“The FIFA World Cup is a vast tournament, and the underdog teams are what make it truly fascinating, the surprise upsets, the fearless play, and those unpredictable moments that shake the whole football world.” As I briefed in my video , these are the underdog teams which I think can do really well in the upcoming World Cup.
1) Norway :
Norway is one of the teams that can genuinely surprise in the World Cup. They have won all of their World Cup qualifying matches, conceding only five goals across the entire campaign. This team is built around a strong core of players who bring grit, defensive solidity, and attacking flamboyance. Italy is known for its defensive strength, yet this Norway side scored four goals against them and won 4–1 and that too in Milan, Italy’s home. The team is undeniably stacked in attack, but one major question still remains: can Norway be equally solid defensively?
2) Ecuador :
As I mentioned in my video, the second team I think is going to surprise a lot of people is Ecuador. Many fans don’t really follow South American football, which is why Ecuador often goes unnoticed. They are currently 2nd in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers and have conceded the fewest goals (5) in the entire campaign. Out of their 18 qualifier matches, they’ve won 8, drawn 8, and lost only 2. Recently, they defeated Argentina 1-0 away from home and held Brazil to a 0-0 draw as well.
The only question that still remains for Ecuador is whether they can score enough goals, can they consistently produce those attacking moments needed to win the tricky games?
3) Netherlands :
Netherlands is also one of the teams that has done really well in their World Cup qualifiers. They have won 6, drawn 2, conceded only 4, and scored 27 goals in 8 matches. The key to this Netherlands team is their defensive solidity. They have some of the best defensive players like Timber, De Ligt, Van Dijk, and Aké. They also have Verbruggen as their goalkeeper, which makes it very difficult to score against this defence. Their Dutch midfield and attack are pretty good too, but the real question for this Netherlands side, if they want to win the FIFA World Cup, is: how will Ronald Koeman manage this really good Netherlands team?
4) Colombia :
The fourth team I think can really surprise in this FIFA World Cup is Colombia. They are unbeaten in their last nine matches, and the last time they lost was a 2–1 defeat to Brazil back in March 2025. Colombia currently sit 3rd in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, ahead of both Uruguay and Brazil. They’ve scored 28 goals, the second-highest tally after Argentina, which shows how strong they are going forward. They also have a solid core of experienced players, backed by real hunger and a winning mentality, the most important aspect of this team. As I briefed in the video , I really feel this Colombia side can go really far in this Fifa World Cup.
5) Uzbekistan :
The 5th team which I think can be an underdog in this World Cup is Uzbekistan. This is the first time Uzbekistan has qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Yes, they’re inexperienced, but what makes them good is their unity. This is a team that will be really hard to break down because they’ll be fully pumped up and full of emotion going into the tournament. They also have some exciting talents, and they’re constantly preparing for big games by facing tough sides like Iran, the UAE, Qatar, Uruguay, etc. In their World Cup qualifiers, they finished 2nd in their group after winning 6, drawing 3, and losing just one match in the entire campaign.
