World Cup 2026 Power Rankings

USA, Mexico and Canada will host the first three-nation, 48-team World Cup in June-July 2026.

Spain are among the favourites after Euro success; Argentina are reigning champions but face strong competition.

Expanded field and dark horses, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Norway, make the 2026 World Cup unpredictable.

It's just a matter of weeks until the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway, with reigning world champions Argentina among 48 nations who have booked their place at the tournament.The United States, Mexico, and Canada will host the world's most-watched international competition from June 11th to July 19th.

This will be the first World Cup to be hosted by three different nations and the first to feature 48 teams after FIFA opted to increase the 32-team format. This has made it even harder to predict who, like Lionel Messi's Albiceleste in Qatar, will emerge victorious, who will spring a surprise like Morocco, and which footballing powerhouse will stumble, much like Germany that year.

That said, we have taken a look at how nations from every continent are faring and the likelihood they will win the World Cup. With all 48 teams known and drawn into their respective groups, GIVEMESPORT rates who will be in the mix and battling out to become world champions this summer.

World Cup History, How the respective nations have performed in the past, such as record-holders Brazil or underperformers Belgium.

Recent Performance, Teams that are currently in or out of form in preparation for the tournament.

Squad and Manager Quality - Perennial winners such as newly-appointed Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti and elite players such as Spain's Lamine Yamal.

As with any football tournament, there are dark horses who catch the eye before and even during the competition, such as Georgia, who earned huge praise for its displays at Euro 2024. Japan and Ecuador could both be teams to watch in the summer. The former have shown plenty of quality, particularly with friendly wins over England and Scotland, while the latter boast quality players in the form of Moises Caicedo, Piero Hincapie and Willian Pacho.

Egypt might well be the shock of the tournament as they cruised through their qualifying group with 26 points from their 10 games. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush make for a deadly partnership that could cause the opposition all sorts of problems.

Boasting an attack that features Premier League trio Alexander Isak, Anthony Elanga, and Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres, Sweden can expect to outscore a lot of their opponents, even if their defence ensures things remain somewhat nervy throughout their World Cup campaign.

Croatia are just one of several European sides who will feel less pressure than usual. It will likely be 40-year-old Luka Modric's last hurrah on the international stage, and he'll be eager to captain his country to glory after their 2018 World Cup final loss.

Perhaps no underdog story in World Cup history has been more remarkable than Morocco's, which surged to the semi-finals in the winter of 2022. Walid Regragui oversaw wins over Spain and Portugal in a campaign to remember for the Atlas Lions, who won all eight of their qualifying games to secure their spot in next summer's tournament.

Senegal are just above them, even with uncertainty over who has actually won the AFCON title between the two nations. They have proven to be a threat to top European teams, as England found out in June last year when they lost 3-1. Having recently lifted silverware, Pape Thiaw could mastermind a deep World Cup run.

Colombia fans, meanwhile, will hope that their squad can produce a similar run as they managed in 2014 and 2018. Having not played at Qatar 2022, they managed a third-place finish in qualifying for 2026, and they will fancy themselves against Uzbekistan and Portugal in Group K.

Erling Haaland's Norway were the most impressive side in European qualifying for this year's competition. The Scandinavians won all eight group games at a canter, scoring 37 goals and only conceding five.

Belgium may feel they've missed their chance to lift an international trophy after a Golden Generation involving Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne passed them by. While the latter will still be the main man this summer, the Premier League icon is past his peak at 34 years old.

If the European nation are to win the World Cup against all odds, Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku will need to be among the younger crop of players to step up and support De Bruyne, who still has an unbelievable passing range in his locker.

The inaugural World Cup hosts and winners, Uruguay, are always tricky opposition and can sometimes upset the odds, such as defeating Brazil at the Maracana in the final in 1950. You could argue that La Celeste is the Atletico Madrid of South American football, although manager Marcelo Bielsa has them playing a completely different brand of football nowadays.

Bielsa's men finished fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifying table, winning seven of 18 games, including victories over Brazil and Argentina. Real Madrid's Federico Valverde is his country's engine, while Darwin Nunez has fared well when donning his nation's colours.

What might harm their chances, though, is being drawn in the same group as Euro 2024 winners Spain. While Uruguay are capable of winning that game, La Roja will be heavy favourites, with a potential second-place finish handing Biesla's squad a harder route to success at the tournament.

Many look to the Netherlands as one of the top contenders when a World Cup is on the horizon, and Ronald Koeman can't be faulted for his troops' qualifying form. He oversaw six wins and two draws, including an 8-0 mauling of Malta.

The Oranje felt hard done by after their defeat to England in last summer's Euros semi-finals, but Koeman's players certainly earned plenty of plaudits. They boast a formidable defence with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Tottenham's Micky van de Ven, while there will be a veteran forward in Memphis Depay.

Their team is a blend of experience and youthful energy, which should allow the Netherlands to progress past Japan and Tunisia in the group stages. But, having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, before crashing out in the quarter-finals in 2022, they need to prove themselves in the knockout stages in order to ensure they aren't World Cup nearly men once more.