The 23rd FIFA World Cup starts on Thursday, which will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. This time, two representatives of Dynamo and several of its former players went to it – read about which teams should be followed in our article.
Mexico National Team
First up will be Luis Chavez's team, which will face South Africa in the opening match at the legendary Estadio Azteca, which seats nearly 90,000. The Blue and White midfielder, who missed almost the entire last season due to an injury sustained while on international duty, has successfully recovered and is preparing to compete in his second World Cup.
Four years ago, Luis played the entire group stage and scored one of the tournament's most beautiful goals, a direct free kick, against Saudi Arabia. He also scored in the final friendly against Serbia, which the Mexicans crushed 5-1. In 2026, Mexico is unbeaten, with six wins and two draws against Portugal and Belgium.
Mexico's best result in history—two quarterfinal appearances—came at home World Cups in 1970 and 1986, so Javier Aguirre's team has every chance of repeating that feat this time.
Group A
June 11, 10:00 PM (all times Moscow time) – Mexico vs. South Africa
June 19, 4:00 AM – Mexico vs. South Korea
June 25, 4:00 AM – Czech Republic vs. Mexico
Paraguay National Team
Juan Cáceres and former Dynamo captain Fabian Balbuena (89 matches, 8 goals), now playing for Brazilian side Gremio, will begin their tournament journey against the other hosts, the United States. Both made significant contributions to Paraguay's first World Cup finals since 2010, when they triumphantly reached the quarterfinals. In the qualifying tournament, they conceded just 10 goals in 18 matches and finished level on points with Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay.
Both players, who will be making their first foray into the biggest tournament of the four-year period, played a half each in the only friendly against Nicaragua, which Paraguay easily won 4-0. They have three matches ahead of them in a very evenly matched Group D, where it's difficult to predict the favorite.
Group D
June 13, 4:00 AM – USA vs. Paraguay
June 20, 6:00 AM – Turkey vs. Paraguay
June 26, 5:00 AM – Paraguay vs. Australia
Uruguay National Team
Nicolás Marichal made his debut for the Uruguayan national team in a qualifying match against Paraguay in September 2024. Since then, he has played four matches, with Uruguay conceding just one goal. Despite this and Nico's excellent last season, Marcelo Bielsa did not include him in the final World Cup squad, instead selecting former Dynamo Moscow player Guillermo Varela (49 appearances), who has been playing for Flamengo since leaving Russia. With the Brazilian club, he won five trophies last year, including the Copa Libertadores.
As for the national team, Varela started only six matches during the qualifying tournament, but played 90 minutes each in the draws against England (1-1) and Algeria (0-0) in March, after which Uruguay played no friendlies. This will be the 33-year-old fullback's third World Cup: he played in two group stage matches at the tournament in Russia, and three in Qatar four years ago.
At the World Cup, the South Americans are the clear second seed in Group H, where Spain looks like the clear favorite. Uruguay is a two-time World Cup champion (1930 and 1950) and has reached the semi-finals three times, most recently in 2010.
Group H
June 16, 1:00 AM – Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay
June 22, 1:00 AM – Uruguay vs. Cape Verde
June 27, 3:00 AM – Uruguay vs. Spain
Photo from the social media of the Senegalese Football Federation
Senegal National Team
Since December 2024, the team has been led by former Dynamo forward Pap Thiaw, who played seven matches for Dynamo in 2002 and even scored a goal against Torpedo. In January, he led the team to victory in the African Cup of Nations, defeating tournament host Morocco 1-0 in extra time in the final.
However, Senegal was subsequently awarded a technical defeat for leaving the field for several minutes in protest against a penalty awarded against them in second-half stoppage time. The Moroccans ultimately missed the penalty, but formally became champions. While the case is being heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Senegalese are demonstrating their commitment to the trophy, even taking it to friendly matches.
In total, under Thiawa's leadership, the Senegalese have played 21 matches and won 14, losing only to Brazil (0-2) and the United States (2-3) in a recent friendly. In their most recent friendly, they drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia.
Thiawa's team has a good blend of experience and youth. Specifically, it includes two of the five youngest players in the tournament – 18-year-olds Ibrahima Mbaye and Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. The former is already a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, while the latter made his debut for Bayern in April. The team has no representatives from domestic clubs, but it does include 20 players from the top five European leagues. Therefore, the Senegalese are well-positioned to challenge for second place in their group and perhaps even aim to match their best result in history (the quarterfinals in 2002).
Group I
June 16, 10:00 PM – France vs. Senegal
June 23, 3:00 AM – Norway vs. Senegal
June 26, 10:00 PM – Senegal vs. Iraq
Colombia National Team
Another Flamengo representative in our selection is Jorge Carrascal, who left Dinamo Moscow for Brazil last August (64 matches, 9 goals). He played a minor role in the World Cup qualifiers, appearing in only seven matches, but he started in the recent friendly against Costa Rica (3-1) and provided an assist. In the final friendly before the tournament, against Jordan (2-0), he came on as a substitute midway through the second half.
So, Carrascal will likely get some minutes at his first World Cup. Moreover, Colombia is expected to advance from the group stage, as in addition to Portugal, they will face newcomers Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which last played in the World Cup in 1974. Colombia's best result in the history of the national team is reaching the quarterfinals in 2014.
Group K
June 18, 5:00 AM – Uzbekistan vs. Colombia
June 24, 5:00 AM – Colombia vs. DR Congo
June 28, 2:30 AM – Colombia vs. Portugal
Croatia National Team
We're also looking forward to the World Cup debut of another former Dynamo midfielder, Nikola Moro (66 caps, 5 goals), although the competition for his position is quite stiff. Just look at Luka Modrić, who's heading to his fifth World Cup. Croatia's group isn't exactly easy: England, the finalists of the last two Euros, the tough Ghanaians, and Panamanians, who fans remember from the World Cup in Russia.
The 28-year-old Moro spent the last four seasons with Italian side Bologna, with whom he won the Italian Cup last year. He has played 10 matches for Croatia, including four in World Cup qualifying and three since the start of this year. He came on as a second-half substitute in the recent 2-0 loss to Belgium and didn't play in the final friendly against Slovenia (2-1). Let's see if he can help Croatia achieve a third consecutive World Championship medal (after silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022).
Group L
June 17, 11:00 PM – England vs. Croatia
June 24, 2:00 AM – Panama vs. Croatia
June 28, 12:00 AM – Croatia vs. Ghana
