World Cup 2026 Coaches (D) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sergej Barbarez

Taking the reins of Bosnia and Herzegovina required a massive cultural shift, and Barbarez delivered exactly that. Without a traditional, lengthy managerial resumé, the former Bundesliga top scorer relied on deep tactical pragmatism and an innate understanding of modern player psychology to unite a fractured dressing room. He instantly restructured the national team's defensive organization, successfully steering a raw, transitioning squad through a tough group to finish second behind Austria and to qualify. It was a high-pressure competitive fixture that knocked favourites Italy out of contention and re-established Bosnia's footprint on the global international circuit.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Answer: Thomas Christiansen

Thomas Christiansen coaches what seems to be very adaptable teams. As a manager, he won the Cypriot First Division title with APOEL and guided them deep into the UEFA Europa League knockouts, he took his possession-based philosophy to Central America. Managing Panama, he fundamentally modernized their style of play, guiding Los Canaleros to a historic run as runners-up in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and also to the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League final where they lost on a last-gasp penalty.

Senior team coaching resumé:
AEK Larnaca
APOEL
Leeds United
Union SG
Panama

Answer: Sabri Lamouchi

Few people know Sabri Lamouchi, but his teams pair high-octane transitions with strict European defensive discipline. He started his coaching career with an international team, and guided Ivory Coast to the 2014 World Cup with ease. Moving to Qatar, Lamouchi proved his knockout credentials by masterminding an impressive El Jaish campaign to lift the prestigious Qatar Cup. Then he was off to France and to England before coming back to his roots, something that encouraged the board of Tunisia to select Lamouchi as the coach of the men's team.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Ivory Coast
El Jaish
Rennes
Nottingham Forest
Al-Duhail
Cardiff City
Al-Riyadh
Al-Diriyah
Tunisia

Answer: Jamal Sellami

Jamal Sellami is a largely untested manager who has a good reputation in African competitions. He etched his name into Moroccan football history by managing the national home-based squad (Morocco A) to a dominant championship victory at the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN). He backed up this international success back in domestic club football, beating his regional rivals to capture the highly competitive Moroccan Botola Pro league title with Raja Casablanca, a team he had also played for as a midfielder. He qualified for the 2026 World Cup by leading Jordan to a second-place finish in their group, the country's first appearance in this tournament.

Senior team coaching resumé:
FUS Rabat
Morocco A'
Raja Casablanca
FUS Rabat (second stint)
Jordan

Answer: Darren Bazeley

Darren Bazeley said that his team philosophy is "Number one, that is come out swinging. [...] Number two is play to our strengths". He did just that with the New Zealand team, and qualified for the 2026 World Cup as the lone team from Oceania (since Australia now plays for Asia). He's built a young team around players he watched grow up when he was in charge of the junior New Zealand teams. Under Bazeley, the Under-20 national team reached consecutive knockout stages at FIFA World Cups. With the seniors, Bazeley instantly delivered silverware by winning the 2024 OFC Nations Cup. Will they deliver against the rest of the world..?

Senior team coaching resumé:
Wanderers SC
New Zealand

Answer: Graham Arnold

Iraq were the last team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, beating Bolivia in an intercontinental match, and Graham Arnold was a big part of that success. In club competition, he swept multiple A-League titles with both Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC. On the international stage, his defensive masterclass guided Australia through a grueling, multi-continental playoff system to reach Qatar 2022. There, he achieved Australia's greatest-ever World Cup result by securing two group-stage wins and reaching the Round of 16. He resigned, and, luckily for them, Iraq managed to secure his services.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Sydney United
Northern Spirit
Australia
Central Coast Mariners
Vegalta Sendai
Sydney FC
Australia (second stint)
Iraq

Answer: Bubista

Bubista (Pedro Leitão Brito) has managed to pull off an absolute tactical marvel with the small island nation of Cape Verde. It's a tiny nation with big hearts, and he manages to help them find their final gear. Bubista implemented an attractive, fluid passing style that shocked traditional African heavyweights. His meticulous tactical planning guided the Blue Sharks to successive Africa Cup of Nations knockout appearances, highlighted by a historic run to the quarter-finals in the 2023 tournament. Finally, he managed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the second-smallest independent nation to do so. The sky's the limit for him.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Mindelense
Académica do Mindelo
Sporting Praia
Académica do Mindelo
Batuque
Cape Verde

