Football Quiz! Every FIFA nation to never appear at the World Cup

We’ve got another quiz for you.
… and if you know your geography, that might help. There are 211 nations playing under the FIFA banner, but 127 of them have NEVER qualified for a World Cup
The expanded format in 2026 has increased their chances, and rumours of a further increase to 64 even more so. But still more than half have never played in the tournament.
Cape Verde, Haiti and Curacao all made their bow at this year’s event; who will be next to debut?
You have 25 minutes to name as many of the hopefuls as you can.
Need more quizzes? See if your mental stamina can survive any of these?
Our Pre-match Posers are notoriously brutal trivia affairs, with scientists estimating only one per cent of football fans are capable of solving them.
For something slightly less difficult, can you name every World Cup hat-trick scorer since 1998?
If you need something more recent, our Big World Cup 2026 Quiz tests knowledge on the summer showpiece that a record number of fans were able to watch.
A more leisurely quiz experience can be found in our Weekend Crossword. This one features shocks, sharpshooters and schadenfreude.
We’ve heard a lot about this guy lately – see if you can get 10 correct answers in our Erling Haaland quiz.
Or if you’d rather not think about Big Erl for the time being, see if you’re able to name every nation to have hosted the World Cup in order.
To ensure you stay one step ahead of the late tactical shifts as the knockout rounds loom, subscribe to our newsletter for your daily afternoon briefing of hand-picked trivia. To truly secure your legacy this summer, make sure you’ve joined The Club, our free membership hub that serves as your digital dugout, where you can unlock secret hints for the toughest quizzes, fight for the top of the global leaderboards, and join the debate in the comments section as the tournament drama unfolds.





