{"id":667737,"date":"2026-05-30T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T10:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=667737"},"modified":"2026-06-05T10:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:37:36","slug":"2026-fifa-world-cup-power-rankings-1-5-argentina-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/05\/30\/2026-fifa-world-cup-power-rankings-1-5-argentina-france\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 FIFA World Cup Power Rankings: 1-5 Including Argentina and France"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve finally arrived at the top 5. These are the teams most likely to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy, and these are the players most likely to achieve the biggest moment of their careers this summer in the United States. While there are arguably three clear \u201cfavorites\u201d to win the World Cup, all of the top 5 teams will be able to make a compelling case. Having made it this far, we\u2019ve covered<\/a> and projected<\/a> all 48 teams in the tournament, including the likes of South Africa, Canada, Mexico<\/a>, Colombia, and Germany. Here is your look at the top 5 in the power rankings.<\/p>\n

5. The Netherlands
\n(Group F with Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia)<\/h3>\n

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Ronald Koeman\u2019s Netherlands have fewer superstars<\/a> than the team that reached the 2010 final and 2014 semifinals, but the Dutch were quarterfinalists in 2022 (and Euro 2024 semifinalists) and will continue to aim high this tournament. Memphis Depay is now the nation\u2019s top goalscorer and the most experienced servant on the national team. He plays for Corinthians in Brazil. He\u2019s paired with Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) and Galatasaray\u2019s Noa Lang.<\/p>\n

The Dutch experienced a significant blow when midfielder Jerdy Schouten tore his knee, which means they will need a midfielder to step up in his absence. But there\u2019s more experience in the midfield with Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), and Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City). The midfield is the weak spot if de Jong isn\u2019t fit, along with the team not having a defined striker beyond Memphis. Bart Verbruggen in goal (Brighton & Hove) is respectable, and you still have veteran Premier League figures like Nathan Ak\u00e9 and Virgil van Dijk in the back, plus dangerous attacking full\u2011back Denzel Dumfries from Inter.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands qualified with ease, drawing twice against Poland, who later missed the tournament. They beat Norway in March and drew with Ecuador while playing with 10 men. The group isn\u2019t easy \u2014 Sweden is a banana peel, Japan is a tough customer<\/a>, and Tunisia will fight \u2014 but they should advance and possibly threaten some of the other top contenders.<\/p>\n

4. England
\n(Group L with Croatia, Ghana, and Panama)<\/h3>\n

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Champions in 1966 \u2014 is it \u201ccoming home\u201d for Thomas Tuchel\u2019s England? Many would say it\u2019s not, but this is still an England side that has some of the world\u2019s best players and was perfect in qualifying (and reached the Euro 2024 final). Always under pressure, England still depends on Bayern\u2019s Harry Kane to find goals. They lost to Senegal in June and drew with Uruguay, with a narrow loss to Japan in March. Against the very elite, England frequently don\u2019t click.<\/p>\n

Still, this is a group they should not find terribly difficult, and the squad list is crowded. Barcelona\u2019s Marcus Rashford and Newcastle\u2019s Anthony Gordon are still here. Cole Palmer from Chelsea needs form, and Jude Bellingham at 22 is now in his prime from Real Madrid. There are also newer faces like Aston Villa\u2019s Morgan Rogers and Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze to consider. England can be a bit placid and boring at times \u2014 that\u2019s just how they play \u2014 but Jordan Pickford\u2019s experience matters in close games as a goalkeeper. Ultimately, it just takes a player like Kobbie Mainoo or Rashford having a huge tournament to really improve their odds. Kane is going to be there, hunting goals.<\/p>\n

3. Argentina
\n(Group J with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan)<\/h3>\n

While Argentina have done little in terms of friendlies to prove they are the best team in the world, they won Copa Am\u00e9rica for a second consecutive time in 2024 and lifted the last World Cup. The odds of defending their title remain favorable as they have an easier path to the final. Their group has a couple of tricky games, but to be clear, they are favored in all three matchups. It\u2019s the last ride for Lionel Messi, and Lionel Scaloni has built a squad that still lets the little maestro shine at 38 (he\u2019ll be 39 in June).<\/p>\n

