World Cup 2026: Big guns fancied to dominate FIFA’s showpiece again

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the most expansive tournament ever staged, with 48 teams battling to lift the trophy this summer.

However, the tournament’s previous history suggests that the eventual winners will come from a select group of leading football nations.

There have been just eight World Cup winners in the 22 editions that have been staged from 1930 to 2022.

Five-time winners Brazil are the most successful nation in World Cup history. Italy (4) and Germany (4) are next in the standings ahead of Argentina (3).

Uruguay (2), France (2), England (1) and Spain (1) complete the roll of honour.

World Cup – previous winners

World Cup 2026 – group stage draw

• Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, UEFA Path D Winner
• Group B: Canada, UEFA Path A Winner, Qatar, Switzerland
• Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
• Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, UEFA Path C Winner
• Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
• Group F: Netherlands, Japan, UEFA Path B Winner, Tunisia
• Group G: France, Egypt, New Zealand, Iran
• Group H: Argentina, Algeria, Honduras, Greece
• Group I: Spain, Nigeria, Panama, Sweden
• Group J: England, Ghana, Chile, Poland
• Group K: Portugal, Senegal, Costa Rica, Turkey
• Group L: Italy, Cameroon, Peru, Belgium

World Cup 2026 – the favourites

Spain

Spain will head into the World Cup as the bookmakers’ favourites to win the World Cup, and it is difficult to argue with their viewpoint.

They were superb at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, sweeping to the title for a record-breaking fourth time.

Spain’s squad has no noteworthy weaknesses, and it would be a major surprise if they failed to mount a strong bid to win their second World Cup.

France

France have reached the last two World Cup finals. They defeated Croatia to win the title in 2018, but came up short against Argentina four years ago.

Les Bleus have a talented squad, headlined by Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe. He has been in phenomenal form this season and is one to watch at the tournament.

Manager Didier Deschamps is quitting his role after the World Cup, and his team will be desperate to send him on his way with another winners’ medal to add to his tally.

Argentina

Argentina triumphed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and cannot be overlooked as potential winners this time around.

No side has retained the trophy since Brazil achieved the feat in 1962, which highlights the size of the task Argentina face this summer.

However, with talismanic forward Lionel Messi showing no signs of slowing down, it would be a brave move to bet against them retaining the trophy.

Brazil

Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002, but could quite feasibly snap that streak this summer under former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.

He is the only manager in history to win the Champions League five times, and will fancy his chances of using that experience to guide Brazil to success at the World Cup.

The Samba Kings were inconsistent during the qualification process, but could turn on the style when it matters in North America.

England

England’s status as one of the favourites to win the World Cup is questionable given their penchant for failing to live up to expectations in major tournaments.

Their solitary success on the biggest stage was on home soil in 1966, and they have never looked like adding to their tally since then.

Italy and Spain defeated the Three Lions in the last two Euro finals to hammer home the perception that they can’t live with the top teams.

Germany

Germany’s reputation as one of world football’s big guns has diminished in recent years, and they will be desperate to rewrite the narrative this summer.

The 2014 champions have failed to reach the knockout stage in each of the last two tournaments, but should have little to fear from Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Group E.

While Germany are capable of making a deep run at the tournament, they may struggle against top teams such as Spain and Argentina.