Who are the candidates to win the 2026 World Cup?

The World Cup is right around the corner, and it’s impossible not to start thinking about who will be the next champion. Will Argentina be able to defend its title with an older Lionel Messi, who is far from his best level, and who was also the biggest Argentine star in the last World Cup and for the past 15 years? Or will Cristiano Ronaldo finally conquer the only trophy missing from his collection and lead Portugal to ultimate glory for the first time in its history? Whatever the result is, we are getting a very interesting World Cup, and personally, it’s impossible not to be excited since it will be played in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. That’s why I took the task of predicting who could be the winner of the 2026 World Cup.

If you’re a soccer fan, you’ll agree that England has the potential to become world champions next year. England is the perfect combination of new young talent and experienced veteran players, both united by the same goal and the same hunger to win, since they haven’t tasted World Cup glory since 1966. Some of the most important young players are Bellingham, Saka, or Cole Palmer, who have already shown what they are capable of, winning important titles with their clubs, proving that they are the future of world football. More experienced players like John Stones, Declan Rice, or Harry Kane are expected to be the leaders of this team, and with their expertise and quality as players, they can guide the young ones so they can achieve the goal together.

If we talk about consistency and a team that imposes respect and fear on others, that’s France. Champions in the 2018 World Cup, runners-up in the 2022 World Cup, we’re talking about almost eight years of consistency, and at this point, it isn’t crazy to think that France could reach a World Cup final for the third consecutive time and be crowned again. Their biggest figure, Kylian Mbappé, has already shown what he is capable of, and even if his team is struggling, he can take control on his own and make them win against any adversity. As a team, France has solidity in both defense and attack, and a lot of young talent hungry for glory, which is why the odds are in their favor.

sourced from Mexico News Daily

The current world champions want to achieve the feat and become back-to-back world champions. Even though Messi is no longer at his best, the team led by Lionel Scaloni can still surprise, and their biggest strength is teamwork, combined with the passion they play with. With more experienced players like Julián Álvarez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Cristian Romero, who also already know what it’s like to win the World Cup, it’s impossible not to believe that they can become champions for the fourth time in their history.

A very young team, but without a doubt with a lot of quality, is Spain, the current champion of the 2024 Euro Cup, and with a well-defined playing style. For many, Spain is the main candidate to take the World Cup glory. Lamine Yamal excites an entire nation, and the young star could become a world champion at only 18 years old. The biggest problem for Spain is the loss of important Euro Cup players like Rodri or Carvajal, but there are new interesting additions like Huijsen or Pedri, who is having an incredible moment.

Last but not least is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Even though Cristiano Ronaldo gets older each day and is far from his best level, he is still a very high-quality player and very important for Portugal, scoring 5 goals in 5 matches. On top of that, we have to consider that Portugal is a complete team from top to bottom: in defense, names like Ruben Dias and Nuno Mendes are the perfect combination of experience and youth to give any forward a headache. They also have one of the most complete midfields with names like Vitinha, João Neves, Bernardo Silva, and Bruno Fernandes, and in the attack, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Leão.

Some honorable mentions are the Netherlands and Brazil, and even though Brazil isn’t going through a good moment, they can always surprise. On the Netherlands’ side, they have a great defensive reference like Virgil van Dijk and forwards who can be key, like Cody Gakpo. If we talk about Brazil, even though they aren’t in great form, you can never count Brazil out, especially if you have players like Vinicius Jr, Raphinha, or Rodrygo Goes.

Some national teams I’m very interested in watching are Norway and Ecuador, because even if I don’t think they can win the World Cup, they will cause problems for more than one team. Norway has, in my opinion, the best striker in the world, Erling Haaland, and proof of that is the 16 goals he scored in the 8 World Cup qualifying matches, and Norway even finished undefeated in this process. As for Ecuador, Moisés Caicedo is the man who can lead them to glory, probably the most important player at Chelsea, and without a doubt the most important for Ecuador, all while playing as a midfielder.

A country from which I don’t expect much, but one you cannot ignore, is Germany. Even though they haven’t been at their best in recent years, there are players that bring hope like Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, or Joshua Kimmich.

Very excited for this World Cup to start and to see if at least one of the names mentioned ends up being crowned in the tournament.