Smallest ever nations to have qualified for the FIFA World Cup

Ashutosh Sahoo

UAE

It has made one World Cup appearance in 1990 in Italy and lost all three of its games.

Paraguay

The Albirroja has qualified for ten FIFA World Cup competitions, with their best performance coming in 2010 when they reached the quarter-finals.

Kuwait

Kuwait has only appeared in the FIFA World Cup once, in 1982, in Spain. The team was eliminated in the first group stage, achieving one draw and two losses.

Slovenia

Slovenia first qualified for the World Cup in 2002, also qualifying in 2010. They achieved their first and so far only victory at the World Cup in 2010, when they beat Algeria 1–0.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland, reached the 1958 World Cup defeating Czechoslovakia, loing to Argentina, and drawing with Germany, before being eliminated by France in the knockout round.

Trinidad and Tobago

T&T made its lone World Cup appearance in 2006 in Germany, when it was the smallest country ever to feature in the tournament.

Cape Verde

They are by far the smallest nation to have qualified so far for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, marking their debut

Iceland

Iceland became the smallest country ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup when it made its debut at the 2018 edition in Russia.

Happy Dhammachakka Pravattan Din

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