SEC Teams as World Cup Nations

With only six games remaining in the 2026 World Cup, I wanted to get out this crossover post before the tournament wraps up. While Georgia football is my favorite team across all sports, my favorite sport is actually soccer. So, what better way to blend the two than to assign each SEC school as a World Cup nation.

Disclaimer: I know there are probably several other iterations of this same idea, whether it’s also just for SEC teams or college football at large. I have not seen any of these, so any comparisons below have not been taken from a different article.

If you either like a comparison or think I’m completely off base, let me know in the comments or just yell directly at me on X/Twitter @joeyhnath.

Here are the SEC teams if they were World Cup Nations:

Georgia: Argentina

The kings, the champs, the best. Everyone is looking to knock them off the mountain top. Both teams won it all in 2022 after not having won it all since the 80s (though this was year 2 of the back-to-back titles for Georgia).

Ole Miss: Morocco

Both Ole Miss and Morocco are in the midst of their greatest run of success in their history, and both are doing it off the backs of bringing in transfers. We know Ole Miss loves the transfer portal, but Morocco also loves an international soccer “transfer”. Against Brazil, Morocco field a starting XI where all eleven players were born outside of Morocco, a first in World Cup history. They have done a great job of getting the Moroccan diaspora to declare for Morocco instead of other potential national teams.

Florida: Italy

Both teams won it all in 2006 but are currently no where to be seen, though both had a random year of success in 2020.

Tennessee: Netherlands

Maybe best known for their orange uniforms, both Tennessee and Netherlands field competitive teams that you know aren’t going to win it all. In reality, their best sports are not football (check out Netherlands speed skating – they’re awesome).

Alabama: Brazil

Both teams have won the most titles, though many of them came over 50 years ago. While they have both won titles six season/tournaments ago (2020 for Bama, 2002 for Brazil), their respective fan bases believe that has been too long and are anxious for another trophy.

Mississippi State: South Africa

Neither team is much of a threat, and they are both maybe best known for their fans’ noise makers in the stadium (Mississippi State’s cowbells, South Africa’s vuvuzelas)

Missouri: New Zealand

Both are really just happy to be included. Missouri received their SEC invite in 2013 somewhat surprisingly, and thanks to the expanded World Cup to 48 teams, the Oceania Football Confederation is now able to send at least on nation to the World Cup through automatic qualification, which will almost assuredly be New Zealand every time.

Oklahoma: Mexico

Both Oklahoma and Mexico are known as a football school/country, yet they struggle in elimination rounds. Oklahoma is 0-5 in the College Football Playoff, and Mexico has lost eight straight Round of 16 matches.

LSU: Scotland

This has nothing to do with the on-field product, as LSU has a great history while Scotland not so much. It is about the fans. Both fan bases will come to your city/country and drink every ounce of booze that is there. Boston won’t forget the Scottish invasion anytime soon.

Kentucky: Japan

Neither Kentucky nor Japan are bad at football, but they neither are great. Honestly, they just can’t wait for basketball (Kentucky) and baseball (Japan) season.

South Carolina: USA

Both South Carolina and the U.S. are fine at football and experienced a bit more success than they’re used to in the early 2010’s. But really, both are more known for their dominant women’s team.

Vanderbilt: Switzerland

Honestly, what country screams elite private school more than Switzerland? Both have a small enrollment/population that have found recent success. Additionally, both of their best players in recent times are short kings (Diego Pavia for Vanderbilt, Xherdan Shaqiri for Switzerland).

Auburn: Spain

Auburn and Spain both experienced their best moments in their history in 2010, winning it all. However, there isn’t much to talk about for either outside of 2010 except for a couple conference/continent titles.

Texas: England

I’m positive that this comparison has been made before because it’s too perfect. Both fan bases clutch onto one crowning achievement (Texas title in 2005, England World Cup in in 1966), and both fan bases declare every single year that they are back (Texas) or that it’s coming home (England), and yet it never does.

Texas A&M: Qatar

Oil money. Copious amounts of oil money. Whether its the latest five-star recruit or the hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup, there isn’t anything oil money can’t buy (except for actually winning games). As the cherry on top, both A&M and Qatar’s primary color is maroon.

Arkansas: Uruguay

Sometimes you forget about them due to their large, successful neighbors, but both Arkansas and Uruguay are pesky and won a title a looooong time ago (Arkansas in 1966, Uruguay in 1930 and 1950).

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