Who Will Armenian Fans Support at the 2026 World Cup? National Teams with an Armenian Connection

Armenia will not be represented at the tournament, but the Armenian connection at the 2026 World Cup will still be visible — from Noah’s goalkeeper to a United States national team player with roots in Fresno.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Mexico, the United States and Canada. For the first time in history, 48 national teams will take part in the final stage of the tournament, which means even more matches, storylines and unexpected favorites for fans.

Of course, many people in Armenia will traditionally follow the top national teams — Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, England or Portugal. Some will support their favorite footballers, while others will cheer for teams they have followed for years. But the World Cup always offers other reasons for sympathy as well.

At the 2026 World Cup, there are several national teams that have a direct or indirect connection with Armenia and Armenians around the world. In some cases, footballers from Armenian clubs will be involved; in others, there are players with Armenian roots, Armenians working in coaching staffs, or links through history, the diaspora and players who have played in the Armenian championship.

Sportaran has collected the national teams that will be especially interesting for Armenian fans to follow at the 2026 World Cup.

DR Congo: Noah goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu at the World Cup

One of the most interesting national teams for Armenian fans will be DR Congo. The main reason is Timothy Fayulu, the goalkeeper of Yerevan’s Noah.

The DR Congo national team reached the World Cup through a very difficult path. The team first came through the African playoffs and then succeeded in the intercontinental playoffs. Fayulu played a special role in that journey, helping his national team in the penalty shootout against Nigeria in the final of the African playoffs.

At the 2026 World Cup, Fayulu will most likely be considered the team’s second-choice goalkeeper behind Lionel Mpasi-Nzau of Le Havre. But the very fact of his participation is already historic for Armenian football: an active player from an Armenian championship club is going to the World Cup.

DR Congo will play in Group K alongside Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia. The team will play its first match on June 17 against Portugal.

Interest in this team is also strengthened by its vibrant fan culture. Recently, DR Congo has become popular among many neutral fans thanks to its colorful supporters, including the famous fan dressed as Patrice Lumumba. Now Armenian fans also have their own specific reason to follow this team — Timothy Fayulu.

Uzbekistan: a historic debut for a post-Soviet national team

Another team from Group K that may feel close to Armenian fans is Uzbekistan.

For Uzbekistan, this will be the first World Cup in its history. Among former Soviet countries, only Russia and Ukraine had previously played at the tournament. That is why Uzbekistan’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup is an important event not only for the country itself, but also for the entire post-Soviet football space.

Armenia and Uzbekistan began their independent football journeys almost at the same time after the collapse of the USSR. For that reason, the success of the Uzbek national team may also be interesting from the point of view of comparing the development of football in the two countries.

Yes, the expansion of the World Cup format and the increase in Asian qualification spots played their part. But it cannot be denied that Uzbekistan has taken a serious step forward. The team now has high-level footballers, while legendary Italian Fabio Cannavaro has become the national team’s head coach. Paolo Cannavaro is also part of his coaching staff.

The team’s main star is Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City. Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Eldor Shomurodov, who play for Turkish club Başakşehir, are also worth highlighting. Uzbekistan’s squad includes a group of players from foreign clubs, but a significant part of the team still represents the domestic championship.

Uzbekistan will begin its World Cup campaign on June 18 with a match against Colombia.

Portugal and Colombia: also part of the Armenian context

Group K as a whole could become one of the most interesting groups for fans from Armenia.

Portugal is well known to Armenian supporters from the qualifying campaign, where Armenia lost twice to the Portuguese by large margins — 0:5 and 1:9. If Portugal goes far in the tournament or even wins the World Cup, those defeats will look slightly different, although the unpleasant feeling will, of course, remain.

Colombia also has its own connection with Armenian football. Over the years, many Colombian foreign players have played in the Armenian championship. Moreover, three footballers with Colombian roots have played for the Armenian national team: Jordy Monroy Ararat, Wbeymar Angulo and Julio Bueno. In addition, there is a city called Armenia in Colombia.

That is why Group K looks almost ideal for Armenian fans: it features a Noah player, Uzbekistan’s historic debut, the familiar Portugal team and Colombia, which has long been connected with Armenian club football.

United States: Max Arfsten and the large Armenian diaspora

The United States national team is another side that will be followed with particular interest in Armenia and across the Armenian diaspora.

The main reason is Max Arfsten, a Columbus Crew player with Armenian roots. Maximilian Arfsten is the great-grandson of Samuel Sirunian, a well-known representative of the Armenian community in Fresno.

