We continue our review of the 48 teams at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a look at the teams inside the top 20. These are teams that are expected to reach the knockout phase, and on their day, could cause upset havoc. Players like Jeremy Doku and Luis Diaz are set to light up the summer at this year’s World Cup. Previously we looked at projections for host nations United States and Mexico.
19. Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)
(Group E with Curaçao, Germany, and Ecuador)
Ivory Coast are one of CAF’s best sides but could still finish third in their group. The Elephants were not handed a favorable draw with a defensively sound Ecuador and a talented Germany in the same group. Three previous times, Ivory Coast has failed to advance beyond the group stage of the World Cup. A loss against New Zealand last June was poor, they drew with Gabon away during CAF qualifying and lost to Saudi Arabia in November. At AFCON, they suffered a perhaps expected but competitive exit to Egypt in January, before two big wins in the March window, 4-0 against South Korea and 1-0 against Scotland.
There’s talent on this roster, Galatasaray’s Wilfried Singo is in the backline along with Sporting CP’s Ousmane Diomande. Captain Franck Kessié (Al-Ahli, 29) plays his club football in Saudi Arabia, Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangaré is also in the midfield, while the scoring options are robust including veteran Nicolas Pépé (Villarreal), and Manchester United’s Amad Diallo. There’s forward depth for days, Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig, 19) is set to debut at the World Cup, Ange-Yoan Bonny (Inter Milan, 22) adds promise.
There’s a real chance Ivory Coast suffers defeat in their first two matches and needs a comfortable win against debutants Curaçao to go through in the third place position, but that shouldn’t dim expectations for a talented squad — the upside is significant if they find form.
18. Austria
(Group J with Argentina, Algeria, and Jordan)
After missing the World Cup for 2 decades, Austria is finally back, and they aren’t just satisfied to make the tournament, they expect to make the knockout stage, though Argentina and Algeria are formidable opposition. Ralf Rangnick has Austria looking lethal offensively, they beat fellow World Cup participants Bosnia away 2-1 in September, they put 10 goals past San Marino, and five past Ghana (in March), along with a recent win over South Korea. An away loss to Romania was their only poor qualifying result, but ultimately they took advantage of a winnable group and did the job.
Real Madrid’s David Alaba is club captain, like Switzerland, this side is full of Bundesliga players including RB Leipzig’s Xaver Schlager, Christoph Baumgartner and Nicolas Seiwald in the midfield. Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer is a crafty veteran, Carney Chukwuemeka (Dortmund) and 20-year-old Paul Wanner (PSV) just debuted. Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer is also here. Austria has a fantastic midfield that can dictate the pace of games, but still relies on 36-year-old Marko Arnautović (Red Star Belgrade) to score goals in the striker role — they’ll need set-piece magic, penalties, and other help to turn draws into wins.
Missing a top striker will hurt them against the likes of Argentina, but second in their group, and being competitive in the knockouts is a real possibility.
17. Switzerland
(Group B with Bosnia, Qatar, and Canada)
Murat Yakin’s Switzerland have been a reliable and technically sound UEFA team for some time now, reaching the quarterfinals of both Euro 2020 and 2024, though they have exited in the round of 16 in the last three World Cups. Switzerland don’t see defeat often, they swept through the USA and Mexico last June, and qualified in a group that included fellow participants Sweden, a team they beat twice by a wide margin. Draws against Kosovo and Slovenia were respectable as well. A 4-3 loss against Germany, and a scoreless draw against Norway in the March window, perhaps shows the limits to this team.
Gregor Kobel (Dortmund) is the goalkeeper, there’s a lot of Bundesliga regulars here including Nico Elvedi. Inter Milan’s Manuel Akanji is a regular starter along with Monaco’s Denis Zakaria. Switzerland lacks goal scoring firepower, Breel Embolo (Rennes) is their best option, followed by Sevilla’s Ruben Vargas, that’s not a forward pack likely to scare some of the best teams at this tournament, but they should top their group against fellow UEFA competitor Bosnia, host nation Canada, and a struggling Qatar side before tougher challenges await.
16. Colombia
(Group K with Portugal, DR Congo, and Uzbekistan)
Colombia are struggling for form at exactly the wrong time, they played great when they surged into the Copa America final before narrowly losing to Argentina in extra time. They qualified with some solid results in South America, including a 6-3 demolition of Venezuela in the final matchday that ended their neighbors World Cup dream, but the March window was a poor one for Las Cafeteros under long-time manager Nestor Lorenzo.
After not tasting defeat in their previous four friendlies, including a 4-0 win over Mexico in October, they fell 2-1 to Croatia and 3-1 to France. Lorenzo trusts and relies on veteran players who are past their prime to carry this team. 37-year-old Camilo Vargas (Atlas) in goal is not a world beater, there’s talent in the backline with Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) but Santiago Arias at 34 is still getting called up.
Colombia has a midfield jam to resolve, James Rodriguez at 34 is battling for fitness and is always a different player for his club than his country. He’s still expected to be the starting #10 if healthy, while 33-year-old Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate) is usually the sub in that pivot role. Richard Rios (Benfica) and Jhon Arias (Palmeiras) are talented, Luis Suarez (Sporting CP) is a budding star, and the best player here is one of the world’s best wingers, Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich). If Lorenzo selects the right team and they don’t concede too easily, that’s the version of Colombia that beat Uruguay and has pushed Brazil and Argentina, but there’s also a version that drew with Canada and couldn’t defend in transition against France’s b team. Colombia looks set to finish second in their group — though the Portugal vs Colombia game is the hottest ticket in World football. If they gel, they are among the best in the world, but it could be a forgettable tournament with the age profile of this team.
15. Belgium
(Group G with Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand)
Belgium are robust favorites to win their group, a favorable draw has improved their odds of tournament success despite the “golden generation” being a thing of the past. Belgium reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and were third place in 2018, before a shock group stage exit in Qatar killed the momentum the national team had built. The 2024 Euros were also rather mediocre, and the qualifying campaign was inconsistent. They drew twice with lower ranked North Macedonia, they beat Wales 4-3 in Brussels and 4-2 in Cardiff, but conceding five goals to Wales isn’t a vote of confidence, even if Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois is the first-choice goalkeeper.
A dominant second half performance spurred them to a 5-2 win over the United States in March, but that was followed by a dull draw against Mexico. This side is inconsistent and likely won’t threaten the elite teams, but they have enough European pedigree and young talent to start the tournament well. 22-year-old Zeno Debast is getting minutes in the backline, prime age midfielders Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta) and Amadou Onana (Aston Villa) are here, as is Manchester City’s 23 year old Jeremy Doku who is now the primary scoring threat.
Veterans Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli) and Axel Witsel (Girona) are among the players from the previous generation still getting called up by manager Rudi Garcia and contributing. Belgium will still beat most teams ranked lower than they are, including the ones in their group, but winning against the top 14 sides is more to ask of them.
Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images
