Panama, Curacao, Haiti - This isn't geography lesson, these teams are going to World Cup!

The expansion of the FIFA World Cup and the increase in the number of participants have hinted at a shift in the competition, with some minnows now reaching the elite tournament. Given that the USA, Canada, and Mexico have qualified directly as hosts, the remaining national teams from the CONCACAF confederation have a massive chance to make history.

And three crews seized it to the fullest, as Panama, Curacao, and Haiti became the latest participants of the 2026 FIFA World Cup!

While Los Canaleros and the Grenadiers felt the charms of the biggest national team competition in 2018 and 1974, respectively, tiny Curacao achieved a historic success. At the same time, North American giants like Costa Rica and Honduras were left empty-handed.

Last night, in the final round of the qualifiers, Panama crushed El Salvador 3-0 at home and seized a chance after Suriname's unexpected 3-1 defeat in Guatemala, leapfrogging the popular De Natio and sending them to the inter-confederation playoffs.

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Apart from Suriname, Jamaica will be among the six participants from all around the world, as Curacao - a country with slightly over 150,000 citizens - salvaged a goalless draw in Kingston and held off all the attacks of current and ex-Premier League players in Jamaica's ranks, such as Ethan Pinnock, Demarai Gray, and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Finally, although they haven't been playing at home for some time, Haiti smashed Nicaragua 2-0 and leapfrogged Honduras, whose 0-0 draw against Costa Rica left both rivals without a WC ticket, as Los Catrachos were the worst second-placed team.

So, start getting used to seeing some new faces, because there'll be a lot of them in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.