Know Your Nations
48 teams. 48 stories. Food, music, and culture from every corner of the tournament.
Group A 4
Czechia
Národní tým — the Czechs end a 20-year World Cup absence with a squad built in the Premier League
Mexico
Co-hosts, El Tri, and a country that has been eliminated in the Round of 16 seven straight times
South Africa
Bafana Bafana — back at a World Cup for the first time since they hosted one 16 years ago
South Korea
Son Heung-min's fourth and likely final World Cup, Hong Myung-bo's homecoming, and the 2002 ghost still in the room
Group B 4
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Zmajevi — the Dragons, back at the big tournament for the first time since 2014
Canada
Co-hosts on home soil for the first time, with Davies, David, and a country that's just learning what to expect
Qatar
The 2022 hosts have never won a World Cup match — but they've won the Asian Cup twice in a row
Switzerland
Nati — ten-from-ten in qualifying, four straight Round-of-16 exits, and a squad that refuses to go away
Group C 4
Brazil
Five-time champions chasing a sixth, now coached by Carlo Ancelotti and missing the second-best winger they own
Haiti
Les Grenadiers — 52 years later, Haiti are back at the World Cup
Morocco
The Atlas Lions — the team that walked into the 2022 semifinal and changed what an African side could do at a World Cup
Scotland
Back at the World Cup after 28 years — and bringing the loudest, friendliest traveling support in the sport
Group D 4
Australia
The Socceroos — the most overlooked team in every group they're ever drawn into, and they kind of like it that way
Paraguay
La Albirroja — back at the World Cup after 16 years in the wilderness, and still the most annoying team in South America to play
Turkiye
Ay-Yıldızlılar — the Moon-Stars, ending a 24-year World Cup absence with a generation born after the 2002 run
USA
Co-hosts on home soil, Pochettino's first test, and a generation that's never had a bigger stage
Group E 4
Curaçao
Curaçao — the Dutch Caribbean island of 150,000 making its first World Cup appearance
Ecuador
South America's quiet disruptor, the best defense in CONMEBOL qualifying, and a 19-year-old prodigy nobody outside the sport has heard of yet
Germany
Die Mannschaft — four stars on the chest, a Wirtz-and-Musiala generation, and the longest decade Germany has ever spent rebuilding
Ivory Coast
Reigning African champions, the best comeback story in the sport, and a home-soil AFCON miracle nobody's quite gotten over yet
Group F 6
Jamaica
The Reggae Boyz — fell in the inter-confederation playoff, a heartbreak end to Bailey's qualifying run
Japan
Samurai Blue beat Germany and Spain in 2022 — now they want to make sure they don't go home in the Round of 16 again
Netherlands
Total football's birthplace, three lost finals, and a generation that finally has the squad to fix it
Nigeria
Super Eagles — eliminated in the CAF playoff, Osimhen and Lookman left watching from home
Sweden
Blågult — the Blue-Yellow, back after missing 2022, with Gyökeres, Isak, and no Zlatan
Tunisia
The Eagles of Carthage — stubborn, organized, and the team that beat France at the last World Cup
Group G 7
Belgium
The golden generation, older and grayer, gets one more honest swing under a brand-new coach
Costa Rica
Los Ticos missed out — first World Cup absence since 2006, and the end of the Keylor Navas era
Denmark
Danish Dynamite, eliminated in the cruelest playoff possible, and a country that has been here before
Egypt
Mo Salah turns 34 during the tournament — and this is the World Cup his career has been waiting for
Iran
Team Melli — Asia's most consistent qualifiers, carrying more than a roster into this summer
Italy
Four-time champions, three World Cups missed in a row, and a country trying to figure out what Gli Azzurri even are anymore
New Zealand
The All Whites — the only team at the 2010 World Cup that didn't lose, back for the first time in 16 years
Group H 7
Cameroon
Indomitable Lions — a squad full of Premier League names, out of the World Cup in a November playoff in Rabat
Cape Verde
Os Tubarões Azuis — the Blue Sharks, first World Cup ever for an archipelago of 525,000
Poland
Biało-Czerwoni — out in a Stockholm playoff, Lewandowski's last real shot gone in 94 minutes
Saudi Arabia
The Green Falcons are back for a seventh World Cup — and they still own the most famous upset of the last cycle
Serbia
Orlovi — a Serie A midfield, a Saudi-league attack, and a qualifying campaign that ended at Wembley
Spain
Reigning Euro champions, the deepest squad in the tournament, and an 18-year-old who is already the best player in the world
Uruguay
3.4 million people, two World Cup titles, Bielsa on the touchline, and the original *garra charrúa*
Group I 4
France
Les Bleus, Mbappé in his Real Madrid pomp, and a 2022 Final that still stings
Iraq
Asoud al-Rafidain — the Lions of Mesopotamia, ending a 40-year World Cup wait
Norway
Erling Haaland has finally arrived at a major tournament — and he didn't come alone
Senegal
Reigning AFCON champions, drums on the touchline, and the most rhythmic team in the tournament
Group J 5
Algeria
Les Fennecs — the Desert Foxes, back on the big stage for the first time in 12 years
Argentina
Defending champions, Messi's last dance, and a country that will travel anywhere to sing about it
Austria
Das Team — Ralf Rangnick's gegenpressing revival, back at the World Cup for the first time since 1998
Honduras
Los Catrachos — eliminated on goal difference, the cruelest way to miss out
Jordan
Al-Nashama — Jordan's first World Cup, 77 years into their football history
Group K 6
Chile
La Roja — three straight World Cups missed, the golden generation's shadow still too long
Colombia
Los Cafeteros are back after missing 2022 — Luis Díaz at Bayern, James Rodríguez chasing one last memory
DR Congo
Les Léopards — 52 years later, back on football's biggest stage
Hungary
Nemzeti Tizenegy — the Mighty Magyars' grandchildren, still waiting after 40 years
Portugal
Ronaldo at 41, the golden generation's last chapter, and Bruno Fernandes finally running the show
Uzbekistan
O'zbekiston — the first Central Asian nation at a World Cup, 34 years after independence
Group L 6
Bolivia
La Verde fell short in the playoff — the thin air of La Paz wasn't enough this time
Croatia
A nation of 3.8 million on Modrić's farewell tour, with three World Cup medals in the cabinet and one more swing left
England
60 years of hurt, a German manager nobody saw coming, and Bellingham as the gravitational center
Ghana
The Black Stars, Carlos Queiroz on the touchline 72 days out, and a 2010 score still unsettled with Uruguay
Panama
A nation of 4.3 million at their second-ever World Cup — and this time they think they can stay a while
Peru
La Blanquirroja — ninth in CONMEBOL qualifying, 'Contigo Perú' silenced for another cycle