Current world champions, Argentina, in theory, took a more relaxed path in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, while France, who came second in Qatar, should have more work to do to advance to the knockout stages.
Three-time world champion, Lionel Messi’s Argentina fell into a group with three teams with less football tradition — Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
Jordan, 66th in the FIFA rankings, is one of the four newcomers to the World Cup — alongside Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan. She hit the post in 2014, when she fell in the play-offs against Uruguay.
In the Asian qualifiers, Jordan qualified second in their group, behind South Korea, ahead of Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait.
Algeria, 35th in the ranking, will compete in its fifth edition of the World Cup. The last time was in 2014, in Brazil, when they advanced to the round of 16 for the first time, being eliminated by Germany.
Algeria advanced first in its group in the African qualifiers, leaving behind Uganda, Mozambique, Guinea, Botswana and Somalia.
Austria, 24th in the world, came first in their group, sending Bosnia to the play-offs, with Romania, Cyprus and San Marino eliminated.
It will be the European country’s eighth participation in the World Cup, the first time since 1998, in France. The best result is third place, in 1954, beating Uruguay in the dispute for bronze.
Moving on to the knockout stage, Argentina could face Spain, Uruguay, Cape Verde or Saudi Arabia.
France will face Senegal, 19th in the ranking, and Norway, 29th, in the group stage, in addition to awaiting an opponent from the intercontinental playoff.
Mbappé and Haaland are expected to have one of the biggest duels in the group stage of the World Cup, with the Norwegian team returning to a World Cup after 28 years. The Nordic team finished first in their group in the European qualifiers, sending four-time world champions Italy to the play-offs.
Senegal, led by striker Sadio Mané, reaches its third consecutive World Cup, after its debut in 2002. In Qatar, it advanced to the round of 16, eliminated by England. The team led its group in the African qualifiers, with the Democratic Republic of Congo taking the place in the play-offs.
France will still face the team that prevails in the intercontinental playoff clash with Iraq (58th), Bolivia (76th) and Suriname (123rd).
Moving forward, the French team will face group opponents with Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Curaçao.
