The FIFA World Cup is usually full of surprises. In the past, some unforgettable moments have etched their places in the history of the tournament, enabling an edition to be well remembered by a couple of memorable and historical moments.
The 2026 edition will not be different from the rest of the editions. As a matter of fact, there are a couple of historical surprises from other editions that could repeat itself in 2026.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa had Mexico playing the host in the tournament’s opener. The famous electric thrill from the fans, the vuvuzelas and the eventual Tsabalala screamer to open the goals of the tournament are all historic surprises of the tournament. Interestingly, Mexico, a co-host nation, will square up against South Africa in the first game of this tournament. One could expect that the game would be as electric as that of 2010.
In recent times, the World Cup has an underdog team that provides a threat to top teams. This underdog can go as far as the semis or even the finals. In 1993, Algeria shocked West Germany. In 2010, Ghana surprised everyone by reaching the quarter-finals. In 2014, Costa Rica topped a group that had Italy, England and Uruguay. That year also witnessed Colombia reaching the quarter-finals. In 2018, underdog Croatia played in the finals against France. In the last edition, Morocco delivered their best performance by reaching the semi-finals.
This time around, the likes of Norway, and even Morocco can spring up surprises again.
There is a tendency that a powerhouse, especially from Europe, might exit the group stage. This might be due to several reasons ranging from tactical error, fatigue or lack of cohesion. Italy exited in the group stage in 2010, same as Spain in 2014. In 2018, it was Germany who could not survive the group stages. In 2022, Germany (again), Uruguay and Belgium failed to advance to the knockout stages.
This year, a group that has England, Croatia and Ghana might offer surprises. The same can be said of France, Senegal and Norway all in the same group.
Other surprises might include ;
A youngster breakout : James Rodriquez (Colombia, 2014), Mbappe (France, 2018), Enzo Fernandez (Argentina, 2022).
An eventual champions loss on first matchday : France (2002), Spain (2010) and Argentina (2022)