{"id":1736,"date":"2026-06-04T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=1736"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:20:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:20:03","slug":"the-world-cups-great-comeback-stories-return-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/04\/the-world-cups-great-comeback-stories-return-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup’s great comeback stories return in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not every World Cup story begins with favourites and title contenders. Some begin with survival, patience and decades of waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 edition will not only showcase football’s biggest powers, but also the return of nations that spent years, and in some cases generations, dreaming of hearing their anthem again on the sport’s grandest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some countries, missing one or two tournaments already feels painful. Others have endured absences stretching back to another era entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upcoming World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will therefore carry an added emotional weight for several returning sides finally reclaiming their place among football’s elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From black-and-white memories to modern redemption<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the most remarkable comebacks are those of Haiti and DR Congo, both absent from the World Cup since 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than fifty years have passed since their last appearances in West Germany, a gap so vast it belongs almost to another footballing world. Both nations exited that tournament without a victory, but return in 2026 transformed by entirely new generations and renewed ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraq also end a long exile. Their only previous World Cup appearance came in 1986, meaning four decades have passed since they last featured on football’s biggest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiar European names finally return<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late 1990s also echo strongly through the list of returning nations. Austria, Scotland and Norway all return after last appearing in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the three, only Norway managed to progress beyond the group stage during that tournament, eventually falling to Italy in the last 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then comes Turkey, whose absence has lasted since their unforgettable run to third place at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. For Turkish supporters, 2026 represents the end of a 24-year wait to see their country back among the global elite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Familiar faces return to the spotlight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several other nations return after shorter but still painful absences. Paraguay are back after missing every edition since 2010, when they came agonisingly close to eliminating Spain.The <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Czech Republic return for the first time since 2006, while New Zealand and South Africa make their long-awaited comeback after last appearing at the 2010 tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list also includes Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Ivory Coast, all absent since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Colombia, Egypt, Panama and Sweden return after narrowly missing out on the 2022 edition following their appearances in Russia 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The returning nations at the 2026 World Cup<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haiti – last appearance: 1974<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DR Congo – last appearance: 1974<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraq – last appearance: 1986<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austria – last appearance: 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scotland – last appearance: 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norway – last appearance: 1998<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey – last appearance: 2002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Czech Republic – last appearance: 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand – last appearance: 2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa – last appearance: 2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paraguay – last appearance: 2010<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Algeria – last appearance: 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina – last appearance: 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivory Coast – last appearance: 2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombia – last appearance: 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egypt – last appearance: 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panama – last appearance: 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden – last appearance: 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all of them, the 2026 World Cup represents far more than qualification. It is the end of years of frustration, near misses and fading memories, and the beginning of another chance to write themselves back into football history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not every World Cup story begins with favourites and title contenders. Some begin with survival, patience and decades<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1736"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1736\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1738,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1736\/revisions\/1738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}