World Cup 2026 Coaches (C) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jesse Marsch

When it comes to high-pressure tournament situations, Jesse Marsch delivers silverware. He started in North American soccer, with the expansion Montreal franchinse and then the more established New York team. He claimed the MLS Supporters' Shield and Coach of the Year with the Red Bulls. His European breakthrough (switching soccer to football, perhaps) came in Austria, where he secured back-to-back domestic doubles by sweeping the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup twice with Red Bull Salzburg. Going to the Premier League, he successfully navigating a tense, late-season English Premier League relegation battle to keep Leeds United afloat. This earned him a position with Canada Soccer. His first test was the 2024 Copa America where the Canadian made it (unexpectedly) all the way to the semifinals, their two losses in regular time both coming at the hands of the Argentinians.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Montreal Impact
New York Red Bulls
Red Bull Salzburg
RB Leipzig
Leeds United
Canada

Answer: Vladimir Petković

No, not the art historian, Vladimir Petković is the manager of the Algerian national team. He achieved his most notable club success in Italy, lifting the Coppa Italia with Lazio in 2013. He then spent time in charge of Switzerland. Seven years, three consecutive major tournament knockout appearances. That was Petković's ultra-consistent record while transforming the Swiss national team into a European fixture. His defining international achievement came at Euro 2020, where his tactical setup helped eliminate tournament favourites France on penalties during a historic run to the quarter-finals.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Bellinzona
Malcantone Agno
Lugano
Bellinzona (second stint)
Young Boys
Samsunspor
Sion
Lazio
Switzerland
Bordeaux
Algeria

Answer: Gustavo Alfaro

Gustavo Alfaro does not build pretty teams. However, he dies build unbreakable ones. He proved his defensive philosophy could win continental silverware by taking Arsenal de Sarandí to the 2007 Copa Sudamericana title, one of the reasons that earned him the prestigious (but gruelling) Boca Juniors job, where he captured the Argentine Super Cup and third place in the league. He took a young, transitioning Ecuador squad and methodically ground through the ultra-competitive South American qualifiers to secure a 2022 World Cup place. He then went on to manage Costa Rica, and from there to Paraguay.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Atlético de Rafaela
Patronato
Quilmes
Atlético de Rafaela (second stint)
Belgrano
Olimpo
Quilmes (second stint)
San Lorenzo
Arsenal de Sarandí
Rosario Central
Al-Ahli
Arsenal de Sarandí (second stint)
Tigre
Gimnasia LP
Huracán
Boca Juniors
Ecuador
Costa Rica
Paraguay

Answer: Steve Clarke

Scotland had not kicked a ball at a major men's tournament since 1998 until Steve Clarke took the job. After proving his tactical utility as an assistant for Chelsea and Liverpool, and then leading West Bromwich Albion to a historic Premier League finish, Clarke went on to raise Kilmarnock in the Scottish league. He then was appointed national team manager and completely rebuilt Scotland's international self-belief. The result was automatic, successive qualification campaigns that punched Scotland's ticket to both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024. They barely missed out on World Cup 2022 in a playoff loss to Ukraine, but they certainly made up for that by qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as the group winners.

Senior team coaching resumé:
West Bromwich Albion
Reading
Kilmarnock
Scotland

Answer: Miroslav Koubek

Miroslav Koubek has had an interesting run-up until he became the coach of the Czech Republic's men's team. Managing teams primarily in his native country, he achieved varying degrees of success until he won the domestic league with Viktoria Plzeň in 2015. He went on to lead them on a defensive run to the Conference League quarter-finals. He was called in to Czechia to right the sip and lead them back to football's biggest stage, and, boy was it ever a nail-biter. He had to survive not one, but two dramatic penalty shootouts and defeated both Ireland and Denmark, both of them good teams. Now, he hopes to continue to get results from his players in World Cup 2026.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Poldi Kladno
VTZ Chomutov
1. FC Amberg
Kladno (second and third stints)
Viktoria Plzeň
Kladno (fourth stint)
Zenit Čáslav
Baník Ostrava
Mladá Boleslav
Slavia Prague
Viktoria Plzeň (second stint)
Bohemians 1905
Hradec Králové
Viktoria Plzeň (third stint)
Czech Republic

Answer: Hong Myung-bo

Hong Myung-bo managed to turn his extensive playing experience into immediate coaching success with South Korea under both Dick Advocaat and Pim Verbeek. He was then appointed tot he youth team and guided the U23 squad to an Olympic bronze medal at the 2012 London Games. Eventually, he joined the senior national team, but resigned to manage club football in China and Korea. He secured consecutive K League 1 championship titles with Ulsan Hyundai in 2022 and 2023 and then returned to the national team and qualified for the 2026 World Cup with an undefeated run of games.

