Portugal
Manager: Roberto Martínez.
World Cup history: Ninth appearance. Best result – third 1966.
Groundhog day for Portugal as Martínez sticks with a 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo – who was grateful to see Fifa controversially suspend two games of a three-match ban for elbowing Ireland’s Dara O’Shea during qualification.
Star man: Vitinha. PSG’s back-to-back Champions League wins had a lot to do with the midfielder’s ability to control the tempo of games.
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Democratic Republic of Congo
Manager: Sébastien Desabre.
World Cup history: Second appearance. Best result – group stage 1974 (as Zaire).
The mayor of a small southern Spanish town cancelled Tuesday’s friendly against Chile due to health concerns around the Ebola outbreak in the Congo despite the squad preparing for the World Cup in Belgium. Mostly made up of players from French and English clubs, like Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki and West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, The Leopards face Portugal in Houston on June 17th.
Star man: Cédric Bakambu. The French-born striker only managed three goals for Real Betis in La Liga this season but that return is better than Yoane Wissa’s injury-ruined move to Newcastle United.
Uzbekistan
Manager: Fabio Cannavaro.
World Cup history: Debut.
There will be one Italian at the 2026 World Cup as the Azzurri winning captain from 2006 guides Uzbekistan to the finals. Eldor Shomurodov will lead his country into their first ever World Cup game against Colombia at the Azteca Stadium on June 17th. Having made way for Evan Ferguson at Roma, Shomurodov scored 23 goals on loan to Turkish side Başakşehir to ensure that the White Wolves have a puncher’s chance in every game.
Star man: Abdukodir Khusanov. The 22-year-old shook off an ankle injury to command a regular place in Pep Guardiola’s last ever Manchester City defence.
Colombia
Manager: Néstor Lorenzo.
World Cup history: Seventh appearance. Best result – quarter-final 2014.
The group winner should reach a quarter-final against Argentina in Kansas City, and Colombia will expect to face Portugal in Miami on June 27th with six points already secured. James Rodríguez goes to his fourth World Cup with a stronger supporting cast than the previous three, especially with Jorge Carrascal and Richard Ríos in midfield.
Star man: Luis Díaz. Liverpool fans were increasingly disgusted to see “Lucho” amass an eye-popping 26 goals and 23 assists in his first season at Bayern Munich.
