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FIFA Rank: 8
Top goal scorer: Memphis Depay (52)
It is quite a sporting failure that one of the countries that reinvented modern-day football hasn’t won a single title. That’s been the Netherlands’ fate over the last 20 years, given it came so close to clinching the title in 2010 only for Spain to stop them historically. Since then, it has only come close once, in 2014, when Argentina knocked them out in the semifinals.
But now under Ronald Koeman, there’s hope that the Oranje can return to its great old days of being a footballing powerhouse. While the association has definitely set its bar high reach the semi-finals the side will have to play with a lot more intensity than before to reach the final stages of the competition.
If its qualifying campaign is telling a story, it is that the Dutch side is capable of trumping any team on its given day. That’s where the likes of Frankie de Jong, Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo become all the more important.
Young talent to watch out for: Jorrel Hato
FIFA Rank: 13
Top goal scorer: James Rodrigues (31)
Colombia is really a dark horse at the upcoming World Cup, considering they have one of the best wingers in world football at the moment, Luis Diaz. While it did qualify most shakily, finishing ten points away from the CONMEBOL leaders, Argentina, there still exists some raw talent who could take them all the way. Diaz will be central to Colombia’s hopes, with the Bayern Munich winger having one of the best seasons of his career, decimating defences across Europe in the UEFA Champions League. The winger has scored 26 goals and assisted 23 times in the season, making him one of the in-form players to walk into the tournament.
Apart from him, there’s the class of James Rodriguez, who is turning it all back, with the 34-year-old four short of an all-time Colombian record for most assists. Furthermore, Rodriguez is now part of the Minnesota United FC, meaning he will know the conditions much better than a lot of world-class stars at the tournament.
Luis Suarez (not the Uruguayan one) adds to the fierce attacking prowess that Colombia possesses up top, with a lot of goal-scoring emphasis on the Sporting striker, who scored 38 goals in all competitions this season.
Young talent to watch out for: Andres Gomez
FIFA Rank: 18
Top goal scorer: Ayase Ueda (16)
Pretty shocking, right? In a parallel anime world, Japan will always go down as one of the best assembled squads in football history. But in the world we live in, it is one of the dark horses at the upcoming World Cup. What stands in its way is the Round of 16, a phase it has never been in since qualifying for the event.
In 2022, they crashed out before the stage after a penalty shootout at the hands of the eventual semi-finalists, Croatia. Across the last few years, Japan has been quite a fiery side, having beaten the likes of Germany, Spain, England and Brazil (the last two coming over the last 12 months).
While it will miss Takumi Minamino and his experience of playing in European competitions, it will still have one of the best talents in La Liga, Takefuso Kubo, who was once hailed as the ‘Japanese Messi’, thanks to his superior technical quality and ability to beat defenders with his nimble footwork. Unlike other teams, though, Japan would certainly believe that it can make it out of the group to the next stage, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia being the other teams. And, it will come gunning down for that title, with a heavy-pressing system that can catch teams off guard.
Young talent to watch out for: Takefusa Kubo
FIFA Rank: 31
Top goal scorer: Erling Haaland (55)
Norway, the country known for Magnus Carlsen? Yes, that Norway, and no, it is a country that’s now known for more than chess: football. In terms of dark horses, Norway is one side that can spring a real surprise, in a way that it can creep up from behind for the title. Of course, for that to happen, a lot of emphasis will again be on its star player, Erling Haaland, the goal-scoring monster.
Haaland has already scored 55 goals for the country and 38 for his club this season alone. At 25, he’s at the peak of his goal-scoring powers, and things can get scary for teams that come his way at the upcoming World Cup. But even if you take out Haaland, Norway has a plethora of talents, like Antonio Nusa, Alex Sorloth, Martin Odegaard and Sandre Berge.
While Sorloth and Odegaard already play for top European clubs, it isn’t the same for Nusa, who plays for RB Leipzig, and will be the one to look for at the upcoming tournament. What also works in its favour is that it possesses one of the younger squads in the competition, which means they will run and create more pressure up front.
Young talent to watch out for: Antonio Nusa