​With only six games left in the 2026 World Cup, I wanted to publish this crossover piece before the tournament wraps up. Georgia football is my favorite team across all sports, but my true passion is soccer. So what better way to blend the two than to pair each SEC school with a World Cup nation. Disclaimer: I’m sure there are other versions of this idea—whether focusing on SEC schools or college football in general. I haven’t seen any of them, so any comparisons here aren’t drawn from another article. If you enjoy a comparison or think I’m off base, drop a comment or shout at me on X/Twitter @joeyhnath.
Here are the SEC teams as World Cup nations:
Georgia: Argentina. The kings, the champs, the best. Everyone is chasing them at the pinnacle. Both teams won the World Cup in 2022 after long droughts (though for Georgia this is presented as their second consecutive title).
Ole Miss: Morocco. Ole Miss and Morocco are enjoying their greatest runs of success in history, built in large part on transfers. Ole Miss loves the transfer portal, and Morocco mirrors that approach with international “transfers.” In a landmark moment against Brazil, Morocco fielded a starting XI entirely born outside Morocco, a first in World Cup history. They’ve also done well to rally the Moroccan diaspora to pledge allegiance to Morocco.
Florida: Italy. Both last tasted a World Cup title in 2006 and each has had a sporadic stretch of success since, including an unlikely burst in 2020.
Tennessee: Netherlands. Known for their iconic orange kits, Tennessee and the Netherlands field competitive teams that aren’t perceived as championship threats. In truth, their strongest showcases aren’t even in football (the Netherlands excels in speed skating, among other sports).
Alabama: Brazil. Both programs have won the most titles, though many were decades ago. Although their last championships came around 2020 for Alabama and 2002 for Brazil, fans remain convinced another trophy is overdue and are eagerly awaiting a fresh triumph.
Mississippi State: South Africa. Neither program poses a major threat, and both are perhaps best known for their distinctive stadium noises—Mississippi State with cowbells and South Africa with vuvuzelas.
Missouri: New Zealand. They’re delighted simply to be included. Missouri joined the SEC’s circle of competition in 2013, and with the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, Oceania’s representative is almost certainly New Zealand whenever automatic qualification is available.
Oklahoma: Mexico. Oklahoma and Mexico share a reputation as football-centric nations, though this alignment is partly for SEO.
[Note: This piece is one author’s playful mapping of SEC schools to World Cup nations, not a reproducible analysis of actual competitive parity.]