Group E: CAN GERMANY AVOID EARLY EXIT?
GERMANY, RANK: 10
BEST RESULT: CHAMPIONS (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz is at the heart of everything Germany does under coach Julian Nagelsmann. At 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters) striker Nick Woltemade is hard for defenses to handle. Meanwhile, 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl could be the tournament’s breakout star. Still, conceding three goals in a 4-3 friendly win over Switzerland in March revived concerns over Germany’s defensive robustness and doubts over Nagelsmann’s insistence on using Real Madrid center back Antonio Rüdiger as a bench player. Germany haven’t faced top-level opponents since losses to France and Portugal last year
CURACAO, RANK: 83
BEST RESULT: FIRST APPEARANCE
With a population of about 1,56,000, Curacao are the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup. An opening game against the mighty Germany will be a daunting introduction. Their preparations haven’t gone to plan after veteran Dutch coach Dick Advocaat quit in February due to his daughter’s health issues, before rejoining the team in May. Curacao, a Caribbean island country which for centuries was under Dutch colonial rule, relies heavily on players born and raised in the Netherlands.
IVORY COAST, RANK: 34
BEST RESULT: GROUP STAGE (2006, 2010, 2014)
The Ivory Coast are back at the World Cup for the first time since 2014 and long after the retirement of national icons Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure. It has been a long wait for the Ivorians, having struggled without their golden generation of star players. Now a new generation has emerged, winning the African Cup of Nations in 2024 and securing a return to the World Cup by qualifying top of their group. Coach Emerse Fae was appointed midway through the 2024 AFCON and went on to lead his nation to the trophy.Manchester United forward Amad Diallo is one of the stars of the new generation.
ECUADOR, RANK: 24
BEST RESULT: ROUND OF 16 (2006)
Moises Caicedo became the most expensive player in the history of British football when joining Chelsea from Brighton for $146 million in 2023. The midfielder will be key to Ecuador’s hopes of advancing beyond the group stage for the first time in 20 years and only the second time in their history. They qualified in second place behind defending champion Argentina, despite starting the campaign with a threepoint deduction for using a false document to get a passport for a player during qualifying for the 2022 World Cup
Group F: DUTCH DREAM, ONE MORE TIME
THE NETHERLANDS
RANK: 8
BEST RESULT: RUNNERS-UP (1974, 1978, 2010)
The creators of “total football” in the 1970s, the Netherlands have always been easy on the eye, but they have never been enough to get it over the line at a World Cup. Coach Ronald Koeman — in his second spell — is hoping to end his country’s wait. He won major honours with the Netherlands as a player when lifting the European Championship in 1988 and was runners-up in the Nations League in 2019 in his last spell in charge. They can call on Premier League stars like Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo, but perhaps lack some of the top-tier talent of previous generations.
JAPAN
RANK: 18
BEST RESULT: ROUND OF 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)
Japan are competing at their eighth straight World Cup and aiming to advance beyond the group stage for the third tournament in a row. They were the first team to qualify for this year’s event, other than the three host nations, securing their place with three games to spare. They produced two of the biggest upset at the last World Cup in Q at a r wh e n b e at i n g Germany and Spain in the group phase, but they have never progressed beyond the round of 16.
SWEDEN
RANK: 8
BEST RESULT: RUNNERS-UP (1958)
The Swedes advanced via the back door — needing all the help they could get to make the playoffs. Finishing bottom of their qualifying group after failing to win any games, it was only Sweden’s performances in the 2024-2025 Nations League that secured their place in the playoffs. Sweden’s troubles in qualifying were unexpected considering they boasts two of Europe’s top strikers in Alexander Isakand Viktor Gyökeres. Sweden, runners-up in 1958, will have fond memories of the United States, having reached the semifinals when the World Cup was last hosted by America in 1994.
TUNISIA
RANK: 46
BEST RESULT: GROUP STAGE (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)
Tunisia are aiming to advance from the group phase for the first time in their seventh appearance at the World Cup. They came close to breaking that streak four years ago in Qatar when finishing third in their group by beating defending champion France 1-0 and drawing with Denmark. The 21-year-old Khalil Ayari joined Paris SaintGermain this season and recently made his breakthrough into the national team.
