The 9 Countries With The Longest Active World Cup Appearance Droughts

There are more than 200 countries that have the chance to play in the World Cup when it rolls around every four years, and most of them will end up on the outside looking in by the time the lineup of squads that qualified is finalized. That includes a number of nations that have gotten a taste of the tournament but have had to wait a very long time to return, including those responsible for the longest active droughts.

These countries have waited the longest to return to the World Cup since their last appearance

The field for the 2026 World Cup was expanded to 48 teams for the first time after 32 countries earned the right to play in Qatar in 2022.

That was a welcome development for some teams that were able to return to the international showdown for the first time in decades; Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo hadn’t punched their ticket since 1974, and Iraq snapped a dubious streak stretching back to 1986.

Unfortunately, there were more than a few teams with similarly lengthy droughts (and others with significantly longer ones) that weren’t able to take advantage, including…

9. Bolivia: 1994

South America may be a hotbed for soccer, but there is one very notable exception in the form of Bolivia.

Nine countries on the continent have played in the World Cup (Brazil has 22 consecutive appearances stretching back to the inaugural edition in 1930 and is the only nation on the planet that has never missed it), and Bolivia sits in last place when it comes to the number of times they’ve competed with just three.

La Verde snapped a 44-year drought in 1994 after missing the World Cup 10 times in a row, but the team is still waiting for a chance to improve on a 0-2-1 showing that led to a last-place finish in Group C.

8. United Arab Emirates: 1990

The United Arab Emirates attempted to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 1986. It came up short but were able to get over the hump four years later before losing all three games it played against Colombia, West Germany, and Yugoslavia in Group C.

As things currently stand, those are also the only three World Cup games the UAE played, as the nation has been unable to earn a second appearance while missing the past nine.

T-6. Hungary: 1986

There was once a time when Hungary could hold its own on soccer’s biggest stage, as the team made it to the World Cup final in 1938 and 1954 (losing to Italy and  West Germany, respectively).

The country has a grand total of nine appearances, which included three straight between 1978 and 1986. However, their run came to an end in the group stage on all three of those occasions, and they’ve spent 40 years trying (and failing) to make it back.

T-6. Northern Ireland: 1986

No member of the United Kingdom has had more success at the World Cup than England, which has 16 appearances and the championship it secured in 1966. Scotland comes in second at eight, while Wales ends up in the basement with two (it had the third-longest drought in World Cup history, one stretching back to 1958, before snapping it in 2022).

Northern Ireland takes the bronze with three, the first of which ended with a run to the quarterfinals during their first-ever appearance in 1958. They didn’t return until 1982 (they advanced from the initial group stage but were eliminated in the second one), and were knocked out in 1986 after a 0-2-1 showing in Group D.

As was the case with Hungary, it’s been four decades since they competed.

T-4. El Salvador: 1982

El Salvador played in the World Cup for the first time in 1970, and it made it back in 1982.

It did not record a single win in either of those appearances, and it has not gotten the chance to improve on its 0-6 record in the tournament after coming up short in qualification 11 times in a row.

T-4. Kuwait: 1982

Kuwait attempted to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 1974, but it failed to do so before being thwarted yet again four years later.

1982 marked its first and, to date, only appearance, and it was hard to imagine the squad was going to get out of Group 4 when you consider they shared it with England and France. Those teams ended up advancing while handing Kuwait a couple of losses, although the country was able to play to a draw against Czechoslovakia.

3. Israel: 1970

Israel did not have the chance to qualify for the World Cup for the first time until 1950 when you consider the country was founded two years before that tournament got underway. However, it had to wait until 1970 to punch its ticket.

That is the only time it has competed, a short-lived run that ended after it went 0-1-2 in Group 2.

T-1. Indonesia

There isn’t a single country on this list that has a larger talent pool to theoretically work with than Indonesia, which is the fourth-largest nation on the planet by population thanks to the nearly 300 million people who call it home.

However, that has not translated to success at the World Cup. Its lone appearance came all the way back in 1938 when it was still known as the “Dutch East Indies,” and it was handed a 6-0 loss by Hungary in single game it played.

T-1. Cuba

Cuba also has a World Cup drought that goes back to 1938, although it managed to put up more of a fight.

The team played Romania to a 3-3 draw in their first match of the Round of 16, and it advanced with a 2-1 win in the tiebreaker. However, it was subsequently handed one of the most lopsided losses in the history of the tournament courtesy of Sweden, which defeated it in an 8-0 romp.