Meet the two teams that will be making their World Cup debut in Russia 2018

macfranc007 December 01, 2017 IFTTT, Latest Sport News | Today on Naij.com Ayomide Oloyede

- The World Cup draw takes place today Friday, December 1, in Russia

- Iceland and Panama are the only teams out of the 32 to teams in Russia to be making their debut

- Both were surprised qualifiers from their respective continents

The World Cup draw takes place in Moscow today Friday, December 1, and Iceland and Panama will be experiencing what it feels to be in a World Cup draw for the first time.

Both Countries have never been to the FIFA footballing fiesta since its existence and they shook the world to book a ticket to Russia 2018.

With just 330,000 people, Iceland is the smallest country ever at the World Cup, the city of Moscow alone outnumbers Iceland's entire population 40 times over, but this is a team of giant-killers.

Iceland and Panama are the only nations making their first appearance at the World Cup

Iceland are one of the two teams making their debut at the World Cup. Source: Skysports

Last year's run to the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, knocking out England on a memorable night in Nice, showed the talent and determination in Iceland's team.

Qualifying for the World Cup ahead of Croatia and Ukraine proved last year was not a one-off, expecting more success in Russia might be optimistic, but with Iceland's passionate fans and their "thunderclap" chant, nothing can be ruled out.

Panama has only 4 million people, but finished ahead of the United States, which has about 320 million, the Central Americans made it to Russia in style, defeating Costa Rica 2-1 in the final qualifier.

Iceland and Panama are the only nations making their 1st World Cup appearance

Panama players. Photo: FIFA

PAY ATTENTION: Get the latest News on Naij.com App

They have enjoyed remarkable success at the Gold Cup in recent years even reaching the final in 2013 so can't be discarded easily.

The World Cup in 2018 in Russia is just six month away and today, December 1, we will know the groupings and Iceland and Panama will be praying for a favorable group.

How Super Eagles qualified for the Russia 2018 World Cup on NAIJ.com TV