With less than a week left before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the buzz for the globally recognised tournament is reaching an extent as fans are busy talking about the coveted event 24/7 on social media.
A total of 48 teams will vie to win the championship in this iteration of the World Cup, which will be 16 more than the number that participated in the event that took place in Qatar in 2022.
Indian fans would once again be leaning toward a traditional football powerhouse like Brazil, Argentina, Spain, England and Portugal, as the national team failed to qualify for the event. The enthusiasts would have to wait for another four years to get their hopes up, and hopefully, fanatics would be able to witness their team play in the FIFA World Cup soon.
Until then, it is imperative to know that whenever India qualify for the FIFA World Cup, it will not be the first time India has reached that stage. For the unversed, India qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Brazil.
How India qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup
India made the cut through default as all the other teams in India's Asian qualifying group (Burma, Indonesia, and the Philippines) had withdrawn, so India advanced automatically without playing a qualifying match.
India did not play the FIFA World Cup
Despite getting a free run, India opted out of the tournament due to reasons like high travel costs (Even though FIFA offered to cover much of it), lack of preparation time, and preference for the Olympics over the World Cup, and issues like playing in boots (Indian players were used to playing barefoot). Had India competed in the tournament, they would have played against Sweden, Italy, and Paraguay in the group stage.
This remains the only time India have ever qualified for the men's FIFA World Cup. They've never come close since, despite entering several later qualification campaigns.
This could be defined as one of the biggest "what if" stories, as India had a strong team in the 1950s, and stamped their promise by reaching the Olympics semi-finals in 1956, but not prioritising the FIFA World Cup has significantly backfired, as more than 75 years have passed, yet India are struggling to make the first step toward entering the whole new realm.
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