Considering that there are 211 federations affiliated to FIFA and that only 79 of them have been able to qualify for the World Cup in its 92-year history, playing in this tournament should be considered a feat, a privilege.
Qatar 2022 will be the 22nd edition of this tournament to be played, and from its conception it promises to be unique, as is the fact that it will be played for the first time in the Middle East, and also the need to schedule the matches for the end of the year (November 20 to December 18), instead of the traditional dates of May, June and July.
In fact, in this upcoming FIFA World Cup there are teams that break a long absence from this most prestigious stage in the world of soccer, such as Wales, which managed to keep the last available place for UEFA. So it's time to take a trip to meet those National Teams that took a long time to enjoy the privilege of playing a World Cup again.
Longest streak of a National Team to return to play in a FIFA World Cup
It is a fact that not everyone survives the World Cup Qualifiers. With the exception of the first edition of this tournament, Uruguay 1930, in which the participants were invited, the rest of the editions had to be reached through elimination with other neighboring countries. A voracious and increasingly complicated competition.
So it is normal that of the 79 countries that have played the FIFA World Cup, very few have the rhythm of Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, France, England, Spain, Uruguay and Belgium, the countries that have played the most editions and therefore recurring guests, almost infallible of this tournament. Below are the National Teams with the longest streaks in returning to a World Cup having previously played one.
Longest streaks to return to the World Cup
Qatar 2022 marks the end of what was the longest streak of a National Team to return to a FIFA World Cup, which is precisely that of Wales. Thanks to Gareth Bale and Wayne Hennessey, they secured the last European ticket to the World Cup.
- Wales, 1958 - 2022 - 64 years to come back
- Egypt, 1934 - 1990 - 56 years to come back
- Norway, 1938 - 1994 56 to come back
4 decades to return to the World Cup
Here is a striking case, and it is that of the USMNT, which although the new generations of soccer fans are used to seeing the Stars and Stripes commonly at the FIFA World Cup, as will happen in Qatar 2022, but it took a long time for this to happen.
- Turkey, 1954 - 2002 - 48 years to come back
- Bolivia, 1950 - 1994 - 44 years to come back
- North Korea, 1966 - 2010 - 44 years to come back
- United States, 1950 - 1990 - 40 years to come back
3 decades to return to the World Cup
Once again, Qatar 2022 is being put on the map as the showcase for a National Team that is ending a long streak, a prolonged absence from the FIFA World Cup, and that is Canada, which arrives with great enthusiasm to this tournament after having qualified as the best team in CONCACAF.
- Canada, 1986 - 2022 - 36 years to come back
- Netherlands, 1938 - 1974 - 36 years to come back
- Poland, 1938 - 1974 - 36 years to come back
- Australia, 1974 - 2006 - 32 years to come back
- Korea, 1954 - 1986 - 32 years to come back
- Peru, 1982 - 2018 - 32 years to come back
- Romania, 1938 - 1970 - 32 years to come back
More than 2 decades to return to the World Cup
Less long-lived than the previous ones, but equally memorable, such as that of Colombia, whose golden generation led by Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincón and Rene Higuita managed to return to a FIFA World Cup after a 28-year absence.
- Algeria, 1986 - 2014 - 28 years to come back
- Colombia, 1962 - 1990 - 28 years to come back
- Honduras, 1982 - 2010 - 28 years to come back
- New Zealand, 1982 - 2010 - 28 years to come back
- Paraguay, 1958 - 1986 - 28 years to come back
- Switzerland, 1966 - 1994 - 28 years to come back
- Northern Ireland, 1958 - 1982 - 24 years to come back
The longest current streaks without returning to the World Cup
Although long, all of the aforementioned spells have come to an end. Nevertheless, there are National Teams that continue to suffer the drought of not being able to enjoy yet another experience of participating in a FIFA World Cup. It is striking that the longest streak in this category is even longer than the longest in the other group, Wales' 64-year World Cup-less streak.
In the following list, it should be noted that the streaks extend to the USA-Canada-Mexico 2026 World Cup, since for Qatar 2022 these National Teams did not manage to end their absence in this prestigious tournament. However, they could still be further extended if they fail again to qualify for the 23rd edition of the World Cup.
- Cuba, 1938 - 2026 - 88 years to possibly come back
- Indonesia, 1938 - 2026 - 84 years to possibly come back
- Israel, 1970 - 2026 -56 years to possibly come back
- DR Congo, 1974 - 2026 - 52 years to possibly come back
- Haití, 1974 - 2026 - 52 years to possibly come back
- El Salvador, 1982 - 2026 - 44 years to possibly come back
- Kuwait, 1982 - 2026 - 44 years to possibly come back
- Hungary, 1986 - 2026 - 40 years to possibly come back
- Irak, 1986- 2026 - 40 years to possibly come back
- Northern Ireland, 1986 - 2026 - 40 years to possibly come back
- United Arab Emirates, 1990 - 2026 - 36 years to possibly come back
- Bolivia, 1994 - 2026 - 32 years to possibly come back
- Austria, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- Bulgaria, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- Ireland, 2002 - 2026 - 24 years to possibly come back
- Jamaica, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- Norway, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- Romania, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- Scotland, 1998 - 2026 - 28 years to possibly come back
- China, 2002 - 2026 -24 years to possibly come back
- Turkey, 2002 - 2026 - 24 years to possibly come back
