Who wins it? Power ranking the contenders for the 2026 World Cup

1. Spain. European champions, world No. 1, and the most complete team in the field. The midfield of Rodri, Pedri and Fabián Ruiz controls every game, and Lamine Yamal is the tournament's most electrifying talent. The deepest concern is a heavyweight group finale against Uruguay.

2. France. Finalists in 2018 and 2022, Les Bleus have frightening depth and the tournament's most decorated forward line in Mbappé and Dembélé. Group I — with Haaland's Norway and a dangerous Senegal — is no gimme, which may be exactly what Didier Deschamps' slow-starters need.

3. Argentina. Never write off the champions. The Scaloni machine lost almost nothing from Qatar and added depth; Messi no longer needs to carry them. The question is whether 38-year-old legs hold up over a potential eight-game tournament in summer heat.

4. England. A perfect qualifying record under Thomas Tuchel and a generational squad: Kane, Bellingham, Saka, Foden, Palmer. England have reached the final of the last two Euros — the missing piece is finishing the job, and Group L (Croatia, Ghana, Panama) offers a gentle runway.

5. Brazil. Carlo Ancelotti's appointment transformed the mood, and Vinícius Júnior is in career-best form. An immediate test against Morocco on June 13 will tell us whether the Seleção are back for a sixth star.

The dark horses: Portugal (the most talented squad never to win it), Morocco (2022 semi-finalists and 2025 African champions), Germany (rebuilt around Musiala and Wirtz), Norway (Haaland and Ødegaard make anyone live), and Japan (already beaten Germany and Spain at World Cups — and openly targeting the trophy).