{"id":631,"date":"2018-05-19T13:41:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T08:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/?p=631"},"modified":"2018-05-19T13:56:45","modified_gmt":"2018-05-19T08:26:45","slug":"iceland-become-smallest-nation-ever-to-qualify-for-world-cup-finals-here-are-the-five-other-smallest-nations-to-have-featured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/2018\/05\/19\/iceland-become-smallest-nation-ever-to-qualify-for-world-cup-finals-here-are-the-five-other-smallest-nations-to-have-featured\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland becomes smallest nation ever to qualify for World Cup finals- Here Are The Smallest Nations To Have Featured In World Cups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iceland sealed a place in Russia with a 2-0 victory against Kosovo in Reykjavik, becoming the smallest nation ever to qualify for a\u00a0World Cup finals. Qualification for their first World Cup is a remarkable achievement for Iceland, a country with a population of approximately 335,000. The previous smallest country to have reached the finals was Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 (1.3 million people) followed by Northern Ireland (1.85 million), Slovenia (2.08 million), Jamaica (2.89 million) and Wales (3.1 million).<\/p>\n

1.Iceland<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Population \u2013 348,580
\nQualified \u2013 2018
\nBest performance \u2013 2018 (grouped with Croatia, Nigeria, Argentina)
\nMemorable result \u2013 2016 European Championships Iceland 2-1 England<\/p>\n

The country is currently playing the best football in its history, having been European Championship quarter-finalists in 2016. That was their first ever tournament appearance. They were seeded fourth in their qualifying group, yet they won it, beating the mighty Netherlands home and away on the route. Iceland went on to draw 1-1 with Hungary and Portugal before beating Austria to qualify for the second round. It was here that Iceland famously beat a full-strength England team 2-1, losing out to hosts France in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

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2.Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 (1.3 million people)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Population \u2013 1.35 million
\nQualified \u2013 2006
\nBest performance \u2013 2006 Group Stage (finished fourth in their group)
\nMemorable match \u2013 November 2005 World Cup Play Off: Bahrain 0-1 Trinidad and Tobago<\/p>\n

Trinidad and Tobago, inspired by their most famous player, Dwight Yorke, qualified for the 2006 World Cup. But their journey to get there was far from easy. During the qualifying campaign, they sat at the bottom of their group in the final round of qualifying with one point from three matches. However, Leo Beenhakker took over as the coach and transformed the team, which eventually finished fourth in the CONCACAF table and secured a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

With roughly 1.35 million inhabitants, it will be very difficult for a smaller country to take their place at least until 2026 when the final tournament expands to 48 teams. \u00a0 Trinidad and Tobago achieved its first ever qualification in the preliminaries for the FIFA World Cup 2006. They started their adventure on German soil with a surprising 0-0 draw against Sweden, but they were not able to resist in front of England and Paraguay, losing\u00a0 both matches with the same score(0-2), so they are still in search not only of their first win but also for their first ever World Cup goal!<\/p>\n

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3.Northern Ireland (1.85 million)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Population \u2013 1.8 million
\nQualified \u2013 1958, 1982, 1986
\nBest performance \u2013 1958 (Quarter Finals), 1982 (Second Group Stage)
\nMemorable match \u2013 1982 World Cup: Spain 0-1 Northern Ireland<\/p>\n

Of the five countries on this list, Northern Ireland has been the most successful. The country representing one of the world\u2019s oldest football associations, the Irish Football Association, has qualified three times. Northern Ireland could have qualified in 2018 as well, was it not for a disputed penalty decision in their play-off with Switzerland. The country has also risen to fame off the pitch, with their fans, the Green and White Army, often being labeled the best football supporters in Europe. In 1958, Northern Ireland wasn\u2019t really supposed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup since they were in a group with double-world champions Italy and only one team would go through. But qualify they did, thanks to a draw in Portugal and the disastrous away form of\u00a0 Italy ensured Northern Irelands qualified.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s memorable moment was their 1-0 win over hosts Spain in Valencia. For the Northern Irish, it was yet again the French who knocked them out, beating them 4-1. In 1986, Northern Ireland qualified again. This time they finished third in a tough group with Brazil, Spain, and Algeria. They lost out on the Second Stage by one goal.<\/p>\n

