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WC Countdown: Who are dark horses in the USA?
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Reading Time: 5min | Mon. 08.06.26. | 22:05
Is there a team which will repeat Morocco's success in 2022?
There is no World Cup without a sense of uncertainty. Uncertainty about the results and the final score, uncertainty about the final standings and the competition winner, but also the uncertainly about the surprises. Can you remember the shock at the last World Cup in Qatar, when Saudi Arabia defeated eventual winners Argentina? Or when Morocco made the biggest results of all African countries ever and finished as fourth? Without a doubt, there will be teams in this year’s World Cup who will beat the odds and make a surprise. But what teams are capable of doing that? Well, if we ignore the cliche that ‘everybody play football today’ and that anyone is capable of winning, we will try to identify the ‘dark horses’ of the 2026 World Cup.
After all, we had no less than two dark horses in Qatar – Croatia and Morocco. With so many strong favorites (Spain, France, Argentina, England, Portugal, Brazil) and other countries who could make it to the end (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Morocco, Croatia) there are a few nations which could, with a bit of luck as well, make it to the semi-finals. Let’s examine them a bit closer. This time, The Atlas Lions and Croatia are not in the category of ‘dark horses’ simply because they did it last time and now if they reach semi-finals, it won’t be a surprise anymore. In fact, their fans are even expecting them to do it again (but are afraid to say that loudly).
NORWAY
After 30 years, the Vikings have finally appeared on the biggest stage. And they arrived to the World Cup in style, with more goals scored (37) than any other European nation. Noway has their golden generation now, with excellent players who are not only playing in Top 5 European leagues, but have a considerable appearances in the Champions League as well. Erling Haaland (16 goals in qualifications), Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth, Julian Ryerson, Oscar Bobb, Sander Berge, Kristoffer Ajer and Jorgen Strand Larsen are the most familiar names. They all have the will, the experience of playing in quality competitions and the strength, especially in attack. This team could go a long way, but there are limitations. For example, they are in a very strong group, consisted of France, Senegal and Iraq, and they will fight with the Lions of Teranga for the second place. If they finish third, they will have to make sure that they are among the best third-placed teams and will have a tougher path to the semi-final. They were also very poor in their friendly game with Morocco on Sunday, despite a 1-1 score. The Atlas Lions were all over them and it should have been at least 3-0 at halftime, but Morocco players missed some sitters. It was only a friendly, but it didn’t look good.
SENEGAL
When Morocco finished as fourth in Qatar, they immediately fell out of the ‘dark horse’ category, but other African team jumped in – Senegal. True AFCON winners are in the same tough group as Norway, but have a strong team. This will be the ‘swan song’ for some of the team’s most influential leaders like Edouard Mendy (34), Kalidou Koulibaly (34), Idrissa Gueye (36) and Sadio Mane (34). Young midfielder Habib Diarra (22) should use this World Cup to show his qualities, while Senegal already has a ‘heir’ in the locker room - Iliman Ndiaye. Everton creative midfielder had a great season in Everton and should carry his excellent form to the World Cup. This Senegal team also knows how to deal with pressure, which is a huge asset when it comes to elimination rounds.
IVORY COAST
On paper, this team is really strong. Unlike Norway, who are fearsome in attack, but not so strong in other departments (especially defense), the Elephants have excellent players across the whole pitch. In defense Evan Ndicka (Roma) and regular Champions League participant Ousmane Diomande (Sporting). Sangare (Nottingham Forest), Seko Fofana (Lens) and Franck Kessie (Al-Ahli) provide strong midfield, but that is not the end. How about Diallo (Manchester United), Pepe (Villarreal), Diomande (Leipzig) and Guessand (Crystal Palace) in attack? Ivory Coast just defeated mighty France in a friendly game in Nantes after trailing 1-0 at halftime. Not bad, even for a friendly. They could go a long way, if they manage to be second in a group consisted of Germany and Ecuador.
SWITZERLAND
To put it simply, if they don’t do it now, they will never do it. Switzerland is a consistent team, which is very important in competitions like this. This is the sixth time in a row Switzerland have qualified for the World Cup, which is a huge thing for such a small country. They have players which are in their prime and some of them won’t be in Morocco in 2030. There is a good mix in the squad between the elder statesmen – such as Granit Xhaka, Manuel Akanji and Ricardo Rodriguez – and a younger generation represented by Dan Ndoye, Fabian Rieder and Johan Manzambi among others. Gregor Kobel is an excellent keeper (Borussia Dortmund) while Leeds’ Noah Okafor and Rennes’ Breel Embolo are quite good in attack. At EURO 2024, they knocked out defending champions Italy and only lost to eventual finalists England on penalties. They are in an easy group, with Qatar, Canada and BIH, and finishing first would mean they would play with one of third-placed teams in the knockout round, which is always a good thing (at least on paper). The bad thing about Switzerland is that they have never won a World Cup knockout game. Now is the time to win not one, but more.
WORLD CUP - GROUP STAGE
First round
Thursday, 11.06.
22.00: (1.50) Mexico (4.00) S.Africa (7.25)
Friday, 12. 06.
05.00: (2.70) S.Korea (3.10) Czech R. (2.75)
22.00: (1.85) Canada (3.70) B&H (4.25)
Saturday, 13.06.
04.00: (2.05) USA (3.35) Paraguay (3.80)
22.00: (12.0) Qatar (5.40) Switzerland (1.28)
Sunday, 14.06.
01.00: (1.62) Brazil (3.80) Morocco (5.80)
04.00: (6.80) Haiti (4.45) Scotland (1.47)
07.00: (4.50) Australia (3.50) Turkey (1.83)
20.00: (1.03) Germany (15.0) Curacao (50.0)
02.00: (2.10) Netherlands (3.45) Japan (3.50)