84 days to the World Cup: Belgium and Mexico keep coming back. The trophy never follows
With 33 appearances between them, few teams have been as consistent on the World Cup stage as Belgium and Mexico.
The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event. Few teams have made it to the World Cup more often than Belgium and Mexico.
And yet, they still haven’t won it. Since 1930, only 10 countries have made at least 15 World Cup appearances. Of those 10, only Mexico (18) and Belgium (15) have yet to be crowned champions.
2026 World Cup countdown: 100 days of facts, stats and stories Grant Thomas Mexico's best performances have come at the two World Cups it hosted in 1970 and 1986. Does that bode well for El Tri’s chances in 2026 when they co-host with Canada and the United States? Belgium was one of the teams at the first World Cup 96 years ago, and while they've reached the last four, their "Golden Generation" was able to deliver only a third-place finish in 2018.
[ Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Fill out brackets for your shot at $50K ] At least Belgium and Mexico have experienced some level of success at World Cups. It could be worse. Scotland has qualified for nine, but has yet to ever advance beyond the group stage.