Omar Alderete of Paraguay heads the ball during an international friendly match against Morocco on March 31 in Lens, France.
Federico Pestellini/Eurasia Sport Images via Getty Images
Eight teams will soon set foot in Levi’s Stadium for the World Cup’s group stage, spanning matches from June 13-25. The field includes a top-20 team in the FIFA world rankings, a World Cup debutante and numerous premier talents who compete throughout the highest divisions of club soccer in Europe.
Santa Clara was not fortunate enough to draw global icon Lionel Messi. Perhaps fans can settle for the formidable underdog that upset Argentina, the reigning World Cup champion led by the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, in qualifying.
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The following matches will take place at Levi’s Stadium.
June 13: Switzerland vs. Qatar at noon (Group B)
June 16: Austria vs. Jordan at 9 p.m. (Group J)
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June 19: Paraguay vs. Turkey at 9 p.m. (Group D)
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June 22: Algeria vs. Jordan at 8 p.m. (Group J)
June 25: Paraguay vs. Australia at 7 p.m. (Group D)
July 1: Round of 32, teams TBD at 5 p.m.
Here’s what you need to know about the teams.
Paraguay
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Confederation: CONMEBOL (South America)
Best finish: Quarterfinals (2010)
Base camp site: Spartan Soccer Complex (San Jose)
Overview: La Albirroja, the Paraguayan men’s national team nickname that translates to “The White and Red” in English, last qualified for the World Cup in 2010. Paraguay’s memorable run concluded in the country’s first trip to the quarterfinals when Spain, the eventual champions that year, won 1-0. The Paraguayans then watched three World Cups go by without representation. With an expanded 48-team format this summer, CONMEBOL was afforded six automatic World Cup bids along with a potential seventh available in an inter-confederation playoff. Paraguay secured CONMEBOL’s sixth and final guaranteed berth.
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Key player(s): Paraguay’s football identity is defense. The job of center backs Gustavo Gomez and Omar Alderete is to make things difficult for opposing offenses. During qualifying, Paraguay beat Argentina 2-1 and Brazil 1-0 in massive upsets. Argentina enters this summer’s World Cup ranked No. 1 in the world; Brazil is No. 6. Messi did not record a goal or assist in the rare defeat, which served as Paraguay’s first home win over Argentina in 15 years.
The Jordanian national team celebrates its first goal against South Korea during the AFC Asian Cup Group E match at Al Thumama Stadium on Jan. 20, 2024, in Doha, Qatar.
Clicks Images/Getty Images
Jordan
Confederation: AFC (Asia)
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Base camp site: University of Portland (Portland, Ore.)
Overview: Tenth time’s a charm. Jordanians waited decades. But with a roster widely viewed as the most talented in the country’s history, the Jordanian men’s national team will soon make its World Cup debut, having clinched the second of eight auto bids in the AFC despite a coaching change. The coach who led Jordan to the AFC Asian Cup final for the first time, Hussein Ammouta, was subsequently replaced by fellow Morocco native Jamal Sellami, the coach who oversaw Jordan across the finish line in the third round of AFC qualification. Al Nashama (“The Chivalrous Ones”) got close in 2014 but came up short in the fifth and final round of qualifying with a loss and draw in its intercontinental playoff.
Key player(s): Musa Al-Taamari became the first Jordanian to debut in one of Europe’s top five soccer leagues in 2023 when he joined Montpellier, a Ligue 1 side in France. The winger currently plays for Stade Rennais F.C. in Ligue 1. Al-Taamari scored six goals and assisted on six more, which paced Rennais, across 33 matches in what proved to be a breakout 2025-26 campaign.
Mathew Ryan of Australia prepares to pass during an international friendly match against Mexico at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena on May 30.
Liza Rosales/ISI Photos via Getty Images
Australia
Confederation: AFC (Asia)
Best finish: Round of 16 (2022, 2006)
Base camp site: Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club (Alameda)
Overview: A defensive anchor for the Socceroos squad that advanced past the group stage in 2006 for the first time in the country’s history, Tony Popovic, will become the first Australian to have both played and coached at the World Cup. Popovic takes over for Graham Arnold, the national team’s longest-tenured coach. Australia’s underwhelming start to a critical third round of AFC qualifiers, including an upset loss to Bahrain and a draw against Indonesia, preceded Arnold’s resignation. Popovic then led the Socceroos to their sixth consecutive World Cup.
Key player(s): Longtime goalkeeper and captain Mathew Ryan, 34, is back for his fourth World Cup. Ryan has played in four of Europe’s top five soccer leagues, including England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1. Australian midfielder Jackson Irvine dealt with a nagging left foot injury that forced him to miss time during his Bundesliga season with FC St. Pauli, which has since been relegated from the top German league, but is expected to be in action for the Socceroos this summer.
Granit Xhaka of Switzerland plays the ball during an international friendly match against Germany on March 27 at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.
Ralf Ibing/firo sportphoto vis Getty Images
Switzerland
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
World Cup appearances: 13
Best finish: Quarterfinals (1954, 1938, 1934)
Base camp site: San Diego Jewish Academy (San Diego)
Overview: The Swiss qualified with ease. Their unbeaten UEFA qualifying campaign included four wins and two draws, underlined by a dominant goal differential of plus-12: Switzerland scored 14 goals and surrendered two. The country has lost just one of its previous 42 qualifying matches. Its one loss was to Portugal via a 2-0 decision in 2017. Switzerland advanced to the round of 16 in each of the past three World Cups. Of the eight clubs set to play at Levi’s Stadium in the group stage, the Swiss enter with the highest world ranking.
