Tuchel, Ancelotti, Potter: who are the new head coaches at FIFA World Cup 2026?

The latest edition of the FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11, with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa in the opening match in Mexico City.

The expanded 48-team tournament will run until July 19, 2026 and will be hosted in 16 cities across the US, Mexico and Canada.

Only 14 managers had previous experience leading their teams through the quadrennial event. Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni are the only two to have won the World Cup.

Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa will take charge of the country for the first time, having previously managed Argentina (2002) and Chile (2010) at the global showpiece. Gustavo Alfaro, who took charge of Ecuador in 2022, has moved to Paraguay this time.

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Roberto Martinez, who is now in charge of Portugal, had guided Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018. Graham Arnold, who led the Australian team in 2022, will try to create an upset against Iraq in 2026. Vladimir Petkovic was the main man in Switzerland in 2014 and will now take charge of Algeria.

Carlos Queiroz, former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, will be Ghana’s head coach this edition. He previously led South Africa (2002), Portugal (2010) and Iran (2014, 2018 and 2022).

Here is a list of coaches who will take charge of a FIFA World Cup for the first time:

• Tony Popovic – Australia

• Thomas Tuchel – England

• Carlo Ancelotti – Brazil

• Julen Lopetegui – Qatar

• Jesse Marsch – Canada

• Julian Nagelsmann – Germany

• Graham Potter – Sweden

• Ralf Rangnick – Austria

• Steve Clarke – Scotland

• Mauricio Pochettino – United States

• Ronald Koeman – Netherlands

• Pape Thiaw – Senegal

• Sergej Barbarez – Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Darren Bazeley – New Zealand

• Sebastian Beccacece – Ecuador

• Emerse Faé – Ivory Coast

• Fabio Cannavaro – Uzbekistan

• Thomas Christiansen – Panama

• Sébastien Desabre – DR Congo

• Rudi Garcia – Belgium

• George Donis – Saudi Arabia

• Luis de la Fuente – Spain

• Amir Ghalenoei – Iran

• Hossam Hassan – Egypt

• Miroslav Koubek – Czech Republic

• Nestor Lorenzo – Colombia

• Sabri Lamouchi – Tunisia

• Sébastien Migne – Haiti

• Mohamed Ouahbi – Morocco

• Jamal Sellami – Jordan

• Stale Solbakken – Norway

• Hugo Broos – South Africa

• Pedro Leitao Brito – Cape Verde

• Vincenzo Montella – Turkey

Published on June 6, 2026