Argentina topped the CONMEBOL table during qualifying, but they did lose to Ecuador in September, along with a draw against Colombia at home in June. This team is all about experience: Emiliano Mart\u00ednez (Aston Villa) is still in goal, Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi (River Plate) is here at 38, along with Tottenham\u2019s Cristian Romero.<\/p>\n

In the midfield, Boca Juniors\u2019 star midfielder Leandro Paredes is here, along with Liverpool\u2019s Alexis Mac Allister, but there are younger players too. Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez (25), Nico Paz (21), and Giuliano Simeone (23) represent the next generation. Messi has a proven goalscorer to pair with in the form of Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez (Atl\u00e9tico Madrid), and Lautaro Mart\u00ednez (Inter Milan). It\u2019s debatable if they have a better squad than England or some of the other UEFA teams, but they are South America\u2019s best team by some margin, with the others having fallen to the wayside. Their confidence \u2014 even their arrogance \u2014 is an asset in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

2. Spain
\n(Group H with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay)<\/h3>\n

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Placed in one of the tournament\u2019s weakest groups, Spain should be on relative cruise control in the first three games, given the 2010 World Cup champions and Euro 2024 champions have their toughest opponent, Uruguay, as their last game. Spain\u2019s first two games are indoors in Atlanta, where they are heavy favorites against first\u2011time participants Cape Verde and a struggling Saudi Arabia side that did stun Argentina in Qatar.<\/p>\n

Spain qualified easily, and only a dead rubber draw against Turkey in November kept them from a perfect record. In the March window, they beat Serbia and drew with Egypt. Spain\u2019s reputation was built by beating Germany, France, and England in consecutive matches at Euro 2024; the talent here is immense. Barcelona\u2019s Joan Garc\u00eda is a third option in goal. You have two U\u201121 talents like Barcelona\u2019s Pau Cubars\u00ed to call on, but also experienced players like Marc Cucurella (Chelsea).<\/p>\n

The Barcelona\u2011influenced midfield with Dani Olmo and Pedri is lethal; Rodri from Manchester City can\u2019t be forgotten. Up front there\u2019s the Real Sociedad star Mikel Oyarzabal, and the wonderkid Lamine Yamal, perhaps the world\u2019s best player who takes on games and changes them on his own. Spain has depth, experience, talent, and youth, and their system under Luis de la Fuente works effectively against top teams. Yamal’s health will have a big impact on whether Spain remain co-favorites or fall further in the pack.<\/p>\n

1. France
\n(Group I with Senegal, Norway, and Iraq)<\/h3>\n

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Despite the tough group, nobody would be shocked if Les Bleus went undefeated. That\u2019s how good Didier Deschamps\u2019 France is, across both club and international football. They are widely regarded as the world\u2019s best team at the moment. The 2022 World Cup finalists and 2018 champions, they exited Euro 2024 in the semifinals. Their only blemish during qualifying was an away draw to Iceland. This March, playing with their \u201cB squad\u201d<\/a> at times, they eased past Brazil and Colombia.<\/p>\n

The talent is incredible. The defense might be the weak spot, but there\u2019s still Dayot Upamecano (Bayern), Ibrahim Konat\u00e9 (Liverpool), and PSG\u2019s Lucas Hern\u00e1ndez here. In the midfield, N\u2019Golo Kant\u00e9 at 35 is still serving as a pivot, but PSG\u2019s Warren Za\u00efre\u2011Emery is now in the mix at 20 years old, along with Real Madrid\u2019s pair of Eduardo Camavinga and Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s forward depth is where they shine. When fit, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 is an elite goalscorer with few equals. He\u2019s joined by Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 (PSG), Inter Milan\u2019s Marcus Thuram, and Bayern Munich\u2019s Michael Olise as frontline options. The \u201cB\u201d side has players like Manchester City\u2019s Rayan Cherki. It would be a shock if anyone can keep France from scoring at least one goal a game, and if they do that, they have a chance to win every time they are on the field.<\/p>\n

