FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 MANAGERS DURING THEIR PLAYING DAYS

The 23^rd FIFA World Cup will be held this summer in Canada/Mexico/USA. This WC edition includes 48 teams, an expansion from 32. It will be the first world cup for Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Argentina are defending champions.

Prior to the next FIFA World Cup in Canada/Mexico/USA here are all the national team managers photos during their playing days and now as the national team managers.

Deschamps already won titles both as player and manager. He captained France to WC title in 1998 on home soil and did the same thing 20 years later as a manager in the WC held in Russia. Fabio Cannavaro won the title in 2006 and was captain of the Italy. Argentina with Lionel Scaloni won the last edition held in Qatar.

Sebastien Desabre never played football professionally. Same like the new Moroccan boss Mohamed Ouahbi. Sebastian Beccacece played in youth levels. Couldn’t find his photo, same like Sebastien Migne who was, among others, part of the Leyton Orient in the late 1990s. 

Thomas Christiansen was born in Denmark to a Spanish mother but went to represent his mother nation on two occasions since he moved to FC Barcelona as a youngster. He is now head coach for Panama at the 2026 WC.

Miroslav Koubek and Hugo Broos are the two oldest head coaches to ever participate in a World Cup. Both will face each other in group A. Koubek was born in 1951 and Broos in 1952. 

Longest gap between two photos is from Dick Advocaat from 1969 to 2026. Next is Carlos Queiroz between 1970s and 2026. Then there is Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay national team manager, who played for NoB between 1975 and 1977. Czech Republic Miroslav Koubek with Sparta Prague from early 1980s. Then it comes Vladimir Petković who played for FK Sarajevo in the first half of the 80s.

It’s great to see how some of them looked in the past and compared to nowadays.

GROUP A:

JAVIER AGUIRRE: Mexico WC 1986 - 2026

HUGO BROOS: Belgium WC 1986 - South Africa WC 2026

HONG MYUNG-BO: South Korea WC 1994 - 2026

MIROSLAV KOUBEK: Sparta Prague 1980s - Czech Republic WC 2026

GROUP B:

JESSE MARSCH: USA 2007 - Canada WC 2026

SERGEJ BARBAREZ: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1999 - WC 2026

JULEN LOPETEGUI: Spain WC 1994 - Qatar WC 2026

MURAT YAKIN: Switzerland 1996 - WC 2026

GROUP C:

CARLO ANCELOTTI: Italy WC 1986 - Brazil WC 2026

MOHAMED OUAHBI: Anderlecht 2015/16 (assistant man.) - Morocco WC 2026

SEBASTIEN MIGNE: Lens 2007/08 - Haiti WC 2026

STEVE CLARKE: Scotland late 1980s - WC 2026

GROUP D:

MAURICIO POCHETTINO: Argentina WC 2002 - USA WC 2026

GUSTAVO ALFARO: Atletico de Rafaela around 1990 - Paraguay WC 2026

TONY POPOVIC: Australia WC 2006 - 2026

VINCENZO MONTELLA: Italy WC 2002 - Turkey WC 2026

GROUP E:

JULIAN NAGELSMANN: 1860 Munchen II 2006/07 - Germany WC 2026

DICK ADVOCAAT: ADO 1969/70 - Curacao WC 2026

EMERSE FAE: Ivory Coast WC 2006 - 2026

SEBASTIAN BECCACECE: Sporting Cristal 2007 (assistant man.) - Ecuador WC 2026

GROUP F:

RONALD KOEMAN: Netherlands WC 1990 - 2026

HAJIME MORIYASU: Japan 1995 - WC 2026

GRAHAM POTTER: England U21 1996 - Sweden WC 2026

SABRI LAMOUCHI: France 1996/1998 - Tunisia WC 2026

GROUP G:

RUDI GARCIA: Caen 1988/1991 - Belgium WC 2026

HOSSAM HASSAN: Egypt WC 1990 - 2026

AMIR GHALENOEI: Iran 1990s - WC 2026

DARREN BAZELEY: Watford 1995/96 - New Zealand WC 2026

GROUP H:

LUIS DE LA FUENTE: Sevilla 1989/90 - Spain WC 2026

PEDRO LEITAO BRITO "BUBISTA": Cape Verde 1989/2005 - WC 2026

GEORGIOS DONIS: Greece 1994/1995 - Saudi Arabia WC 2026

MARCELO BIELSA: NoB 1975/1977 - Uruguay WC 2026

GROUP I:

DIDIER DESCHAMPS: France WC 1998 - 2026

PAPE THIAW: Senegal WC 2002 - 2026

GRAHAM ARNOLD: Australia around 1993 - Iraq WC 2026

STALE SOLBAKKEN: Norway WC 1998 - 2026

GROUP J:

LIONEL SCALONI: Argentina WC 2006 - 2026

VLADIMIR PETKOVIĆ: Sarajevo 1980s - Algeria WC 2026

RALF RANGNICK: Viktoria Backnang 1983/1985 - Austria WC 2026

JAMAL SELLAMI: Morocco WC 1998 - Jordan WC 2026

GROUP K:

ROBERTO MARTINEZ: Zaragoza 1992/93 - Portugal WC 2026

SEBASTIEN DESABRE: ASEC Mimosas 2010/2012 - DR Congo WC 2026

FABIO CANNAVARO: Italy WC 2002 - Uzbekistan WC 2026

NESTOR LORENZO: Argentina WC 1990 - Colombia WC 2026

GROUP L:

THOMAS TUCHEL: Augsburg A-Jugend 1991/92 - England WC 2026

ZLATKO DALIĆ: Dinamo Vinkovci 1986/87 - Croatia WC 2026

CARLOS QUEIROZ: Ferroviario 1970s - Ghana WC 2026

THOMAS CHRISTIANSEN: Spain 1993 - Panama WC 2026

FIFA WORLD CUP MANAGERS THEN AND NOW (click for better photo)