Answer: Georgios Donis

Georgios Donis was the first ever Greek to play in the English Premier League, so he's used to adverse situations. He achieved the highest level of aura in Cyprus by masterminding two consecutive First Division league titles and a domestic cup double with APOEL, while simultaneously engineering historic qualification campaigns to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage. He exported his tactical blueprint to Saudi Arabia, consistently securing top-tier finishes with Al-Hilal. He was successful in Greece and in Israel as well before returning to Saudi Arabia. Now, he's in charge of the national team and in the World Cup thanks to important results in the qualifiers.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Ilisiakos
AEL
AEK Athens
Atromitos
PAOK
APOEL
Al-Hilal
Sharjah
APOEL (second stint)
Panathinaikos
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Al-Wehda
Al Fateh
Al-Wehda (second stint)
Al-Khaleej
Saudi Arabia

Answer: Sébastien Migné

Beating the likes of Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua, under the leadership of Sébastien Migné, Haiti have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. This will be the first time they have reached the tournament. He started as an assistant, then became an international team specialist in Africa, taking on a struggling Congo team. Then, when he took a frontline job with Kenya, he instantly broke a fifteen-year curse, qualifying the Harambee Stars for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He went on to struggle with Equatorial Guinea, but seems to have re-found his groove.

Interestingly, prior to the World Cup, Migné has not set foot in Haiti itself, due to the ongoing conflict.

Senior team coaching resumé:
FC Mougins
La Roche VF
Congo
Kenya
Equatorial Guinea
Marumo Gallants
Haiti

Answer: Hugo Broos

What can we say about Hugo Broos with his great pedigree? Well, he's a veteran tournament strategist who has experience at turning unfavoured underdogs into champions. He won multiple Belgian First Division titles with Club Brugge and Anderlecht, but his defining achievements happened as a national team manager in Africa. He shocked the football world by guiding a young Cameroon squad to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations title, and later replicated this magic by steering South Africa to a bronze medal at the 2023 tournament. They then qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but Broos has stated that he will retire after the tournament.

Senior team coaching resumé:
RWD Molenbeek
Club Brugge
Excelsior Mouscron
Anderlecht
Genk
Panserraikos
Trabzonspor
Zulte Waregem
JS Kabylie
NA Hussein Dey
Cameroon
South Africa

Answer: Dick Advocaat

Dick Advocaat has build a coaching career over the last five decades. Some of his highlights include winning a domestic treble with Rangers in Scotland and capturing the Eredivisie title with PSV Eindhoven. He also masterminded a historic UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup double with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008. Internationally, his pragmatic tournament navigation guided the Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, Serbia, Russia, UAE, and Iraq through high-pressure qualification cycles, and now, taking the smallest country by population and by area to the biggest tournament there is. As Curaçao dreams, Advocaat will be there to lead.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Netherlands Women
HFC Haarlem
Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging
Dordrecht
Netherlands
PSV
Rangers
Netherlands (second stint)
Borussia Mönchengladbach
United Arab Emirates
South Korea
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Belgium
AZ (simultaneously)
Russia
PSV (second stint)
AZ (second stint)
Serbia
Sunderland
Fenerbahçe
Netherlands (third stint)
Sparta Rotterdam
Utrecht
Feyenoord
Iraq
ADO Den Haag
Curaçao

Answer: Julen Lopetegui

Julen Lopetegui builds highly technical, possession-oriented sides that dominate the midfield. After winning consecutive European Championships as a manager with Spain's Under-19 and Under-21 squads, he translated that blueprint to senior club football. His finest hour came in 2020, where his meticulously disciplined Sevilla side captured the UEFA Europa League title over Italian giants Inter Milan. He followed this up by successfully navigating high-pressure campaigns in the English Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham.

On the international front, Lopetegui built a strong Spanish squad in 2016 and managed to take them to the 2018 World Cup. However, already linked to a job at Real Madrid, Lopetegui was dismissed from his position before the tournament started. After his stint in England, Lopetegui was named the manager of Qatar and helped them qualify for the 2026 World Cup for the first time based on merit rather than hosting the games.

Senior team coaching resumé:
Rayo Vallecano
Real Madrid B
Porto
Spain
Real Madrid
Sevilla
Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Ham United
Qatar