FIFA World Cup 2026: Top Underdog Players To Watch

N. Raghuraman, Management Guru

Next month, thousands of fans across the world will reach America, Canada and Mexico to watch the most expensive World Cup in history. Matt Oldfield, the famous British author of the award-winning book series ‘Unbelievable Football’, believes that if you are a football fan, you can see many incredible “underdog” players in the FIFA World Cup – 2026. His underdogs list includes the following names:

1. Franco Mastantuono, Argentina (FIFA World Ranking-FWR 2): He made his club debut at the age of 16 and became Argentina’s youngest senior international a year later. At the age of 18, he has already worn Argentina’s famous ’10’ number T-shirt. First this T-shirt was worn by Maradona, then Messi and now Mastantuono. 2. Estevao, Brazil (FWR 5): 18-year-old Estevao is Brazil’s most talented player after Neymar. Estevao, who has scored international goals in 11 matches, can be even more successful. His spectacular samba footwork will thrill. 3. Lennart Karl, Germany (FWR 10): 17-year-old Karl has not yet made his senior debut for Germany. But looking at his form for Bayern Munich, it seems that he will definitely be in Germany’s World Cup squad. 4. Gilberto Mora, Mexico (FWR 16): This 16-year-old player is a ‘wonder kid’. Debuted for Mexico in 2025 and became the youngest player to win a senior international trophy, breaking the record of midfielder Lamin Yamal in just three matches. 5. Johan Mzambi, Switzerland (FWR 18): This 20-year-old player can play anywhere from defense to attack. He made his senior international debut in June last year and has scored three goals. 6. Joel Ordonez, Ecuador (FWR 23): When Ecuador finished second behind Argentina in qualifying, 22-year-old Ordonez surprised everyone. This center back player is famous for his unique defensive performance. His defensive ability has been tested against many big clubs and he has stood up every time. 7. Ibrahim Maja, Algeria (FWR 28): The 20-year-old striker was the star of Algeria’s World Cup qualifying campaign. The biggest strengths of this young midfield are his dribbling and creativity. He has great goalscoring ability. 8. Antonio Noosa, Norway (FWR 32): Every fan knows Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard of the Norway team, but Noosa is considered the secret weapon of the World Cup team. If you have seen his wonder goal against Italy in the qualifying round, you will agree. 9. Abbosbek Faizullaev, Uzbekistan (FWR 52): By the age of 22, he had played 30 matches for the country and scored eight goals. Of these, four goals, including a free kick against Iran, were scored in Uzbekistan’s World Cup qualifying campaign. 10. Roberto Lopes, Cape Verde (FWR 67): Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland, the 33-year-old Lopes played center back. In 2019, he suddenly got a message from the coach of the African country Cape Verde. His father is also from this country. Then in 2025, Lopes played an important role in taking Cape Verde to the World Cup for the first time. 11. Eloy Room, Curacao (FWR 81): At the age of 37, he might have felt that his chances of playing the World Cup were slim. But his excellent performance without conceding a goal in two matches against Jamaica helped Curacao reach the World Cup. 12. Ducens Nazon, Haiti (FWR 83): The 32-year-old dynamic striker is a national hero of his country with a record of 44 goals. His hat-trick against Costa Rica helped Haiti qualify for the World Cup.

The bottom line is that Before you sit down to watch the world’s biggest sporting event starting from June 11, 2026, it would be better to know the names of some players and their qualities. This will increase your reputation among other fans.

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