| SCOTLAND | Third Associate nation to qualify for the tournament, after Ireland and the Netherlands |
| DENMARK | Winners of football's European Championships in 1992, despite failing to qualify for the tournament |
| EGYPT | First African nation to qualify for the Fifa World Cup, in 1934 |
| AVINASH | Who is the first Indian athlete to qualify for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechase in the Summer Olympics? (7) |
| FALDO | Former World No. 1 golfer who, at the age of 20, became the youngest player ever to qualify for the Ryder Cup (5) |
| KONERUHUMPY | Who, in July 2025, became the first Indian woman to qualify for the semifinal of the FIDE World Cup chess? (6,5) |
| CURACAO | Making their debut at this summer's finals, what is the smallest country (in area and population) ever to qualify for the Fifa World Cup? (7) |
| RORY | In 2009, ____ McLeod was the first black player to qualify for the World Snooker Championship |
| NETHERLANDS | 1988 Euro-winning country; it failed to qualify for the 2016 Euro and returns this year |
| DONOR | One of 130,000 needed to qualify for the next Democratic debate |
| LAKSHYA | ... Sen, youngest from India to qualify for the season-ending HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. (7) |
| REPECHAGE | Heat in which defeated contestants have another chance to qualify for the next round (9) |
| LATVIA | Side that England beat in 2025 to qualify for the FIFA World Cup (6) |
| MEXICO | First country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup knockouts. (6) |
| ALABA | Identify the surname of the captain of the Austrian team which has qualified for the 2026 tournament after a gap of 28 years. (5) |
| TIERNEY | Kieran ___, defender who scored Scotland's winning goal against Denmark to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (7) |
| FOKKER | Anthony, the 'Flying Dutchman', who made fighter aircraft for Germany in the First World War and later established companies in the US and the Netherlands (6) |
| GUILDER | English corruption of the Dutch word for 'golden', used for various gold and silver coins of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands (7) |
| KEACY | Who won the Player of the Series award in the three-match ODI series held between Ireland and the West Indies in May 2025 by scoring two consecutive centuries? (5) |
| CARTY | Who won the Player of the Series award in the three-match ODI series held between Ireland and the West Indies in May 2025 by scoring two consecutive centuries? (5) |
