Excitement and Drama: The Road to the 2026 World Cup on Alofoke Deportes
The qualifying phase for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has offered intense emotions and unexpected twists. National teams faced each other in crucial matches, where securing a place in the final phase, keeping hopes alive through the playoffs, or seeing their dreams vanish was the order of the day.
The tournament, which will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, has witnessed historical moments, with small nations reaching the final phase for the first time, last-minute goals that defined matches, and the fall of important teams.
Outside of major tournaments, the international calendar can sometimes be exhausting for players and fans. However, as has been seen in recent weeks, when those long trips culminate with entire nations united by joy and sadness, football shows its best side.
Here’s a summary of some of the most outstanding stories from one of the most exciting weeks in the history of the World Cup qualifiers.
- Haiti: Achieved a historic qualification.
- Scotland: Qualified for the World Cup for the first time in many years.
- Republic of Ireland: Revived their hopes of qualification.
- Congo: Eliminated Nigeria in a penalty shootout.
- Iraq: Secured their place in the intercontinental playoffs.
Haiti: A Dream Come True
Haiti, despite being ranked 88th in the FIFA ranking, defied the forecasts and qualified for its second World Cup in history, the first in 50 years. The 2-0 victory over Nicaragua was key to this achievement.
Haiti started the day behind Honduras on goal difference in Group C of the Concacaf qualifiers. Goals from Louicius Deedson and Ruben Providence sealed the victory, while Honduras drew 0-0 in Costa Rica.
This victory secured Haiti’s first World Cup appearance since West Germany 1974, an even more remarkable achievement considering the team has had to play on neutral territory, about 800 kilometers away, on the island of Curaçao, while the Caribbean nation faces an ongoing conflict.
Despite being appointed 18 months ago, Haiti’s coach, Sebastien Migne, has yet to set foot in the country. However, he will lead the team in next year’s final phase, hoping to improve their 0-3 record (with 14 goals against) from their last campaign half a century ago.
Concacaf Post
Curaçao: A Giant Among the Small
Curacao fans joined in the celebration, as their team also achieved the feat of reaching the 2026 World Cup. A brave 0-0 draw in Jamaica was enough.
In an exciting end to the Concacaf qualifying groups, Curaçao survived a penalty in added time to secure the point they needed to surpass the Reggae Boyz for first place in Group B. This means that Curaçao, Haiti, and Panama have qualified from the North, Central American, and Caribbean section, while Jamaica and Suriname advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
Directed by veteran Dutchman Dick Advocaat, this small island has become the smallest nation to qualify for the tournament. Its population of approximately 156,000 inhabitants is less than half that of the previous record holder, Iceland (350,000).
Advocaat was unable to be present at the match against Jamaica due to a family issue, but if the 78-year-old coach remains in charge of Curaçao for the final phase of next year, he would become the oldest coach to lead a team in a World Cup, breaking the record currently held by Otto Rehhagel, who was 71 years and 317 days old when he coached Greece in 2010.
Curaçao National Football Team Post
Scotland: A Night for History
In what will be remembered as one of the most famous nights in the history of Scottish football, Scott McTominay and company delivered an amazing performance to beat Denmark in an exciting 4-2 match and reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
McTominay, Napoli’s midfielder, opened the scoring at three minutes with a spectacular overhead kick. The honor of scoring the goal of the night went to midfielder Kenny McLean, who scored the second of the two goals in Scotland’s added time from the halfway line, after Kieran Tierney scored the first.
Hampden Park erupted at the end of the match, as Steve Clarke’s team’s stunning victory wiped away 30 years of almost constant disappointment in one fell swoop.
BBC Sport Scotland’s post
Republic of Ireland: An Unexpected Turn
Things looked bleak for the Republic of Ireland at the start of the November international break, with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team on the verge of completely missing out on the World Cup.
It only took 72 hours and five goals in two games from the heroic striker Troy Parrott to change everything. Vital victories against Portugal and Hungary pulled them out of total despair and took them to the playoffs.
On Thursday, AZ Alkmaar striker Parrott scored both goals in the 2-0 victory over Portugal in Dublin, carrying Ireland’s hopes to the playoffs in their last match against Hungary.
Needing a victory, the 23-year-old player scored a hat-trick in a sensational 3-2 victory in Budapest, which culminated in a goal in the 96th minute that silenced most of the Puskás Arena audience.
Ireland will now play against Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia or Wales in their first playoff match (with Wales securing the home advantage in the draw with a resounding 7-1 victory over North Macedonia) before facing a subsequent match against the winners of a match between nations in pots 1 and 4 of the next draw. If Ireland manages to get out of the playoffs, they will embark on their first World Cup campaign since the 1994 final phase in the United States, where they reached the round of 16 thanks in part to a memorable victory over Italy in New Jersey.
FOX Soccer post
Congo: Celebration in the Penalty Shootout
Congo erupted in celebration after sending Nigeria home in a tense penalty shootout at the end of the CAF playoff final.
The match ended 1-1 after extra time, at which point the Leopards introduced a specialist goalkeeper, Timothy Fayulu, to help frustrate the Super Eagles in the penalty shootout. Fayulu saved Semi Ajayi’s shot, opening the door for captain Chancel Mbemba to score from the penalty spot and send Congo to the inter-confederation playoffs next March.
If they advance from there, they will reach their first World Cup final phase since 1974, when (formerly known as Zaire) they lost all three of their group matches.
The team covered the entire length of the field in the Rabat, Morocco stadium to celebrate with their supporters, although the jubilant atmosphere intensified even more when thousands of fans flocked to their Martyrs stadium, with a capacity of 80,000 people, in Kinshasa to welcome their heroes.
FIFA+ Post
Iraq: The Dream Continues
Iraq also managed to keep their World Cup dreams alive in dramatic fashion thanks to a goal in the 107th minute in the second leg of their AFC fifth-round qualifier against the United Arab Emirates.
After drawing the first match 1-1, Iraq went ahead against the United Arab Emirates in Basra before gradually coming back in the second half.
The cinematic moment arrived 17 minutes after added time, when Amir Al-Ammari converted a late penalty to secure Iraq’s place in the intercontinental playoffs, giving them the chance to reach their first World Cup since Mexico 1986.
New Classifieds
The teams that will play the playoffs in March hope to join a group of debutants in the 2026 World Cup, after several debutants secured their qualification in recent weeks. In addition to Curaçao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan also booked their place on football’s biggest stage.
It’s also worth mentioning that Qatar has enjoyed its first qualifying campaign, after automatically participating in the 2022 final phase as hosts of the tournament.