World Cup Bracket Based on Power Rankings<\/strong>
\nProjecting out the knockout stage based on the power rankings, the knockouts would go like this.<\/p>\n

Round of 32<\/strong>
\nTop Half<\/p>\n

Germany d. Scotland<\/p>\n

France d. Sweden<\/p>\n

South Korea d. Canada<\/p>\n

Netherlands d. Brazil<\/p>\n

England d. Colombia<\/p>\n

Spain d. Austria<\/p>\n

Paraguay d. Bosnia<\/p>\n

Belgium d. Czechia<\/p>\n

The marquee matchup here would be the Netherlands vs Brazil. Hosts Canada have an intriguing knockout test if they make it this far, while England vs Colombia has star power and heritage.<\/p>\n

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Bottom Half<\/p>\n

Morocco d. Japan<\/p>\n

Senegal d. Ecuador<\/p>\n

Mexico d. Cape Verde<\/p>\n

Norway d. Croatia<\/p>\n

Argentina d. Uruguay<\/p>\n

Turkey d. Egypt<\/p>\n

Switzerland d. Algeria<\/p>\n

Morocco vs Japan would be tricky to project, and Ecuador can beat anyone but also lose to anyone. Norway vs Croatia is the new kids on the block vs an established power. South America gets a showdown with Argentina vs Uruguay, while CAF\u2019s fortunes will be tested based on how Egypt and Algeria do.<\/p>\n

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Round of 16<\/strong>
\nTop Half<\/p>\n

France d. Germany<\/p>\n

Netherlands d. South Korea<\/p>\n

Spain d. England<\/p>\n

Belgium d. Paraguay<\/p>\n

France vs Germany and Spain vs England would be must\u2011see matches. Belgium can find their way into the quarters by virtue of a favorable group.<\/p>\n

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Bottom Half<\/p>\n

Senegal d. Morocco<\/p>\n

Norway d. Mexico<\/p>\n

Argentina d. Turkey<\/p>\n

Portugal d. Switzerland<\/p>\n

Norway would be punching their way into the quarterfinals over the final host nation. Argentina continues to have an easy path, and this would set up a Messi vs Ronaldo quarterfinal. Senegal vs Morocco is a rematch of the closely fought AFCON final.<\/p>\n

Quarterfinals<\/strong>
\nFrance d. Netherlands<\/p>\n

Spain d. Belgium<\/p>\n

Senegal d. Norway<\/p>\n

Argentina d. Portugal<\/p>\n

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The Netherlands have struggled against the very elite of UEFA for a while, Spain has a clear path to the semifinals, and Senegal could be the second African semifinalist ever after Morocco achieved the same feat in 2022. Messi vs Ronaldo, one last dance, would be a dream for fans of the GOATs.<\/p>\n

Semifinals<\/strong>
\nArgentina d. Senegal
\nFrance d. Spain<\/p>\n

(Spain d. Senegal for third place)<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s path to another final is easier than their UEFA counterparts. Many would argue that Spain vs France is the matchup of the two best teams facing off. In the final, France would be slight favorites, but Lionel Scaloni\u2019s Argentina are never to be counted out.<\/p>\n

Final<\/strong>
\nFrance d. Argentina<\/p>\n

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Main Photo Credit: Smartframe Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve finally arrived at the top 5. These are the teams most likely to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy, and these are the players most likely to achieve the biggest moment of their careers this summer in the United States. While there are arguably three clear \u201cfavorites\u201d to win the World Cup, all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":668349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":true,"sfio_embed_code":"<\/smartframe-embed>","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,2132],"tags":[798,979,32736,450,264,961,9865,41,423,439,756,437,2157],"class_list":["post-667737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-world-cup","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-argentina","tag-england","tag-france","tag-harry-kane","tag-kylian-mbappe","tag-lamine-yamal","tag-lionel-messi","tag-netherlands","tag-spain","tag-virgil-van-dijk","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-predictions"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667737"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":670140,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667737\/revisions\/670140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}