Who would be the favorites today to win next year’s 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada?
Brazil and Argentina are classified and hope that the World Cup venue will favor them — as there are many South Americans living in these countries.
After all, seven of the eight men’s football World Cups held in the Americas were won by teams from the continent. The only exception was Germany in 2014, in Brazil.
At the same time, 10 of the 11 World Cups held in Europe were won by European teams. The exception, in this case, was Brazil in 1958, in Sweden.
The BBC examined the latest results and how some of the teams favored to lift the World Cup trophy next year are playing. Check it out!
Spain
Spain is one of the bookmakers’ main favorites to win the World Cup. And there are good reasons for that.
The Spanish deservedly won Euro 2024 in Germany, beating England in the final 2-1. And Barcelona’s 18-year-old right-winger Lamine Yamal is currently one of the best players in the world.
The Spanish team’s last defeat in an official game was against Scotland, in March 2023 — at least in normal time, not counting the defeat on penalties to Portugal, in the Nations League final, in June.
Spain has not yet qualified for the World Cup, but remains firmly at the top of Group E, without losing a single point.
France
Didier Deschamps (world champion as a player in 1998 and as a coach in 2018) is still the coach of the French national team. He took over in 2012, but will step down after the tournament.
Next year, France will aim to reach their third consecutive men’s World Cup final.
In 2018, in Russia, the French beat Croatia 4-2. And, in Qatar in 2022, France lost to Argentina on penalties after a 3-3 draw — probably the best final in World Cup history.
To achieve this goal, Kylian Mbappé will be a fundamental player. This season, the striker scored 17 goals in 13 games for Real Madrid and the French national team.
Even with the frustrating 2-2 away draw against Iceland on Monday (13), France continues to lead group D of the European qualifiers, three points ahead of Ukraine.
England
There is real hope that 2026 could be England’s year after coming close to multiple titles under former manager Gareth Southgate.
The English federation’s contract with the winning German coach Thomas Tuchel, valid only for this tournament, demonstrates the English’s dedication to trying to win the next World Cup.
To do this, Tuchel has Harry Kane in full form. The 32-year-old center forward scored 20 goals in 11 games for Bayern Munich and the English national team this season.
England are the only team in Europe to have won nine of their last 10 games and were the first from the continent to qualify for next year’s tournament.
Brazil
Brazil used to be the biggest synonym for victory in the World Cups. But the team has not played in the final since lifting the trophy for the fifth time in 2002, in South Korea and Japan.
Therefore, the CBF decided on a bold move, bringing Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to manage the Brazilian team. Known for being a great winner at clubs, Ancelotti is the first foreign coach to manage Brazil since Argentine Filpo Núñez (1920-1999), for one match, in 1965.
Ancelotti took office in May, with the dismissal of Dorival Júnior, after the Brazilian team’s defeat against Argentina in Buenos Aires, 4-1, in a World Cup qualifier.
Brazil ended up ranking only fifth in the South American qualifiers. There were six defeats in 18 games.
Argentina
Argentina, the current champion, beat France on penalties in the final of the last World Cup in Qatar, in 2022.
The Argentines qualified first in the South American qualifiers for next year’s World Cup, nine points ahead of second-placed Ecuador.
Star Lionel Messi has not yet confirmed his participation in the World Cup, but it will be a big surprise if he does not attend.
The 38-year-old striker was dropped from a recent friendly against Venezuela at home so that Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni could watch strikers Lautaro Martínez and Julián Alvarez playing together.
Portugal
After the injury-time draw with Hungary at home on Tuesday (14), 2-2, Portugal has still not qualified for the World Cup. But the Portuguese team is confident of winning a direct place in group F of the European qualifiers.
During Euro 2024, the feeling arose that the national star, Cristiano Ronaldo (the highest scorer in the history of football in official games), was harming the Portuguese team.
But since then, Ronaldo has scored 13 goals in 13 games for Portugal. He will be 41 at the time of the next World Cup.
Portugal appears to be in good form and beat Spain on penalties in the Nations League final after a 2-2 draw.
Germany
Germany will need to greatly improve its performance compared to recent tournaments if it is to have any chance at next year’s World Cup.
Since winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Germans have been disqualified from the tournament twice in the group stage. And they also didn’t get past the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
The German team is facing difficulties in qualifying for the World Cup. They lead group A with the same number of points and just one goal difference over Slovakia — who beat Germany 2-0 at home last month. It was Germany’s fourth defeat in World Cup qualifying.
Netherlands
The Netherlands are doing well and have only lost once after being disqualified by England in the Euro 2024 semi-final.
In the qualifiers, the Dutch have 16 points from six games. There were 22 goals scored and only three conceded.
In this campaign to qualify for the World Cup, Corinthians striker Memphis Depay became the country’s all-time top scorer (54) and assistant (35).
Italy
It seems like a habit to include Italy in a report on the favorites to win the men’s World Cup. But the latest data does not confirm this expectation.
Italy was last world champion in Germany, in 2006. Since then, the Italian team has not progressed past the first round.
The Italians exited the World Cup in the group stage in 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (Brazil). And they didn’t even qualify for the last two tournaments.
Next year’s World Cup could become the third in a row. Italy is in second place in Group I of the European qualifiers, three points behind leaders Norway. And they may very well need to compete in the playoff.
In European championships, the Italians have been doing better. They were Euro 2021 champions, winning the final against England on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
This text was originally published here.
