2026 World Cup Preview

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. From June 11 to July 19, 48 teams will compete in the biggest World Cup yet. There will be 104 games played across 16 stadiums, ending with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. This World Cup has a new format to adapt to the increase from 32 to 48 teams. Now, there will be 12 groups instead of the previous eight, and the top two teams from each group will advance into the all-new Round of 32. Additionally, the top eight third-place teams will advance to the next round to face eight of the group winners. The effects of this will be that two-thirds of the nations competing will qualify for the knockout stages, meaning there will be more chances for smaller nations to make deep runs. Of the 48 teams competing, four teams will be playing in their first-ever World Cup: Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan. Every team has its own story: some are the favorites, others are the underdogs, and you never know what will happen when they play.

The Favorites

Every World Cup has its favorites to win, and this year the favorites are Spain, France, England, and Argentina, the reigning champions. Spain is coming into the World Cup as a young team with a promising future, and they are led by stars such as the 18-year-old forward Lamine Yamal and 2024 Ballon d’Or winner midfielder Rodri. Spain will be looking to redeem themselves this year after a shock penalty shootout loss to Morocco in the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. To do that, Spain will need to utilize its elite technical ability and wing play.

France, however, comes in with more experience, having been the runner-up in 2022 and the winner in 2018. They are led by Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé, who is coming off a Golden Boot performance in 2022, meaning he led the tournament in goals, including a three goal performance in the World Cup Final. This year, the key for France is not just their strong forwards, but also their defense, which is led by Arsenal defender William Saliba, who has been first-class in the Premier League this season. 

England is dealing with the problem of balancing experience with young talent. Coach Thomas Tuchel had to make decisions between younger players with no World Cup experience and veterans who are reaching the end of their careers. An example of one of these decisions is Tuchel choosing the 23-year-old Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah, who made his England debut in November of last year, over the 33-year-old Manchester United defender Harry Maguire who was a crucial part of both the 2018 and 2022 England World Cup squads. Once the World Cup is underway, we will be able to see how Tuchel’s decisions fan out for England. 

Argentina is working against the clock and is likely facing the end of an era because of its aging lineup. As of May 23, Argentina has released their final roster, with older players such as 38-year-old forward Lionel Messi and 38-year-old defender Nicolás Otamendi making the final cut. They will need to lean on their veterans to meet the expectations that they have after winning the last World Cup. Argentina fans will hold the team to high standards, and it will have to be seen if the aging lineup will hold up. Overall, all these favorites have to play to their strengths if they want to be the ones to take home the World Cup trophy.

Underdogs

Every World Cup has its Cinderella story; in 2022, it was Morocco reaching the semifinals, when they were ranked as the 22nd best team in the world, and in 2018, it was Croatia, who came into the tournament ranked 20th in the world, and went on to lose to France in the finals. This year, some sleeper candidates are Senegal, Switzerland, and Sweden. 

This is only Senegal’s fourth time qualifying for a World Cup, yet expectations are high for them. Pressure is on Al-Nassr forward Sadio Mané, who is the star goalscorer of the squad. He will need to shine if Senegal is going to make a run, especially since they are in a challenging group, playing against France, Norway and Iraq, who are all top 60 in the world. 

Switzerland is looking to take a step up from its performances in past World Cups. They have consistently made it out of their groups but haven’t made it past the Round of 16 since they hosted the World Cup in 1954. Midfielder Granit Xhaka had an unexpectedly impressive season in the Premier League with Sunderland this year, and if he can maintain his form, he will give Switzerland a chance at finally getting into the Quarterfinals. 

Sweden is more of a long shot. They are a very offensive-focused team, with forwards Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak who both underperformed in the Premier League this season but could still produce plenty of goals for their nation. If they do not, however, Sweden is in trouble because of their weak back-line and midfield, which are unlikely to mitigate high scores. Even if none of these teams end up succeeding, there will certainly be a team that blows by their expectations and makes a deep run.

The U.S.

There is always pressure on the host country to perform well at the World Cup. In 2022, the hosts Qatar were extremely disappointing, becoming the first hosts ever to not secure a single win or draw in their three Group Stage games. This year, the hosts hope not to disappoint, as fans of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have high expectations for their teams. This pressure has been high for the U.S. recently, especially after their defeat to the Netherlands in 2022 in a game that wasn’t as close as the 3-1 scoreline suggests. Coach Mauricio Pochettino had to make some tough decisions when deciding the final World Cup squads, although most of his picks weren’t surprising. One surprising omission, however, was Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna, who has been strong for the U.S. in the past and had built a relationship with Pochettino. He was likely left out to make space for the surprise addition of Club América forward Alejandro Zendejas. AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic has been excellent in Serie A. He is tied for the highest goals and assists on his team, so if he can continue at this rate, he will end up being extremely influential for the U.S. at the World Cup. If he can’t, that could cause problems for the U.S.. In goal, Pochettino is faced with a tough decision between veteran U.S. and New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner or NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese. Turner has significantly more experience than Freese, with almost 40 more national team appearances. However, Freese is younger and has been in better form recently. Whoever Pochettino picks will need to be ready to face America’s group stage opponents: Australia, Paraguay, and Turkey. For this to be a successful World Cup for the U.S., they need to at least reach the Round of 16, if not the quarterfinals, particularly because they have the home field advantage. 

With all of this in mind, my prediction for the World Cup is that the semifinalists will be Spain, England, Germany, and Switzerland. In the finals, I predict that Spain will defeat England 2-1 and win their second ever World Cup. I believe some of the stars of the tournament will be Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka, Spain midfielder Lamine Yamal, and England midfielder Declan Rice. No matter who performs well, the World Cup will produce an electric month of soccer to be remembered.