Attention, fans of the king of sports! At Alofoke Deportes, we analyze and debate the new faces that will represent the 2026 World Cup. Maple, Zayu, and Clutch join the list of iconic tournament mascots, and in this article, we present a ranking of all World Cup mascots, from the least memorable to the most beloved.
A Look at the History of World Cup Mascots
Since 1966, the World Cup has featured a variety of characters, from an anthropomorphic orange to a lion without pants. Organizing all these characters is no easy task, but at Alofoke Deportes we delve into the world of mascots to offer you our ranking.
- 16. Ant, Kaz and Nik: South Korea/Japan, 2002. An attempt to look towards the future that turned out confusing.
- 15. Gauchito: Argentina, 1978. Inspired by the style of Mexico 1970, but with little originality.
- 14. Tip and Tap: West Germany, 1974. The first to be a couple, but with a somewhat disturbing design.
- 13. Juanito: Mexico, 1970. A modest design for a historic event.
- 12. Zabivaka: Russia, 2018. A stylish wolf, but one that doesn’t stand out too much.
- 11. Maple, Zayu and Clutch: Canada/Mexico/USA, 2026. Although FIFA claims that the animal selections were “carefully developed to reflect the vibrant culture, heritage and spirit of their respective countries”, the choices of Canada (a moose) and the United States (a bald eagle) were too predictable, and the jaguar named “Zayu” led many to scratch their heads in Mexico.
