Changing of the guard

Italy's difficulties point to its own decline, having failed to qualify for the World Cup since 2014. That slump dates back further, with Italy being eliminated at the group stage of the last two World Cups it competed at — in 2010 and 2014, having won the tournament in 2006.

Germany won the last of its four world titles in 2014 and has gone out at the group stage of the following two World Cups — suggesting the dominance of the established elite may no longer be guaranteed.

That is being felt beyond Europe as well.

Nigeria was, for so long, one of the powerhouses of African soccer and qualified for six out of seven editions from 1994-2018. Now, it has missed out on the World Cup for the second time in succession, having also failed to qualify for Qatar in 2022.

Can the newcomers and underdogs spring more surprises?

Curacao and Cape Verde have already made history by qualifying for the World Cup, and their success should inspire future generations — leading to further development of the game domestically.

That was what FIFA hoped an expanded tournament would achieve.

But, the World Cup has been the stage for many famous upsets through the years. The US stunned mighty England in 1950, and, in 1966, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea beat Italy. Cameroon beat then-defending champion Argentina in 1990 and Senegal did the same to another defending champion, France, in 2002. In 2022, Saudi Arabia beat Lionel Messi and eventual world champion Argentina.

Also in 2022, Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals — beating European giants Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way.

The gap is closing, and teams once considered outsiders now have genuine ambition of going deep into tournaments.

As a host nation, and with Mauricio Pochettino as coach, the US is aiming to better its best World Cup performance — a quarterfinal finish in 2002. Its recent revival saw the side rout Uruguay 5-1, further lifting confidence.

But the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Spain and France remain the favorites to lift the famous trophy, which has only been shared among eight nations in its 95-year history.

Qualified nations

Host nations

United States, Canada, Mexico

North, Central America & Caribbean

Curacao, Haiti, Panama

South America

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Africa

Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia

Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Europe

Croatia, England, France, Norway, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Scotland

Oceania

New Zealand

Agencies via Xinhua