Pick 3 underdog runs you'd happily ride all the way to a semifinal.

Options

• Cape Verde — already spooked Spain
• Canada — home soil, soccer nation narrative
• Morocco — repeat the Qatar magic
• Senegal — African fan energy deserved a deep run
• Japan — organized chaos every tournament
• USA — host bump without the cringe
• Mexico — passion carries them past the paper stats
• Colombia — South American wildcard
• Austria — underrated European grind
• Switzerland — boring on paper, annoying to play
• Australia — half a world away, always show up
• Costa Rica — CONCACAF chaos agents
• Ecuador — young legs, tough press
• Panama — smallest story, biggest party