The lowest ranked teams to qualify for the World Cup

Who are the lowest ranked nations to qualify for the 2026 World Cup? And how does the class of ’26 compare to tournaments of yesteryear? Find out with Betway.

The expanded World Cup roster for the 2026 edition of the competition has opened the finals up to a broader collection of countries than ever before, and we’re set to see some nations play their first ever tournament fixtures.

But which are the lowest ranked teams in this year’s World Cup, and how does this compare to previous versions?

This year’s lowest ranking World Cup teams

We’ve highlighted some of the lowest ranking teams participating at the 2026 World Cup – a year that sees Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan compete at the tournament stage for the very first time.

It’s New Zealand, however, who enter the tournament the worst-placed team in FIFA’s ranking, with Haiti and Curaçao the other nations below 80th. Notably, Bosnia and Herzegovina feature despite being so lowly ranked, following their triumphant victory over Italy in the UEFA play-offs.

The lowest ranked teams to qualify for previous World Cups

We’ve identified this year’s lowest-ranked teams, but what about World Cups gone by?

2022

With 32 places up for grabs at the 2022 World Cup, 25 contenders placed among the top 32 ranked nations, according to FIFA’s pre-tournament index. Which suggests that the tournament was largely occupied by genuinely strong countries.

Among the remaining seven outliers, the third-lowest ranking team at the World Cup was the host itself: Qatar placed 50th before welcoming visitors from around the globe. Incidentally, Qatar had never previously qualified on merit.

Other low-ranking nations included Middle East neighbour Saudi Arabia (51st) and Ghana (61st), while Australia, Canada, Cameroon, and Ecuador also featured outside the top 32. Meanwhile, Poland were the ‘weakest’ UEFA team.

2018

Once again, the tournament host happened to place among the lowest ranked teams to qualify for the World Cup. This time, Russia, then-position 71 on FIFA’s ranking, earned a spot in the competition via automatic entry.

Saudi Arabia (67th) were again among the supposed-weakest teams to travel, alongside Far East pair Japan (61st) and South Korea (57th). Across the tournament as a whole, the average FIFA ranking position for all competing nations was 25.4 – a few notches below 2022’s slightly more competitive 21.8.

2014

The 2014 World Cup was hosted by Brazil, whose 3rd place on FIFA’s ranking more-than-earned them a spot at the finals. However, the likes of Australia (62nd), South Korea (57th), and Cameroon (56th) all had to fight for a place at the tournament – especially considering they each featured outside the top 50.

The lowest ranking team to qualify from Europe was Bosnia and Herzegovina, who placed 21st before the tournament began.

2010

2010 saw North Korea qualify and participate for the World Cup for the first time since 1966, and they entered as the then-lowest ever ranked team to take part (105th). South Korea were also among the lowest ranking nations, though sat a staggering 58 places above their noisy neighbours.

Other supposed-weaker nations to play in South Africa included New Zealand (78th) and…well, the hosts themselves! South Africa entered the tournament ranked 83rd in the world.

The lowest ranked team to ever qualify for the World Cup

We’ve looked at the next and previous four editions of the World Cup, but how about the lowest ranking World Cup teams since FIFA introduced their index?

Staggeringly, there are six entrants from the class of 2026 among the 20 lowest ranked teams to enter the World Cup, including two of the top three and three of the top five.

So, whether you think this is the lowest quality World Cup yet, or the depth of competitors will make it a tournament for the ages, why not explore all the latest World Cup odds, including who you think will make it out of the groups unscathed.