surepredictzNext summer, international football will take center stage once more when the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America. The next installment of the greatest tournament the Beautiful Game has to offer will be the biggest of all time, with a whopping 48 teams competing, resulting in almost double the amount of games compared with previous years.
The additional 16 qualifying spots have given hope to many unheralded nations, who will feel that they now have a very real possibility of featuring at the showpiece for the first time.
But whether they make it or not, it’s the usual suspects that sports betting sites make the contenders to leave MetLife Stadium on July 19th, 2026, with the famous gold trophy. The latest 2026 World Cup odds from websites offering sports betting online currently make reigning European Champions Spain the +600 favorite for glory, with back-to-back finalists France narrowly behind them at +650. World Cup holders Argentina then follow at +750, level with an England team stacked with young talent.
As we gear up for the next season, betting providers like Bodog have enjoyed looking back on the past in a “rewind” tweet celebrating previous heroes.
https://x.com/i/status/1869431261078360472
It remains to be seen who will emerge with the trophy in just over a year’s time, and for now, most nations are just looking to punch their ticket to the greatest show on earth. Over the years, plenty of tiny nations have managed to strut their stuff on the grandest stage. But which are the smallest of them?
Iceland
With a population of just 400,000, Iceland is the smallest country to have ever qualified for the World Cup, and by some distance. To put their exploits into perspective, the Nordic nation has a population less than fellow European cohort Malta, and they have won just one major tournament qualifier in the last five years.
Iceland made waves when they radically overhauled its entire footballing system, ensuring that children as young as five were playing the sport regularly both in school and after hours. The results spoke for themselves. The Vikings made it to their first major tournament ever when they qualified for Euro 2016 before they went on to shock the world by reaching the quarterfinals, eliminating heavyweights England in the process.
Two years later, they made it to the global stage for the first time. They managed to top a difficult qualifying group, finishing ahead of more illustrious nations such as Croatia, Ukraine, and Turkey to secure their spot in the Russian showpiece. In their tournament opener, they managed to secure a draw against Argentina, with goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson famously saving a Lionel Messi penalty.
That was as good as it got, however, and defeats to Nigeria and Croatia saw them bow out at the group stage. They missed out on qualification for Qatar 2022, and after being drawn into a tough group alongside France, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan, they may well miss out next summer as well.
Trinidad & Tobago
The tiny Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago has a population of just 1.5 million, but they too managed to shock the world when they qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Led by talismanic England-based players such as former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones, and Stern John, the Soca Warriors managed to stun more illustrious opponents in CONCACAF qualifiers.
After finishing behind the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica in the overall standings, the island nation went into an inter-confederation play-off against Bahrain. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Port of Spain, a second-half header from giant defender Dennis Lawrence in the second leg in Riffa gave the Soca Warriors a shock win and a spot at the World Cup in a group alongside England.
Leo Beenhakker’s squad managed to pull off an almighty upset when they drew their first game with Sweden 0-0. They very nearly held the Three Lions to the same scoreline until they were downed by late goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard. Needing a win to qualify against Paraguay to progress, Trinidad lost 2-0 and bowed out. They haven’t qualified for the tournament since.
Slovenia
Europe is notoriously stacked with quality teams at every turn. But much like Iceland would do a few years later, lowly Slovenia and its population of 2.1 million managed to secure a maiden appearance at the World Cup in 2010. The mountainous country was drawn into a group alongside the Czech Republic and Poland, two nations that have become accustomed to qualifying for major tournaments over the years.
However, both of them faltered, as did Northern Ireland, which had a strong showing in the Euro 2008 qualifiers a couple of years prior. That opened the door for Slovenia and its neighbor, Slovakia, with the former finishing just behind the latter and having to qualify via a playoff as a result. They duly did exactly that, however, beating a Russian team that had just reached the European championship semifinals.
At the World Cup, Slovenia very nearly progressed to the knockout stages. An opening-day victory against Algeria and a draw in their second game against the US meant that they were the favorites to progress to the last 16 as group winners. However, they were beaten by England in their final group game, despite being the better team on the day. That consigned them to third place and an early exit.
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