Arfsten is 25 years old. He can play on the left wing in attack, but for the United States national team he is often used as a left-back or wing-back. Over the past year and a half, he has become an important player for the national team, regularly received playing time and made the United States squad for the home World Cup.

For the Armenian diaspora in the United States, his participation is a special storyline. The Armenian community in America is very large, and Fresno has historically been one of the important centers of Armenian life in the United States. That is why the US national team will have an Armenian touch at the home World Cup.

The composition of the group adds even more intrigue. The United States will play in Group D together with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. Armenia certainly will not be supporting Turkey, but its presence in the same group as the United States makes this storyline even more emotional.

For Armenian fans, the United States vs Turkey match could become one of the most important games of the group stage. Especially given that the American team includes a player with Armenian roots. Therefore, support for the United States in this group will be not only sporting, but also symbolic for many Armenian fans.

The United States will play its first match against Paraguay. The game against Turkey will take place on June 26 in the third round of the group stage.

Iran: Armenia’s neighbor and Andranik Teymourian in the coaching staff

The Iran national team will also be close to many fans in Armenia. It is a neighboring country with which Armenia has close historical, cultural and political ties.

In addition, an Armenian is working in Iran’s coaching staff — Andranik Teymourian. In the past, he was the captain of the Iran national team and played at World Cups as a footballer. Now he is going to the tournament as an assistant to head coach Amir Ghalenoei.

For Armenian fans, this is an important detail. Teymourian is one of the most famous footballers of Armenian origin in the history of Iranian football. For many years, he was a symbol of the Iran national team and enjoyed great respect from supporters.

Iran will play in Group G together with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. The team will play its first match against New Zealand.

At this tournament, Iran will face difficulties not only from a footballing point of view. The team will play all three of its matches in the United States, where it will inevitably attract increased attention due to the military situation in the Middle East. Therefore, support from neutral fans and the Armenian audience could become an additional factor for the Iranian national team.

Argentina: the country of Lucas Zelarayán and a large Armenian community

Another national team that may be interesting for Armenian fans to follow at the 2026 World Cup is Argentina.

At first glance, the connection is not as direct, since the reigning world champions do not have players from the Armenian championship or footballers from the Armenian national team. But in recent years, Argentina has become an especially close country for Armenian football thanks to Lucas Zelarayán and Norberto Briasco Balekian.

Zelarayán was born in Córdoba, came through the Argentine football system and made his name at Belgrano, Tigres and Columbus Crew. Later, he accepted an invitation from the Armenian national team and became one of its brightest players. It was the Argentine with Armenian roots who gave fans several big matches, including the unforgettable victory over Wales in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

In addition, Argentina has historically had a notable Armenian community and the football club Deportivo Armenio, whose president Luciano Nakis works in the Argentine Football Association. Therefore, for many Armenians, this national team is close not only because of its status as a football giant, Lionel Messi and the world champion title, but also through the history of the Armenian diaspora in South America.

Argentina will defend its world title at the 2026 World Cup, and for Armenian fans this is also a reason to remember that one of the most talented players of recent years in the Armenian national team was born in this country.

The Armenian connection that did not make it to the World Cup

Sweden could also have been mentioned separately. This national team has a player with Armenian roots — Roony Bardghji, one of the most talented young players in Swedish football.

Bardghji has Armenian origin, but he will not play at the 2026 World Cup: Sweden’s head coach did not include him in the final squad for the tournament.

Another footballer with Armenian roots, Diego Rossi Marachlian, was not called up to Uruguay’s squad. He has 7 appearances and 1 goal for the Uruguay national team, but his last call-up came in 2023.

Who else should Armenian fans follow?

The World Cup is a tournament where every fan can find their own story. For Armenia, which has still never played in the final stage of the World Cup, such connections are especially important.

At the 2026 World Cup, the Armenian connection can be found in several directions at once:

Timothy Fayulu of Noah in the DR Congo squad;

Uzbekistan’s historic debut as a post-Soviet national team;

Max Arfsten with Armenian roots in the United States squad;

Andranik Teymourian in Iran’s coaching staff;

Colombia as a country that has given Armenian football many foreign players;

Portugal as Armenia’s recent opponent in qualifying.

Armenia will once again not play at the World Cup, but that does not mean Armenian fans will have no storylines of their own at the tournament. The 2026 World Cup offers several reasons to choose an unexpected favorite and follow the tournament not only through the prism of stars and top national teams, but also through connections with Armenian football.