Zlatan Ibrahimovic Says the US Can Win the 2026 World Cup

Hal picked up his MA in Sports Journalism and NCTJ qualification from St Mary's University Twickenham, Hal has since been part of Valnet since late 2021.

He started as a freelance football writer for This Is Futbol and carried that on over to FootballFanCast before becoming their social media editor. He now works as an editor for GiveMeSport, predominantly focusing on Premier League, Champions League, and English football.

He also helps GiveMeSport cover other major sports such as MMA, boxing, darts, tennis, and golf. Key events like the summer and winter Olympics are also highlights when they appear on the sporting calendar.

Hal is an Arsenal and Three Lions fan, but keeps an eye on the All Blacks, his favourite rugby team, having grown up in New Zealand. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account It's fair to say all the host nations are doing their bit to build excitement in their countries for the 2026 World Cup, with all three teams - Canada, Mexico and the United States - winning their second group games.

Canada smashed Qatar 6-0 to claim their first-ever win, and leave Jesse Marsch rather excited, while Mexico made it two wins from two with a narrow 1-0 victory over South Korea. The US then took on Australia in their match and were brilliant in the first half, scoring twice.

Fine work from Folarin Balogun forced an own goal in off Cameron Burgess after just 11 minutes for the opener, before Alex Freeman then doubled the home team's lead. In the end, that was enough to see the USMNT walk away with a 2-0 win.

With two wins from two, giving them the maximum six points, Mauricio Pochettino's side have already made it into the next round of the competition. As they aim to go far into the World Cup, iconic former player and TV pundit for the tournament, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was asked for his thoughts on the USMNT's chances.

Fox Sport host Rebecca Lowe asked, "Zlatan, I want one word from you. Can the US win this World Cup, yes or no?" Ibrahimovic had no doubt in his mind when he replied:

The reason why FIFA made a slight change to USA's national anthem during their second 2026 World Cup game has emerged.

Later on, he then provided a little more insight into why he feels aa though the US could stun the footballing world and go all the way this summer, adding:

"If you didn’t believe before, I will repeat: Start believing. They have the country behind them, and when you have this support, it’s difficult to beat you.”

While they finished third at the 1930 World Cup, their best finish since was a quarter-final run in 2002. With that in mind, some will think Ibrahimovic has been a little bold with his comment.

That said, there are plenty of reasons for the US to be hopeful of going deep into the competition this year. With the home crowd on their side, their performances have been very promising, and they cruised past Australia - who beat Turkey 2-0 in their first game - without star player Christian Pulisic, who was absent with an injury.

What's more, their path through the competition has emerged, and it looks as though the US could have a kind run all the way up until the semi-finals. Indeed, as things stand, the USA would face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. A victory there would set up a last-16 tie against either New Zealand or the Czech Republic.

If Pochettino's side can make it through those games - which are both very winable on paper - they could then meet France in the semis. This would be a tough ask, with the French runners-up in 2022 and champions in 2018, but a spot in the final would await if they could do the previously unthinkable.