Senior team coaching resumé:
South Korea
Hangzhou Greentown
Ulsan HD
South Korea (second stint)

Answer: Hossam Hassan

Hossam Hassan's coaching career is a testament to handling the some of the most volatile and demanding environments in Middle Eastern football. He managed some of Egypt's top clubs under intense media and supporter scrutiny, famously taking Al Masry to the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals and stabilizing Zamalek during high-pressure domestic campaigns. His international pedigree was proven with Jordan, where he defied expectations by driving them to the final round of Asian qualification for the 2014 World Cup, losing out to Uruguay for the very last spot in the tournament. With Egypt, Hassan has already taken fourth place at AFCON in a penalty shootout loss, and qualified for the World Cup 2026 by topping their group with an undefeated record and only giving up two goals in their ten games.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Al Masry
Telecom Egypt
Zamalek
Ismaily
Al Masry (second stint)
Misr Lel Makkasa
Jordan
Zamalek (second stint)
Al Ittihad Alexandria
Al Masry (third stint)
Pyramids
Smouha
Al Ittihad Alexandria (second stint)
Al Masry (fourth and fifth stints)
Modern Future (for only a few days)
Egypt

Answer: Tony Popovic

Tony Popovic is often associated with the football philosophy of "structural discipline over everything". His style of leadership emphasizes physical and mental resilience, accountability, as well as system-first game. Indeed, this mantra allowed him to pull off a seemingly-impossible feat: leading the expansion side Western Sydney Wanderers to the Asian Champions League title in 2014, a first for any Australian club. He reaffirmed his blueprint by winning the A-League Premiership with Perth Glory in 2019, and later lifting the domestic Australia Cup with Melbourne Victory in 2021. Now, with the Socceroos, he qualified for the sixth consecutive World Cup with an important comeback win in Saudi Arabia.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Western Sydney Wanderers
Karabükspor
Perth Glory
Xanthi
Melbourne Victory
Australia

Answer: Sébastien Desabre

Sébastien Desabre accumulated domestic league titles across Africa. Literally, he wins domestic league championships wherever he lands. He's won with ASEC Mimosas in Ivory Coast, Coton Sport in Cameroon, Recreativo do Libolo in Angola, and Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. On the international stage, he guided Uganda to the Africa Cup of Nations knockout rounds for the first time in forty years, despite people saying that they were cursed, before taking over DR Congo and navigating them through the qualifiers to the World Cup. They have only been to the World Cup once before, in 1974, and then, as Zaire. They have not yet scored a World Cup goal. Desabre aims to change all this.

Senior team coaching resumé:
ES Cannet-Rocheville
ASEC Mimosas
Coton Sport
Espérance de Tunis
Recreativo do Libolo
Dubai CSC
JS Saoura
Wydad AC
Ismaily
Uganda
Pyramids
Wydad AC (second stint)
Chamois Niortais
DR Congo

Answer: Fabio Cannavaro

Another defender-turned-manager, Fabio Cannavaro took his expertise to Asia and built a highly organized career. He engineered a promotion campaign by winning the Chinese League One title with Tianjin Quanjian, which earned him the senior post at Guangzhou Evergrande. There, his emphasis on disciplined backlines paid off, resulting in a Chinese Super League championship title in 2019 alongside a Chinese FA Super Cup victory. Despite mixed results over the years, he is set to lead the Uzbek team as they make their debut on the world's biggest stage.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Guangzhou Evergrande
Al Nassr
Tianjin Quanjian
Guangzhou Evergrande (second stint)
China (while still coach of Guangzhou)
Benevento
Udinese
Dinamo Zagreb
Uzbekistan

Answer: Amir Ghalenoei

Ardeshir Ghalenoei, affectionately called Amir, manages the Iranian national team. Five Persian Gulf Pro League trophies make Ghalenoei the single most successful domestic manager in their history. His specialty: winning under intense pressure. He captured three league championships with Esteghlal and two with Sepahan, alongside two Hazfi Cup victories. This unrivaled domestic dominance across two decades is exactly why he was selected to lead Iran's senior national team onto the global stage. Controversy with visas to go to the US? No problem, Ghalenoei was able to manage that as well.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Keshavarz
Bargh Tehran
Esteghlal
Iran
Mes Kerman
Esteghlal (second stint)
Sepahan
Tractor
Esteghlal (third stint)
Tractor (second stint)
Zob Ahan
Sepahan (second stint)
Gol Gohar
Iran (second stint)

Answer: Carlos Queiroz

Carlos Queiroz has been around for EVER. No other manager has been in charge of more national teams than he has. Literally, Queiroz has managed nine (yes, nine, count 'em) different nations. Sure, also coached a 'little known' team called Real Madrid at one point, but, Queiroz's specialty is getting nations to qualify for this tournament or that. Now, his focus is on Ghana. In the past, three of his teams, South Africa, Portugal, and Iran, came from nowhere to make it to final stages of the World Cup, defying the odds and qualifying from their groups. Now, with the current format, "Osabarima Carlos Kwesi Queiroz" is pretty much guaranteed to move forward, but, how far can he take the Black Stars? Well, with his pedigree, I'm sure it's more than people expect from Ghana.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Portugal
Sporting CP
NY/NJ MetroStars
Nagoya Grampus Eight
United Arab Emirates
South Africa
Real Madrid
Portugal (second stint)
Iran
Colombia
Egypt
Iran (second stint)
Qatar
Oman
Ghana