2026 World Cup rankings: Ranking each team 48-1, as darkhorses and favorites emerge

With the 2026 World Cup here, it’s time to rank all 48 teams from 48 to 1 based on how likely they are to win it all.

MORE — Daily schedule for 2026 World Cup

We will update this ranking throughout the tournament, as things will change pretty drastically during the largest World Cup in history.

• You can watch every single 2026 World Cup game live across Universo, Telemundo and Peacock en Espanol, here.

Below we rank all 48 teams at the 2026 men’s World Cup and group them into categories of how likely they are to win it all.

2026 World Cup rankings for all 48 teams

The minnows

48. Jordan
47. New Zealand
46. Curacao
45. South Africa
44. Haiti
43. Panama

42. Iraq
41. Qatar
40. DR Congo
39. Cape Verde
38. Tunisia
37. Uzbekistan

These teams are delighted to be in the tournament and the likes of Haiti, Cape Verde and South Africa are all capable of springing upsets. There are also four teams in this group who will be experiencing the World Cup for the first time (Jordan, Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan) so don’t rule out that historic moment leading to them rising to the occasion and getting some shock results.

The upstarts

36. Saudi Arabia
35. Ghana
34. Czechia
33. Paraguay
32. Iran
31. Bosnia and Herzegovina

30. Algeria
29. Australia
28. Sweden
27. Ivory Coast
26. Egypt
25. South Korea

Okay, so this group of teams is really interesting and has the most potential to climb much higher in our rankings. When it comes to Sweden, Egypt and South Korea, they have some superstar forwards but have to stay solid at the back. If they can do that then Gyokeres/Isak for Sweden, Salah/Marmoush for Egypt and Heung-min Son for South Korea all have the quality to lead their nations on a deep run.

As for Czechia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Paraguay, they are used to punching above their weight and have a couple of brilliant players each who can deliver special moments. They may not win it, but one team from this group has the potential to get to the quarterfinals.

The potential darkhorses

24. Scotland
23. Austria
22. Uruguay
21. Canada
20. Norway
19. Mexico

18. Croatia
17. Switzerland
16. Colombia
15. USA
14. Turkiye
13. Japan

Now, all three co-hosts are in this group and rightly so due to their groups being pretty easy. They all have plenty of talented players and having home advantage at a World Cup always seems to work well. The USA has the highest ceiling in terms of the talent of their team, while both Canada and Mexico have the opportunity to breeze through the group stage and build confidence and momentum.

In the case of Scotland they are in a very tough group with Brazil and Morocco but if they can get out of that, nothing should really scare them in the knockout rounds and they will go far. Norway and Turkiye will have no fear and are extremely dangerous with their talented attackers (Haaland, Odegaard and Guler to name a few…) and Japan, Colombia and Switzerland will all be tough to break down and prefer a team-first approach. There is a real chance a team from this group makes it to the semifinals, at least.

The legit darkhorses

12. Ecuador
11. Senegal
10. Germany
9. Belgium
8. Netherlands
7. Morocco

Could we see one of these teams winning it all? Definitely. Ecuador’s qualifying campaign was incredible and they have some world-class defensive players, while Senegal have Sadio Mane leading the line and a whole host of bright young talents who already have a wealth of tournament experience.

Germany are in transition but have some exciting young players led by a smattering of world-class experience (Kimmich, Neuer, Rudiger, Sane and Havertz) and they usually step it up at tournaments. Belgium still have Kevin de Bruyne pulling the strings and Thibaut Courtois in goal with new stars like Jeremy Doku ready to stand tall. The Netherlands have a lovely balance about them and even if they’re missing a proper goalscorer, they will be well-organized and go far. Then there’s Morocco, who were the surprise package in 2022 in Qatar and despite a few injuries they should be set for another deep run into the knockout rounds.

The favorites

6. Brazil
5. Portugal
4. England
3. Argentina
2. Spain
1. France

This is when it starts to get serious, and that is what Brazil are now under Carlo Ancelotti. He has them set up much better defensively and the balance is right with their attacking players still given plenty of freedom on the counter. Portugal have so many wonderful midfield and wide players and if Roberto Martinez can manage the minutes of Cristiano Ronaldo properly, alongside getting the best out of Bruno Fernandes, they still have plenty of matchwinners.

England have plenty of those too and the difference for them this time is Thomas Tuchel is in charge and his sublime in-game management gives them hope they can finally win a major trophy again. Especially with Harry Kane in the form of his life. Argentina and Lionel Messi are looking to repeat and Lionel Scaloni’s side are well set up defensively and have plenty of players to do Messi’s running and put chances on a plate for him.

And then the reigning European champions Spain seem to have a great chance of going all the way, even without a proper striker. They will rotate their fluid midfield and attacking midfielders endlessly and that seems like it will be a really helpful en route to going all the way with teenager Lamine Yamal leading the charge. France are the clear favorites, for us, with Mbappe, Doue, Dembele, Olise and Cherki in attack and Didier Deschamps’ side just have too many wonderful attacking options to find ways to break through a deep block. There best chance of winning it all will be to go with all-out attack.