While 42 of the 48 teams qualified for the World Cup are now known, France must prepare to face an unprecedented opponent.
The field for the next World Cup is taking shape. On Tuesday, eight new nations won their direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup. In Europe, while Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria validated their qualification as expected, Scotland created a sensation by snatching their entry ticket thanks to a last-second victory against Denmark.
The Concacaf zone also delivered its verdict. And if Panama held its place in group A, the two other groups gave birth to two surprises: Haiti and Curaçao created a surprise and won their qualification for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Enough to guarantee some completely new posters next summer.
A very exotic hat 4
While the draw is to be held on December 5 in Washington, the hats presiding over the draw are now known and France, assured of being seeded, must prepare to face a completely new opponent. Blame it on a hat full of surprise teams.
Thus, if South Africa and Saudi Arabia have already been on the road to the French team at the World Cup, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand and Qatar are all potential opponents for the Blues.
To this end, France could inherit a very exotic group with Iran (hat 2), Panama (hat 3) and Cape Verde (hat 4).