Key player(s): Keep an eye on veteran defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. A national team captain, Xhaka was recently nominated for the Premier League’s Transfer of the Season award with Sunderland, a freshly promoted Premier League side. Kobel, 28, may have only 19 caps but has played most of his professional club career in the top division of Bundesliga and offers a lot of promise as the replacement to Switzerland’s longtime goalie Yann Sommer, who announced his international retirement in August 2024.
Turkey’s Ferdi Kadioglu, left, and Arda Guler celebrate at the end of the 2026 World Cup qualifier playoff semifinal against Romania in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 26.
Associated Press
Turkey
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Best finish: Third place (2002)
Base camp site: Arizona Athletic Grounds (Mesa, Ariz.)
Overview: For the first time in 24 years, Turkey is in the World Cup. It took a pair of 1-0 wins over Romania and Kosovo in the European playoffs. The Turks impressively finished their last World Cup appearance among the final four, having beaten Korea Republic in the third-place match after a semifinal loss to Brazil, that year’s champion.
Key player(s): A rising star, Arda Guler, 21, scored four goals and recorded nine assists in 33 matches played for a Real Madrid team that again concluded the 2025-26 season as runner-up to La Liga champion Barcelona. Guler has come a long way in a short time from being a sparsely used reserve at age 18 when Madrid won the UEFA Champions League; he subsequently became the first Turkish player to win the Champions League. Another young attacking midfielder, Kenan Yildiz, managed 10 goals and six assists in his age-20 season for Serie A powerhouse Juventus. Yildiz turned 21 in May.
Qatar’s Akram Afif drives against Ireland’s Jayson Molumby during their international friendly soccer match in Dublin on May 28.
Peter Morrison/Associated Press
Qatar
Confederation: AFC (Asia)
Base camp site: Westmont College (Santa Barbara)
Overview: Qatar made its World Cup debut in 2022 as a host, losing all three group stage matches. The country is back on its own merit in 2026. The Maroons appointed a decorated new coach in May of last year, Julen Lopetegui, who led his home country Spain to an undefeated record in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and subsequently spent coaching stints for multiple clubs in La Liga, including Real Madrid, and the Premier League. Lopetegui was a longtime La Liga goalkeeper during his playing days.
Key player(s): A two-time AFC Player of the Year, forward Akram Afif steered Qatar to its first AFC Asian Cup wins in 2019 and 2023 alongside striker Almoez Ali, who in 2019 won the Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament’s top goal scorer. Ali set a tournament record with nine goals, a mark that still stands, and Afif claimed a record of his own in that same tournament with 10 assists. Afif won the Golden Boot in 2023 with eight goals, including a hat trick in the final. Keep an eye on this dynamic duo as Qatar looks to notch its first World Cup points.
David Alaba of Austria controls the ball during an international friendly match against Tunisia on June 1 at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna, Austria.
Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Austria
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Best finish: Third place (1954)
Base camp site: Harder Stadium (Goleta in Santa Barbara County)
Overview: After another World Cup passed by in 2022 without a berth, Austria hired German tactician Ralf Rangnick to orchestrate the country’s follow-up to France 1998. Rangnick’s teams, from RB Leipzig in Bundesliga to Manchester United in the Premier League, have long been known for a breakneck style of pressing on the pitch. Austria under his aggressive and assured direction advanced to the knockout stage of the 2024 European Championship, winning its qualifying group for the first time ever. It was merely a matter of time before Rangnick would have the Austrians snap their 28-year World Cup drought the following year.
Key player(s): Austria isn’t getting prime David Alaba, arguably one of the best soccer talents in the nation’s history, but the ball-playing center back at age 33 remains a fitting captain for Rangnick’s 26-man roster. Alaba has versatility as a playmaker and defender. And while his glory years at the club level with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid appear behind him, Alaba’s 111 caps are as much a nod to his legacy as his veteranship.
Riyad Mahrez of Algeria controls the ball during a friendly international match against the Netherlands on June 3 at Feyenoord stadium De Kuip in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Maurice van Steen/ANP via Getty Images
Algeria
Confederation: CAF (Africa)
Best finish: Round of 16 (2014)
Base camp site: University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kan.)
Overview: Formerly coach of Switzerland’s established national side, Swiss native Vladimir Petkovic has helped Algeria rediscover competitive form with 20 wins and four draws to only three defeats in the two-plus years since he was appointed. The Fennecs breezed through the African qualifiers. Eight wins in 10 matches proved more than enough to claim the one World Cup ticket up for grabs in their group.
Key player(s): Veteran winger and captain Riyad Mahrez, 35, is probably the most recognizable name on this Algeria team, but striker Mohamed Amoura, 26, carried the offensive load throughout the Fennecs’ qualifying run by netting a CAF-best 10 goals in 10 matches. A top-20 scorer in the highest division of Bundesliga the past two seasons, Amoura has combined for 18 goals and 12 assists since he joined Wolfsburg in 2024.