World Cup 2026 preview: Germans due for Finals flourish

GERMANY

Last World Cup: Group stage

Best result: Champions (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)

FIFA ranking: 10th

Record in qualifying: 5 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws

Die Mannschaft finished outside the top eight just once, in 1938, in their first 80 years competing in the World Cup. But incredibly, after winning their fourth title in 2014, they crashed out at the group stage in the last two editions, which means they won’t take this seemingly easy group lightly.

Germany have had to navigate injury woes. The crocked Marc-Andre ter Stegen could not capitalise on Manuel Neuer’s international retirement, leaving 35-year-old Oliver Baumann as the No. 1 with just 11 caps before Neuer’s U-turn and recall.

At the other end, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz are potential match winners but must find their form after recovering from a broken leg and knee issues respectively, although in-form Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav is a good option with six goals in just eight caps.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann will also have to use all of his tactical versatility to find a balance after he admitted his midfield conundrum with the “11 No. 6s on my list,” but none are truly stable, physical, good in the air, or combative.

CURACAO

Last World Cup: Did not qualify

Best result: Debutants (2026)

FIFA ranking: 82nd

Record in qualifying: 7 wins, 0 losses, 3 draws

With a population of just 160,000, Curacao are the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup.

They capitalised on the United States, Mexico and Canada’s co-hosting of the World Cup and their absence from the qualifiers, but they did score 28 goals and concede just five times in 10 games. However, following uninspiring losses to China (0-2), Australia (1-5) and Scotland (1-4), they remain rank underdogs against opponents boasting big-league players.

The Caribbean island’s highest-profile player is local-born former Manchester United midfielder Tahith Chong, who has two goals in four caps.

But their historic achievement is mainly down to their Dutch-based diaspora, who are spread across leagues in 10 countries, including forward Gervane Kastaneer who plays for Malaysia’s Terengganu. Coach Dick Advocaat also returned after stepping down briefly due to his daughter’s health issues.

IVORY COAST

Last World Cup: Did not qualify 

Best result: Group stage (2006, 2010, 2014)

FIFA ranking: 34th

Record in qualifying: 8 wins, 0 losses, 2 draws

With 25 goals scored and none conceded, Ivory Coast came through with one of the finest CAF qualifying records. They kept up this form in recent friendly wins over South Korea (4-0) and Scotland (1-0), although they did not make it past the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.

Besides skipper and midfielder Franck Kessie, who plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the rest of Les Elephants’ squad ply their trade across Europe.

Built like tanks, their centre-backs such as Emmanuel Agbadou and Odilon Kossounou are all at least 1.90m. However, if they are to achieve their first appearance in the knockout rounds, they will need goals from attackers such as Manchester United’s Amad Diallo and RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande.

Diomande, 19, has already scored in La Liga with Leganes before becoming the Bundesliga’s second-youngest hat-trick scorer in December 2025, 60 years after Walter Bechtold achieved the feat as an 18-year-old with Eintracht Frankfurt.

ECUADOR

Last World Cup: Group stage

Best result: Last 16 (2006)

FIFA ranking: 23rd

Record in qualifying: 8 wins, 2 losses, 8 draws

They have played in just four World Cups, all in this millennium, and made it past the group stage only in 2006, although they managed to win at least one game in each edition. But Ecuador will hope to go further on the back of a stingy defence.

Despite a three-point deduction for a rules violation in the previous World Cup cycle, they finished second behind Argentina in the Conmebol qualifiers, where they remarkably conceded just five goals in 18 games.

Argentina-born goalkeeper Hernan Galindez still excels with his quick reflexes and ball-playing ability even at 39. In front of him, defenders such as Paris Saint-Germain’s Willian Pacho, Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo, and Piero Hincapie, who is on-loan at Arsenal, have excelled in the top leagues, which could make them hard to beat.

Up front, 36-year-old Enner Valencia has scored thrice each at the 2014 and 2022 World Cups.

PLAYER TO WATCH – FLORIAN WIRTZ (GERMANY, 40 CAPS, 11 GOALS, 11 ASSISTS)

Born into a family as the last of 10 siblings, Florian Wirtz was a shy boy who found his feet as a footballer. It helped that his father was chairman of regional club Gruen-Weiss Brauweiler, where Wirtz played since four before joining FC Cologne aged six.

Ten years later, he moved to Bayer Leverkusen and made his Bundesliga debut as a 17-year-old. In 2020, he became the league’s youngest scorer then.

Recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2022, he came back strongly to lead Leverkusen to the league and cup double, as well as the Europa League final in 2024. With 22 goal involvements, he was voted the Bundesliga’s player of the season.

He sparkled in his first Champions League term the next season, becoming the first German player to score five goals in five Champions League games, and chalked up a tournament-high five man-of-the-match awards before Leverkusen were knocked out in the last 16 by Bayern Munich.

A big-money move that temporarily made him the English Premier League’s most expensive player at €125 million (S$187 million) ensued in 2025. However, his time at Liverpool has been underwhelming, as his seven goals and 10 assists in 49 games pale in comparison to the 57 goals and 65 assists he managed in 197 matches for Leverkusen.

Still, the 22-year-old remains key to Germany’s hopes of a fifth world title, and he may thrive with the slightly slower pace of international football.

He showed his ability to operate between the lines along with his precise passing, dribbling, and long-range shooting, all of which he exemplified with two brilliant goals and two assists in the 4-3 friendly win over Switzerland in March.