The World Cup is Entering its Penultimate Stage- Who's Winning It?

The 2026 World Cup has fully delivered on the hype so far. Host nations, USA, Canada, and Mexico have been amazing in conducting the organisation of the biggest competition in football. After a few weeks that saw the group stages ending without major surprises, we have already entered the quarter final stage of this competition. With eight teams left in the competition, we cannot say that there is a clear cut favourite. Let's see who has the biggest chances of taking home the FIFA World Cup trophy.

The Closest Adversary-France

Most major World Cup predictions have France as the biggest favourites to take home the much coveted World Cup trophy. Their odds at the moment sit at 2.70, and while that paints a picture we need to point out that Les Blues were among the favourites even before the competition started. Once it got going, it was clear that the quality is there with this French selection. They are led by Didier Deschamps, a serial winner, who already took home one WC.

As far as squad quality goes, France not only has top players, but they also have the best depth in the tourney. While all eyes are always on Mbappe, Olise, and Dembele, the likes of Rabiot, Upamecano, Kounde, and Maignan also do the heavy lifting. Their first 11 are some of the best players in the world, but when you have lads such as Cherki, Doue, Barcola, Gusto, Hernandez brothers, Thuram, and Mateta on the bench, you know we're talking about a team that can go all the way.

The best part about this France team is that they deliver when it matters, and on the field. During the group stages, they scored nine goals and conceded only two. Once the elimination stages started, the defence was shored up, and in two games they conceded none, and scored four more. Senegal, Iraq, Norway, Paraguay, and Sweden had no recipe to give this France team a defeat. While their duel with Morocco will be a nerve tangling affair, we are more than sure that Mbappe & Co can add another win to their resume and move one step closer to the final.

So far, Kylian Mbappe is one of the best performers in the World Cup. He has scored seven goals and added 2 assists. The only player with a better tournament than him is Lionel Messi and that's speaking volumes of his performance to date. If France goes past Morocco, and we can bet they will, they will meet the better teams from Spain vs. Belgium in the semis. We're not going to go as far as predicting all the scores till the end of the tourney, but if everything goes right by France, they will defeat Morocco, and whoever comes next till the last duel.

Argentina is Not It!

At times they're the best team in the world. At times, Argentina plays dirty and has plenty of non football factors working to their favour. We're not going to talk about conspiracy theories here, but it's no secret that a final rematch between France and Argentina is what everyone wants to see. Yet, we do not think that this scenario is in the cards this year. Argentina has played well so far. They weren't dominating any team, and their wins all were won by hard tackles, a bit of luck, and we must say it, a gentle push by the refereeing committee.

Lionel Messi is playing like in his best days, and with 8 goals and 1 assist he's the tournament's best player at the moment. As far as his teammates go, none has been impressive, and their only positive side is that they can play as a team behind their captain. Yet, if their duels vs. Egypt and Cape Verde is anything to go by, their defence is porous, and their attack will not be able to compensate against stronger teams. They walked through the group stages with wins against Austria, Algeria, and Jordan. An easy group, a fact which was seen straight with their next two matches. While Cape Verde and Egypt are no world beaters they gave Argentina a run for their money.

If Alvarez, Fernandez, Mac Allister, and De Paul don't raise the standard of their game, Argentina will struggle against Switzerland too. At this moment we don't see them go past the winner of the England vs. Norway duel. While Messi delivered so far, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Molina, Medina, and Tagliafico have failed to keep a clean sheet. Also, their maverick goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is also not on the level he was in years past. His magic is gone, and his penalty series skills are yet to be tested. With all of the above said, this cannot be Argentina's year, despite all the conspiracy theories, and that little magic still left in Messi's boots.

Three Lions Will Finally Roar

Unlike France and Argentina, England had a shaky start to the tournament. It all started with Thomas Tuchel's squad decisions that saw some big names such as Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold omitted for the final roster. Yet, while Three Lions are missing some pieces, and a few players got injured throughout the tournament, it would appear that Tuchel has brought a team with himself. England always had good players, but this squad appears to have a team chemistry needed to win a tourney of this magnitude.

During the opening game against Croatia, despite the win, most fans were worried that this Three Lions team has what it takes. A draw against Ghana did nothing to disperse the doubters, and a bit of it came back once a passage through was secured with a win against Panama. Most flaws and virtues of this team were seen against DR Congo. After trailing for the majority of the game, England came back on the back of individual quality of one Harry Kane, and an amazing team spirit. Their team spirit was once again tested against the host nation, Mexico, and Kane & Co duly delivered.

More of the same can be expected from Three Lions in coming matches, and we are sure there will be matches for Tuchel and his players. Norway plays well, and they are the most pleasant surprise of the tourney, but we see them crumbling against England. At the end of the day, England has amazing team chemistry, but they also have immense individual quality with players such as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Gordon, Marc Guehi, and Jordan Pickford. At the moment, the bookies are giving 6.00 odds on Three Lions winning it all, and that's a bet we're willing to take.

Tiki-Taka is Back, and it's Working Once Again

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Spain was the most dominant nation in the football world. They've won two EUROs and a World Cup. It was all done on the back of superior passing better known as tiki-taka. With the core of their team being Barcelona's aces such as Xavi and Iniesta it was easy to implement this style of play. While Pedri and Rodri are no Xavi and Iniesta, they have shown against Portugal that total domination via passing is back on the menu for Spain.

Two years ago, Spain won EUROS, and this generation feels that they can be as dominant as their predecessors were a decade ago. The core consisting of Rodri, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Oyarzabal, Baena, Merino, and Ruiz has both the engine and technique to control any football match. Yet, the most impressive part of Spain's run at the 2026 World Cup was their defence. La Furia Roja's defence is yet to concede a goal in the tourney. Simon, Laporte, Cubarsi, Porro, and Cucurella are playing like prime Juventus, and in five matches to date at the WC they have not been properly tested. Yes, a big part of their success is their dominant midfield that doesn't allow opponents too much space to breathe. Even with that, there's no arguing that Spain has a perfect blend of youth and experience in their back line.

Spain's quarter final duel vs. Belgium will be a nice test for their ability to go all the way. We believe that the Red Devils do not pose enough of a threat for this Spain team. A semi final duel against France can be scheduled in advance in our opinion. While in that scenario, Les Bleus would be favourites, we honestly believe that Spain possession based football is a perfect recipe to contain French potent attack. With their odds set at 4.50 to win the WC, Spain's duel against France will be final before the final in the eyes of many football fans.

With tournaments such as the World Cup, there can only be one winner. This one will be played out between Spain, France, Argentina, and England. These top football nations will be the ones to wrap it up after the quarter finals leaving little to no reason for fans of Morocco, Norway, Belgium, and Switzerland to be happy about.