England Qualified for the 2026 World Cup with a perfect record, winning all their matches without conceding any goals.
Runners-up at the last two European Championships and World Cup quarter-finalists in Qatar three years ago, there is real expectation that this will be the Three Lions’ year under new head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Bookmakers also want England to perform well in the summer, with most placing them as second favorites behind Spain.
european champion spain England were close to finishing with a perfect campaign, but a 2–2 draw against Turkey in their final qualifying match put the only small blemish on their record.
Spain were deserved winners at Euro 2024 after beating England in the final, and they have one of the best players in the world in teenage Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal.
Apart from a penalty shootout defeat in June’s Nations League final against Portugal, they have not lost a competitive game since facing Scotland in March 2023.
France, The runners-up in Qatar in 2022 are also strong competitors for their final major tournament under Didier Deschamps and remained unbeaten in European qualifying.
Opta’s super-computer places the three European sides as favourites, giving Spain a 17% chance of victory, England 11.8% and France 14.1%.
Germany, Those who lost their opening qualifier but secured their place by winning the next five matches on the spin have also been highly praised by bookmakers and data experts, while Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia and Norway Also remained unbeaten in European qualifying.
was less impressive brazilian qualifying campaign, as they finished fifth in the CONMEBOL table and lost six of 18 matches. However, despite Opta placing them in seventh place, that hasn’t stopped many bookmakers from placing them as fourth favourites.
current world cup champion argentina Somehow won the South American qualifying group and finished nine points above second place Ecuador,
Brazil is the only team to win consecutive World Cups, in 1958 and 1962, but with Lionel Messi expected to be included, Argentina will be one of the favorites for glory.
The standout sides from the Asian qualifying round were Japan, Who lost just one match on their way to next summer’s tournament.
Surprising semi-finalist in Qatar, morocco They won all eight of their African qualifying matches and could again pose a threat to the traditional big nations, while Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Tunisia also remained unbeaten.
However, with Afcon starting later this month, competing in two major tournaments in the space of six months could prove to be a difficult task for African countries.
Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that this will be his final World Cup and his Portugal team should not be discounted, while Euro 2020 champions Italy will have to go through the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup, but they can never be ruled out on the big stage.