World Cup Preview

The 2026 World Cup is approaching fast, so here’s a brief preview of the teams, format, and important storylines to watch. The World Cup is the biggest global soccer tournament that happens every four  years. Players play for their nation rather than their club, so fans get to watch superstars from different club teams play together on the biggest stage.

FIFA completely overhauled this year’s format, which includes 48 teams, split into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group, plus the eight best third-place teams, move on to a single-elimination tournament culminating in the World Cup Final. The groups were drawn from four “pots” that were based on FIFA’s World Rankings. The three host nations along with the top nine teams formed pot 1, the next 12 highest-ranked teams formed pot 2, and so on. This ensures a balanced format and makes it so that the top  four teams can’t play each other until the semi-finals. While this may seem unfair to lower-ranked nations, the new format will create exciting, high-stakes matchups that will garner hundreds of millions of viewers. 

This year’s World Cup is being played across three nations for the first time: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. There will be games played in cities all across North America, such as Mexico City, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Toronto. The final is scheduled for July 19th, 2026 in MetLife Stadium (New Jersey) and is expected to have around two billion viewers. Spain is the current favorite to win, carrying odds of +400 at the time this article was written. The consensus is that the winner will be one of the teams in the top 10 of the FIFA World Rankings. Of course, there is always the chance that a lower-ranked team makes an incredible run through the tournament, but I will focus on the best for this article. In order, the top 10 teams are Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Croatia (last updated December 22). 

Spain is the favorite because of their triumph in the 2024 Euros (a tournament of European nations) and their balanced style of play. Star winger Lamine Yamal leads the attack while his Barcelona teammate Pedri, a world-class midfielder, controls the build-up and tempo. Spain also  boasts a fast left winger in Nico Williams and striker Ferran Torres, who is currently playing at top form. Next up is Argentina, who won the tournament in 2022 after beating France in penalties. Led by none other than Lionel Messi, they rely on quick counterattacks and driving through the center. This is likely Messi’s last World Cup, which adds to the drama. Unsurprisingly, France is in third. Kylian Mbappé is arguably the best attacker in the world right now and is looking to win his second World Cup. It’s not just him, though, as France is loaded with other talent like Michael Olise, Ballon d’Or winner (similar to an MVP award) Ousmane Dembélé, and 2025 Champions League Final Man of the Match Désiré Doué. Behind France in the rankings is England, who is captained by Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane. Although they haven’t won a major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, their star-studded squad featuring standouts Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice has a solid chance to win it all this year. Brazil is fifth in the rankings despite a horrific qualifying campaign that saw them finish fifth in CONMEBOL (South America) and lose a record six games. It will be interesting to see what changes manager Carlo Ancelotti makes in order to have a successful tournament. 

Portugal is in sixth place, which may shock some people because they have a lot of talent in their squad and won the Nations League this past June. The obvious headliner is forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who is looking to win his first World Cup and solidify his status as one of the greatest players ever alongside Messi and Pelé. Other notable Portuguese players are midfielders Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes, left back Nuno Mendes, and winger Rafael Leão. In seventh place is the Netherlands, who historically are a physical and defensively-minded team. Led by Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, they are considered the best country to have never won a World Cup. Morocco, Belgium, and Germany round out the top ten. While each team has stars like Achraf Hakimi, Kevin de Bruyne, and Florian Wirtz respectively, their lack of success in recent competitions shows that they may not be as strong as the top contenders. Some lower-ranked teams that have the potential to surprise and make deep runs in the tournament are Norway, Senegal, and Colombia due to their individual talent and success in their respective qualifying tournaments.

Even though the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has never reached a World Cup Final, there is good reason to believe that they can this year. Christian Pulisic (or “Captain America”), Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards are all in their primes, and head coach Mauricio Pochettino has managed some of the top teams in Europe. The U.S. is currently fifteenth in the rankings and in a group with Australia, Paraguay, and the UEFA Playoff Path C Winner (Romania, Slovakia, Kosovo, or Turkey). They also have home-field advantage because most games will be played in the United States. 

The 2026 World Cup stands to be one of the most exciting ever, with legends such as Ronaldo and Messi facing off against younger stars like Lamine Yamal. Even if you don’t know anything about soccer, just pick a team to root for and enjoy the spectacle starting on June 11th.