A 2:0 unpopular game gives a hint - Is it possible that the 2026 World Cup will be the most Yugoslav teams?

In the context of football, Yugoslavia represents retro and nostalgia. In the Black and White era, Yugoslavia was an absolute European strong team, and was even named by Beltin as the Brazilian team in Europe. Yugoslav players are strong but also excellent in their skills and are representative of European Latinism.

But later, for well-known reasons, Yugoslavia was divided into several teams. Currently, there are 7 Yugoslav teams in European football, namely Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Note that we only talk about football, not about other things, so, if you see clearly, I am talking about 7 teams. In fact, Yugoslav football, like Soviet football, has added many teams to European football out of thin air. The Soviet Union is even more outstanding in this regard, with more than a dozen teams at once, and even four more in Asia. Since there is no Yugoslavia in the football world, teams with Yugoslav football elements can still go to the World Cup. In the 1998 World Cup, Yugoslavia (of course, Yugoslavia was no longer the earliest Yugoslavia) participated in the competition with Croatia. In the 2002 World Cup, Slovenia and Croatia participated together. In the 2006 World Cup, as a country that has existed for a short time, Serbia sent its own team, which can actually be regarded as Yugoslavia; in addition, Croatia also participated. Yugoslav teams have recovered from the size of two in 1998. Later, Serbia, as the largest successor of Yugoslav football, often appeared in the World Cup. Croatia is the strongest and most sustainable team among Yugoslavia. In addition, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are also occasionally shortlisted. However, from 1998 to now, in previous World Cups, Yugoslav teams have the largest size, which is only two. It was a pity that Serbia and Slovenia were both shortlisted, but Croatia was absent.

Okay, let's go back to the current European World Cup qualifiers. The World Cup qualifiers made an upset, Sweden lost 0:2 to Kosovo away. In fact, Kosovo is the weakest among the seven teams in Yugoslavia, and it can even be said to be the bottom team in Europe. But now they are not weak teams who can easily give points and goal difference, even Sweden can win. Of course, it would be a bit too much to say that Kosovo is expected to advance in this unpopular game. After all, they lost to Switzerland 0:4 in the first game. However, even Kosovo has made such great progress, other Yugoslav teams are even more worth looking forward to. If you look at the current European World Cup standings, you will find that the Yugoslav teams are all very good. Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Croatia are both ranked first and are expected to advance directly. Serbia ranks second because it has England as a giant in the same group, but is expected to be shortlisted for the playoffs. Although Slovenia is currently ranked at the bottom, this group itself is the death group, and there will be shocks in every round, so we cannot completely lose confidence in them. Only Montenegro, due to its strength, may not be able to break through. If you are optimistic, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be directly shortlisted, while Serbia and North Macedonia have the potential to enter the playoffs. In the 2026 World Cup, there may be 4 Yugoslav teams shortlisted, and even if conservatively estimated, there will be 3. And if there are really three, it would have been a record. Of course, the World Cup has not been completed yet, and there will be variables later. However, Yugoslav football may be able to usher in a golden age with the dividends of expanding its army. Finally, I have to sigh that if Yugoslavia is still there and gather all the outstanding players of these teams, this may be a top five team in the world.