With the opening whistle set for June 11 at Mexico City’s storied Estadio Azteca, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is weeks away from kicking off the most expansive tournament in the sport’s history. Spanning 16 host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, this summer’s 48-team field is the largest ever assembled. With that in mind, here are some of the storylines, standouts and dark horses worth keeping an eye on when the action kicks off this summer.
Champion:
Obie and Zaid: England. This is one of the most wide-open World Cup fields in recent memory. There is no one team that stands head-and-shoulders above the rest, as there has been in past years, and seven or eight teams would not be surprising to see lift the trophy. For the sake of novelty, we’ll go with England, even though France and Spain have more talent on paper. Head coach Thomas Tuchel is a knockout tournament expert, and England has one of the most in-form players in the world in striker Harry Kane. Their defense is more convincing than in years past, and after so many near misses in the past few tournaments, this is finally the year that they get it over the line. Additionally, their group appears among the weakest at the tournament, which should keep them well-rested for the later stages.
Dark Horse:
Obie: Senegal. The disputed African champions have been placed in a difficult group, but they have the talent and tournament experience to navigate out of it. Once the knockouts start, Senegal is not a team anyone will relish playing. They boast a strong defense: at the last Africa Cup of Nations, they conceded only twice across the entire tournament, and their rapid, skillful forwards mean they even pose a serious threat to teams that may have an on-paper talent advantage. Additionally, the off-field chaos stemming from their dispute with Morocco will galvanize them for a deep run.
Zaid: Türkiye. As a team that almost failed to qualify for the tournament entirely and had to rely on the qualification playoffs to earn a seat, Turkiye does not initially seem like a textbook powerhouse. However, they are positioned incredibly well to make a real run in this summer’s tournament. With star players like Arda Guler, Kenan Yildiz and Hakan Calhanoglu, they should like their chances of coming first or second in their group and should they finish first, they have a relatively favorable path to the quarterfinals lined up.
Shock Early Exit:
Obie: Colombia. The 2024 Copa America was this team’s peak. Since then, results have not been great, stumbling through qualification with just three wins in their final ten matches. Their chance creation still relies heavily on James Rodríguez, who is well past his best, does not start for Minnesota United in MLS and was recently hospitalized for dehydration after a friendly. Despite his form for Bayern Munich, winger Luis Díaz has not shown that he can effectively shoulder that burden should Rodríguez be out of form. Striker Jhon Durán, who broke out for Aston Villa a couple of years ago and looked poised to be a star for club and country, now languishes at Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia, meaning that Colombia’s goalscoring hopes rest on Luis Suárez, who has only scored four times for his country.
Zaid: Morocco. After becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2022, Morocco has gone on to be one of the most successful nations in international play in recent years. A controversial loss in the finals of the African Cup, a win in the Arab Cup and a win in the Under-20 World Cup in the last four years is an impressive resume to say the least and the hype around this team is understandable. However, this Moroccan team is not the same one that took the world by storm four years ago. Coach Walid Regragui left the team at the beginning of March (just months before the World Cup) and several of their core players from the last tournament, such as Sofyan Amrabat, Hakim Ziyech and Sofiane Boufal, will not be starting for them this time around.
Top Scorer:
Obie: Kylian Mbappé. Perhaps a boring pick, but the Frenchman has 15 goals in 11 Champions League games this season, and, with France, is surrounded by some of the best creative players in the game. His red-hot form for club and a history of World Cup performance put him slightly above Harry Kane, who does not enjoy the same opportunities to create chances with England.
Zaid: Mikel Oyarzabal. Spain has one of the easiest groups in the competition and is a ruthless offensive engine; they could easily score double-digit goals in the group stage alone. Despite this team’s offensive prowess, Spain has often been known to spread the goals throughout its front line without a standout, prolific goal scorer. Mikel Oyarzabal, however, seems the most likely candidate to outscore his fellow Spaniards and although he will not be one of the first names that comes to mind for this award, he has a real shot at it.
Best Player:
Obie: Lionel Messi. Again, another somewhat boring choice, but this will undoubtedly be the final World Cup for the greatest player to grace the game. Argentina has won three international tournaments in a row and will want to go for their fourth and Messi is the Albiceleste’s beating heart. Repeating their 2022 triumph will be difficult, but Messi and Argentina will likely make another deep run.
Zaid: Lamine Yamal. If Spain is to repeat their recent success at the 2024 Euros, 18-year-old wonderkid and the world’s best player, Lamine Yamal, will no doubt need to have a good tournament. Spain will be one of the favorites to win the World Cup and, at the very least, should make a deep run, giving Yamal ample opportunities to prove himself on the world’s biggest stage.
Breakout Player:
Obie and Zaid: Gilberto Mora. This pick is highly dependent on Mora’s health; he’s been nursing an injury for much of the spring, but Tijuana’s 17-year-old attacking midfielder has been one of the best players in North America since he first broke out last summer at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The youngest goalscorer in Liga MX history, Mora will be going to Europe once he turns 18, and when healthy, starts for Mexico, who will be playing in front of a home crowd at this summer’s tournament.
Don’t Write Off:
Obie: Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has been on the verge of qualification for the past 20 or so years, and expansion finally opened the door for them, but the White Wolves have been a consistent force in Asian football. Extremely unlucky to be edged out by Qatar on penalties in the 2023 Asian Cup, they’ve only lost once in their past 16, a narrow loss in a friendly to Uruguay. Legendary Italian player Fabio Cannavaro is their head coach, and while he wasn’t the man who led them to the tournament, he’s unbeaten in four matches since taking over. Their squad is largely domestic-based, having played together for years, and they boast a genuine star in defender Abdukodir Khusanov. While Uzbekistan doesn’t seem to have many goals in their squad, they will not be the easy win that European and South American teams are expecting.
Zaid: Jordan. Jordan is entering its first World Cup, but since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it has made waves in many Asian international tournaments. Jordan had an incredible run to the final of the AFC cup in 2023, beating teams like South Korea, Iraq and Tajikistan along the way. They then followed that up with a strong campaign at the Arab Cup in 2025, reaching the finals again and beating Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria, three of the strongest teams in the tournament. With star winger Musa Al-Tamari finding form for the French team Stade Rennes F.C., the team has a genuine European talent who is performing at the highest level. Jordan has been placed into one of the toughest groups in the tournament and definitely has their work cut out for them. Although they come in with the least valuable squad in the entire tournament, they have enough recent success in international games to give them some confidence about their chances.
Worst Team:
Obie and Zaid: Curaçao. That Curaçao is even at this tournament is remarkable. A Dutch overseas territory with just over 150,000 people, they are by far the smallest nation to ever qualify. Still, not to dampen their enthusiasm, they were handed a very fortunate qualifying group and lost their coach in early 2026. The new manager has overseen a 2-0 loss to China and a 5-1 loss to Australia; their captain plays in the Turkish second division, and their 37-year-old starting goalkeeper plays in USL. In an extremely tough group, keeping their games close will be an achievement.