lot better in 2026.
Most of the team play with club sides in South America, although Michael Murillo, who played against England, is currently at French Ligue One side Marseille.
It will be interesting to see how this nation of four million is received in the United States, because President Donald Trump threatened in December to take back control of the country if fees for using the canal weren’t made more reasonable.
The US last invaded in 1989 due to the strategic importance of the 51 mile-long canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Qatar
Ranking: 51
The Gulf state has only played in one World Cup – and that was the last one because they hosted it.
Having qualified automatically last time round, this time Qatar had to win their group to get to the finals in 2026.
They did so last month when they beat fierce rivals UAE 2-1 at a sold out stadium.
Afterwards fans fought in the stadium in the capital Doha, showing that football hooliganism has infected a nation whose national side only played its first match in 1970.
A year later Qatar, which has a population of three million, gained independence from the United Kingdom.
The Maroons, who are managed by former West Ham coach Julen Lopetegui, are made up entirely of footballers playing in Qatar.
But there has been criticism in the past of the way their football association offered good sums of money to foreign born stars to play for Qatar.
