Breaking down potential dark horses at this year’s FIFA World Cup

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — It’s been said that much of the tactical landscape of modern football was forged in the crucible of the Dutch National Team with Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels in the 1970’s. Despite the massive influence they had on the game, they never managed to lift the World Cup.

Ever since, Dutch teams have been trying to right that wrong. They’ve made the final 3 times, 1974,1978, and 2010, but each time fell short of their ultimate goal of world cup glory. Despite their shortcomings, they are unbeaten in 12 world cup matches excluding penalty shootouts, but each time they haven’t been able to seal the deal. Could this team be the one to finally finish the job?

Coming into the tournament, the Oranje are ranked highly and boast one of the most talented squads in the world, but questions remain for a squad struggling with injury concerns.

Still they have the talent to go toe to toe with the best squads in the world, and 2026 could be their chance to finally deliver a world cup for a nation steeped in football history.

Still it could finally be the year that the Oranje bring the title home, and this squad definitely has the individual talent to get it done. Whether the pieces can finally come together, well we’ll have to wait and see.

Japan is often thought of as a baseball nation, and rightfully so. They didn’t qualify for the World Cup until 1998.

But since that initial qualification, they have rocketed up the world rankings, and going into the tournament this year they sit 18th.

It’s a testament to the growth of the game in the country, a mixture of trailblazers, a growing domestic league, and pop culture like the manga Captain Tsubasa.

Now the Samurai Blue are looking to cement their place amongst the major players in international football, after beating Germany and Spain in the 2022 group stages.

It’s been a project years in the making, marked by steady growth, and the new generation is looking to prove just how good they are.

Japan have shown they can shock anyone at the last world cup, and this year they are looking to prove their results against Spain and Germany weren’t just a fluck.

While some of their star players like Karou Mitoma may be out for the tournament, they’ve shown they still have the depth to get the job done, and I expect them to have a few surprises this year, on what could be a deep run.
The Tartan Army is preparing to descend on the world cup to support their team at their first world cup appearance since 1998.

Despite being one of the nations where the game was born – the Scottish Football Association is the second-oldest in the world – Scotland’s National team has been unable to make it out of the group stage in any world cup appearance, and has been on a dismal run failing to qualify in almost thirty years.

But that all changed heading into 2026. Scotland is back, and they’re looking to make a splash as they head to North America.

In qualifying they went on a magical run, inspiring the fans, and being commemorated on the national currency as a result.

There is a real cult of personality around this squad. While it may seem unlikely to outsiders that they can go very far, the fans believe in these players to leave it all on the pitch.

While they’ve been handed a tough group with Brazil and Morocco, Scotland have the pieces to potentially play spoiler in a group with the big dogs. Whether Scott McTominay, or Super John McGinn, they seem to step up in the biggest moments.

It may seem unlikely, but for the fans this team has the chance to make world cup history with a run to the round of 16, and then the stage could be set for the greatest underdog story in the competition’s history. And this group has the work rate, mentality and talent to make it happen.