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By Tyler Erzberger
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No more waiting.
The World Cup begins on Thursday in Mexico City, and it's time to make official predictions heading into the biggest iteration of the competition in history.
From the teams just happy to spend the summer in North America to the teams that will be bitter regardless of what happens unless they hoist the trophy, here is my ranking of all 48 teams of the 2026 World Cup.
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The Happy To Be Here Tier
- 48. Curaçao
- 47. Haiti
- 46. Iraq
- 45. Jordan
- 44. South Africa
- 43. New Zealand
- 42. Qatar
- 41. Saudi Arabia
- 40. Panama
- 39. Cape Verde
- 38. DR Congo
There are four countries making their debut at the World Cup this summer, and three of the them are in this bottom group: Jordan, Curaçao, and Cape Verde. While I think the smaller nations have gotten stronger than previous editions and each team here has a chance to at least leave the World Cup with a point, it would be a gigantic victory if any of these teams reach the knockouts.
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The Scrappy Underdog Tier
- 37. Tunisia
- 36. Ghana
- 35. Australia
- 34. Egypt
- 33. Bosnia & Herzegovina
- 32. Ivory Coast
- 31. Uzbekistan
- 30. Algeria
- 29. Czechia
- 28. Iran
- 27. Paraguay
- 26. Austria
- 25. Scotland
From teams that would be happy to grab a point to teams that have legitimate chances to make it to the Round of 32. Each of these team's have a strong identity or have at least one impact player that could lead them through the group stages. Uzbekistan, nicknamed the "White Wolves," are my pick for best debuting team, backed by their elite defense and superstar anchor Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City fame.
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The Dark Horse Tier
- 24. Sweden
- 23. South Korea
- 22. Canada
- 21. Switzerland
- 20. Mexico
- 19. Uruguay
- 18. Senegal
- 17. Turkey
- 16. USA
All three host countries are in this dark horse tier, with all of them in strong positions to advance from their group possibly in first place and having a clear road to the Round of 16. With the team with the highest potential of this group, look at Turkey or Senegal, two teams that might have the potential to make the quarterfinals if they can play at their absolute peak form.
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The Super Dark Horse Tier
- 15. Ecuador
- 14. Colombia
- 13. Japan
- 12. Morocco
- 11. Norway
You could group this quintet alongside the other dark horse teams, but each of these five countries do something that is a level above a regular long shot pick. Ecuador and Morocco both have incredible defenses that can force any team in the competition to penalties. Norway and Colombia have elite offenses that, if they get going, can steamroll anyone depending on the day. And Japan, while their roster or names don't impress you at first glance, might play the best as a team of any squad in the World Cup.
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The Perennial Contenders Tier
- 10. Croatia
- 9. Belgium
- 8. Netherlands
- 7. Germany
- 6. Brazil
These are teams that might not have their best rosters or form coming into the World Cup, but you would be foolish to not think that any of them can't catch a spark and make a run towards the World Cup Final. Croatia has made back-to-back World Cup semifinals; Belgium is at the end of their "golden generation"; The Netherlands are the best nation to never hoist the World Cup trophy; Germany has four World Cups, the second-most of any country; Brazil has five, the most of any country.
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The Pressure Is On Tier
- 5. England
- 4. Portugal
No two countries might be under more pressure this tournament to perform than England and Portugal. For the English, this is supposed to be their time to shine, with the Premier League exploding in money and marketability, true homegrown stars littered across the lineup, and back-to-back European Final appearances. If Thomas Tuchel doesn't lead England to at least the semifinals (or possibly even the World Cup Final), he might be fired before he even leaves the stadium following elimination.
For Portugal, it's more straightforward: Cristiano Ronaldo, the pillar of the national team, is 41 and has one final shot at winning it all. They have the best midfield at the World Cup, and this might be Ronaldo's best ever chance to win it all. If not now, it'll be never for the legend closing in on 1,000 career goals.
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The Golden Trio Tier
- 3. Argentina
- 2. Spain
- 1. France
These are the three favorites for the World Cup, and each has won at least won a World Cup in the past two decades. All three possess some of the best young talent on the Earth: Nico Paz (Argentina), Lamine Yamal (Spain), and Désiré Doué (France). All three possess superstars of today: Julián Alvarez (Argentina), Pedri (Spain), and Ousmane Dembélé (France). And most importantly, they have ace players who've led their nation to major trophies before: Lionel Messi (Argentina), Rodri (Spain), and Kylian Mbappé (France). These three teams have everything it takes to win the championship, and one of the other 45 teams will need to play beyond their ceiling if they want the throne come mid-July in New Jersey.
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