With a number of nations and players set to make their debut appearance in the FIFA World Cup 2026, there are 4 veterans who will be making their record 6th appearance
Published: June 3, 2026, 4:07 PM IST
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Argentine football icon Lionel Messi during an event held as part of his ‘G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025’ at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai on Sunday, December 14, 2025. (Photo: IANS)
We are just 9 days away from the start of this summer’s biggest sporting spectacle – the FIFA World Cup 2026 across the North Americas. A total of 48 teams will participate for the first time in the competition’s history with the United States of America, Mexico and Canada co-hosting the event from June 12 onwards.
There’s plenty of buzz and excitement around the tournament which will see a number of nations and players making their debuts with some gearing up for their record 6th appearance in the FIFA World Cup. Young stars like Erling Haaland, Kenan Yildiz, Nico O’Reilly, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise among others are all set for their first-ever appearances.
Nations like Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will all make their World Cup debuts, thanks to the expanded format which saw the addition of 16 more slots. There are also a couple of nations that are entering the competition after years of absence.
Countries like Scotland, Turkiye, Czechia, Iraq, New Zealand, South Africa and Norway among others will make their first appearances after more than a decade’s wait. This is a major factor why we may see a lot of upsets in results with small teams beating the big ones and that’s what makes the World Cup so interesting and unpredictable.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Guillermo Ochoa set for their 6th appearance
While all the above mentioned nations and players will get their first taste of World Cup, there are some veterans who will make their record 6th appearance and all of them are legends of the game.
736 men arrived in Germany in 2006.
Only 4 remain in 2026. pic.twitter.com/xmtKMSsZZx
— Pitch Yarns (@pitch_yarns) June 2, 2026
Portugal’s star man Cristiano Ronaldo, reigning champions Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi, Croatia’s ever green Luka Modric and Mexico’s ageless goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa – will all be playing their 6th consecutive FIFA World Cup.
All of these players made their debuts in Germany 2006 and only one of those players – Lionel Messi – winning the competition in the last edition at Qatar. Luka Modric had almost clinched the coveted trophy in 2018 but Croatia eventually finished as runners-up, losing to France in the final by 4-2.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been predicted to win the 2026 edition with Portugal in the famous Simpson cartoon, played the semi-final on his World Cup debut in 2006 but he hasn’t gone past the round of 16 or quarter-finals over the next 4 editions. Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has never gone past the last 16 stages.
When is the first FIFA World Cup 2026 match and how to watch in India?
Co-hosts Mexico will welcome South Africa in the FIFA World Cup 2026 opener on June 12 at the iconic Estadio Azteca. Fans across India can watch the entire competition live on Zee 5 app/wesbite and Unite8 sports channels on television screens.
