The World Cup is just around the corner. As the final qualifications take place, let's enjoy the smallest teams in history that have qualified for the big event.
5. Slovenia
Population: 1.99m
The Central European country is surrounded by traditional footballing powers Hungary, Croatia and also Austria. Slovenia gained independence in 1991 from Yugoslavia and qualified for their first ever World Cup in 2002 and again in 2010. For such a small population, Slovenia are punching above their weight. They lost all three games in 2002 but were unlucky to miss out on qualifying for the knockout stages in 2010 after an opening win against Algeria, a draw to the United States and a narrow 1-0 loss to England.
Slovenia has one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Jan Oblak in their squad however they failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after finishing fourth in their UEFA qualification group behind Croatia, Russia and Slovakia.
4. Kuwait
Population: 1.5m
In recent times Kuwait hasn't been known for their football - recognised more for their oil, sand dunes and stunning cities. The Kuwaitis were a strong force in Asia through the 1970's and early 2000's but have since dropped out of relevancy. The country managed to qualify for the 1982 World Cup through the combined AFC and OFC qualification by topping a final round group with New Zealand, China and Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait did manage an opening game win against Czechoslovakia but lost 4-1 to France and 1-0 to England at the World Cup. Their entire team today plays football in the Kuwaiti local domestic competition and the team failed to qualify for the third round of AFC qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
3. Northern Ireland
Population: 1.4m
Northern Ireland failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with Switzerland and Italy ahead of them in their UEFA qualification group. At least for them, they can say that Italy ultimately failed to qualify too. Northern Ireland managed to qualify for the 1958, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. In 1958 they managed to beat Czechoslovakia and drew with the reigning World Cup winners West Germany to advance to the knockout stages where they lost in the quarter finals.
One of the best dribblers and wingers in football history was Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend George Best. Unfortunately, Northern Ireland failed to qualify for any major tournaments during his time and we never got to witness his ability on the world stage.
2. Trinidad & Tobago
Population: 1.3m
The Caribbean island nation of Trinidad & Tobago became the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup at the time, beating Bahrain 2-1 on aggregate in the CONCACAF–AFC play-off to book their ticket to Germany 2006. The squad did have some strike power with Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones and goalkeeping legend Shaka Hislop.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the team failed to score a goal, but they did manage a 0-0 draw with Sweden in their opening game. Upon their return back to Trindad & Tobago each member of the squad, including coach Leo Beenhakker, received the Chaconia Medal - the country's second highest honour - gold, and about $150,000 USD. The Soca Warriors failed to qualify for the second round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
1. Iceland
Population: 334,000
Iceland became the smallest country in history to qualify for the World Cup following their qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It came on the back of Iceland's historic Euro 2016 campaign where they qualified for the round of 16 and beat England 2-1 to earn a quarter-finals spot. Finally, Iceland have a football team to add to their list of natural wonders which includes volcanoes, glaciers and the Northern Lights.
The golden generation for Iceland had a strong squad of Premier League players including Johann Gudmundsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Aron Gunnarsson for the World Cup. After a promising 1-all draw with Argentina in their opening game, they lost to Nigeria and Croatia and were eliminated at the group stages of the tournament. Unfortunately for Iceland, they finished second last in their UEFA qualification group for the 2022 World Cup, ahead of only Liechtenstein and behind Germany, North Macedonia, Romania and Armenia.
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Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.