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4.Slovenia (2.08 million)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Population \u20132.08 million
\nQualified \u2013 2002,2010
\nBest performance:1-0 against Algeria in World Cup 2010<\/p>\n

The fourth-smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup did so just 10 years after gaining independence from Yugoslavia. And they did so in fairly impressive fashion, progressing undefeated through a group containing not only the nation they\u2019d just left but also Switzerland and Russia.Russia.Five wins and five draws put them through to a playoff against Romania, and a 3-2 aggregate win sent them to Japan-South Korea.<\/p>\n

Slovenia reached the final tournaments of 2002 and 2010 after eliminating strong favorites Romania and Russia in playoffs. Their first participation in 2002 was not impressive at all, the Slovenians losing all the three group matches:1-3 against Spain and Paraguay and 0-1 against South Africa.<\/p>\n

Their second participation was much better and brought them their first ever World Cup victory(1-0 against Algeria), and they missed a huge opportunity to reach the last 16, when they failed to maintain a 2-0 lead against the USA and the match ended in a draw(2-2), and unfortunately for them a defeat against England(0-1) and the success of the USA in the last minutes against Algeria denied them a historical qualification in the second round.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

5.Jamaica (2.89 million)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The country of reggae, which has a little more than 2,9 million inhabitants, was not very successful in World Cup preliminaries until 1998, when it reached the final tournament in France.It was a tough mission for an inexperienced team who made its debut with 1-3 defeat against Croatia, and then it was crushed by Argentina(5-0), but they managed to save their honor by beating Japan(2-1), a result which allowed them to finish the competition in 22nd place out of 32 participants. It is a win they have to keep in mind because it might be a very long time until they qualify again.<\/p>\n

Jamaica is actually the smallest nation to score in and win a FIFA World Cup game \u2014 two feats previously held by Northern Ireland since 1958 \u2014 when Robbie Earle scored the side\u2019s only goal in a 3\u20131 defeat against Croatia and then beat Japan 2\u20131 at the 1998 World Cup<\/p>\n

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6.Wales (3.1 million)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Population \u2013 3.1 million
\nQualified \u2013 1958
\nBest performance \u2013 1958 Quarterfinals<\/p>\n

Wales made their only previous finals appearance in 1958 when they were beaten by eventual winners Brazil in the quarterfinals. For all that, in Gothenburg 58 years ago they defended well, fought hard, and lost in the end by a single goal, scored by Pel\u00e9 in the second half. However, an injury to star player John Charles ruled him out of the match hampering their chances.<\/p>\n

Wales lost 1\u20130 with Pel\u00e9 scoring his first international goal. The tournament was eventually won by Brazil who beat Sweden 5-2 in the final.<\/p>\n

Wales drew each of their group games at the 1958 World Cup, a run that included a clean sheet against hosts and eventual runners-up Sweden. They then set up a quarter-final against eventual winners Brazil, after coming from behind to beat 1954 runners-up Hungary 2-1 in a play-off.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iceland sealed a place in Russia with a 2-0 victory against Kosovo in Reykjavik, becoming the smallest nation ever to qualify for a\u00a0World Cup finals. Qualification for their first World Cup is a remarkable achievement for Iceland, a country with a population of approximately 335,000. The previous smallest country to have reached the finals was Trinidad & Tobago in 2006 (1.3 million people) followed by Northern Ireland (1.85 million), Slovenia (2.08 million), Jamaica (2.89 million) and Wales (3.1 million). 1.Iceland Population \u2013 348,580 Qualified \u2013 2018 Best performance \u2013 2018 (grouped with Croatia, Nigeria, Argentina) Memorable result \u2013 2016 European Championships Iceland 2-1 England The country is currently playing the … Continue reading “Iceland becomes smallest nation ever to qualify for World Cup finals- Here Are The Smallest Nations To Have Featured In World Cups”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[252,251,249,248,250,253],"class_list":["post-631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-iceland","tag-jamaica","tag-slovenia","tag-trinidad-and-tobago","tag-world-cup-russia-2018"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}