It’s finally here! The highly anticipated (and criticized) 2026 World Cup is ready to rock and roll. This is the first tournament hosted by three countries and a 48-team field. Defending champions Argentina will attempt to become the first back-to-back winners since Brazil in 1962, but the #1-ranked team has never won since the FIFA rankings began in 1992. Germany is currently ranked 10th and will look to make it out of the group stage for the first time since winning the 2014 World Cup.
Here are
the predictions from BFW’s team of writers.
Michael Scott aka LoneStar249
Champion: Spain
Golden Ball: Kylian Mbappé
Golden Boot: Harry Kane
Young Player: Lamine Yamal
Biggest Surprise: African teams
Biggest Disappointment: The host nations failing to make the quarterfinal
Germany: Win Group E, lose to Netherlands in the Round of 16
With eight of the 12 third-place teams advancing to the knockout rounds, I expect a lot of defensive draws in the group stage as teams adjust to the humidity. Once we reach the Round of 16 and stadiums start filling up, teams will turn it on give everyone a show. France will reach the final for the third consecutive tournament but fall to an outstanding Spain side that wins every single match.
Dylan van Vulpen
Champion: Spain
Golden Ball: Lamine Yamal
Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé
Young Player: Nico O’Reily
Biggest Surprise: Japan
Biggest Disappointment: Brazil
Germany: Win group E, lose to France in the Round of 16
Germany will have an admirable World Cup, putting in convincing performances until they face their first major hurdle against France. Germany will give Les Bleus a tough game, but will ultimately fumble at the hands of Didier Deschamps’s men.
Spain will come out as tournament winners, reminding the footballing world that the best team wins the World Cup, not the team with the best players. Lamine Yamal will provide the X-factor, cementing his world-class status for club and country.
This World Cup is going to be defined as a closing chapter for some of football’s greatest players of all time while handing the gauntlet over to the players who will define the next generation of football. This will be the last time we ever see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — Luka Modrić and Kevin De Bruyne too — kit up for the greatest sporting event in the world. Regardless of drama, politics, and scandals, I plan to enjoy every second watching the two greatest players the world has ever seen in their World Cup swan song.
Zippy
Champion: France
Golden Ball: Michael Olise
Golden Boot: Michael Olise
Young Player: Endrick
Biggest Surprise: USMNT
Biggest Disappointment: England
Germany: Win Group E, reach semifinals
Germany will sort themselves out and roll into the knockouts off a string of solid group stage victories that will boost team confidence. If the strikers have a good tournament, they could go all the way. As it stands, that might be too bold.
Bayern’s Michael Olise should be one of the stars, or at least most prolific players of the tournament. Real Madrid forward Endrick — who spent the last half-season shining on loan at Lyon — could also steal the show for a Brazil side I expect to go far.
A few other players to watch. Bayern Munich has a youngster of their own to keep an eye on — Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, who asserted himself and was a surprise inclusion in Senegal’s final squad. RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande is another one to watch from a Bundesliga perspective. The Germans will get a good look up close when they play Ivory Coast.
RuneKingThor
Champion: France
Golden Ball: Michael Olise
Golden Boot: Harry Kane
Young Player: Lamine Yamal
Biggest Surprise: Mexico
Biggest Disappointment: Argentina
Germany: Win group E, reach quarterfinals
Given the quality and tradition of Germany, it is a surprise that the nation has not gone past the group stages since being crowned champions in 2014. The expanded size should see the Germans breeze past the group stage and enter the knockouts after a 12 year wait. Joshua Kimmich and the team on paper can reach the quarterfinals. However, defensive stability and chance conversion will dictate how the expectations actually play out on the field.
France are the favorites to win the tournament once again. The entire French attack is their X-factor on the field while Didier Deschamps is the X-factor off the pitch. Make no mistake, Deschamps is the perfect candidate who has repeatedly proven himself in managing the biggest talents and the egos that come with it.
The biggest sporting tournament of the beautiful game is back! Every edition has always managed to spring its own surprise in uncovering talent from different pockets of the world. With North America playing the hosts, the NA teams will be at full power playing in front of their home fans. Mexico in particular will receive the extra boost and hopefully break their 5th game curse.
Argentina will be in a tricky place as defending champions as anything short of a semifinal will be seen as a disappointment. This could perhaps be the last time that we witness Lionel Messi in the World Cup. A true phenom of the sport, Messi has won it all. However, the curse of the champions has a weird way of playing out that even a stacked French team could not beat.
Expanded tournaments contain a wide range of teams with the intensity varying starkly between games. Argentina like to go all out and this could come to bite them back. Going from playing Jordan in the last group game to either Spain or Uruguay in the Ro32 and potentially England or Croatia in the Ro16 could catch the reigning champions lethally off-guard. With the additional pressure of defending their crown, the early knockout phase is the most dangerous for Messi and co.
As for disappointments…got a bad feeling about Thomas Tuchel and England. It’s been too positive so far. Spain may also not get as far as some expect after their EURO 2024 triumph, but they are a solid side.
The USMNT is my dark horse for this tournament. Home turf boost and this is a surprisingly solid group that has gelled under Mauricio Pochettino. We saw last weekend the kind of fight they have in them even after getting socked with an early goal. They still go out in the quarters.
Frank Mo
Champion: France
Golden Ball: Kylian Mbappé
Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé
Young Player: Yan Diomande
Biggest Surprise: Morocco
Biggest Disappointment: Netherlands
Germany: 2nd in Group E, out in quarterfinals
France’s squad is just too strong to bet against. The attack is just ridiculous- after all, they could bench the reigning Ballon D’or winner and still field the best attack in the tournament- while the defense is imperious. The midfield has surprisingly developed into something of a weak spot, but it is only weak relative to the rest of the team. Failing with this team will take some doing.
If France win, then France will play the joint most games and their top goal scorer will likely win the Golden Boot. That is Kylian Mbappe and he is by far their most famous star, so he would also be awarded with the Golden Ball upon their victory.
Ivory Coast will shock a lot of people and Yan Diomande will be at the forefront of it all. Their system is perhaps not as suited to wing play as Rasenballsport Leipzig’s, but the star power up front will help keep attention away of Diomande and let him play at his devastating best.
However, I believe Morocco to be the best of the African teams. I do not see many people putting him in the top 10 favorites, which I simply cannot understand. Their squad is filled with top European players. Because expectations for the team are so low, I believe Morocco will be the surprise of the World Cup.
I am tired of people believing the Netherlands are good. They reached the semifinals of the last 2024 Euros, but only because they squeaked by in 3rd place. Apparently, this algorithm that predicted the last three winners of the World Cup picked the Netherlands to win, so I’m going to go against the grain and say they will disappoint. Surely I will be proven right over the extremely successful algorithm, right?
I wish for Germany to continue their progress and another quarterfinal exit would still be acceptable. The team remains susceptible to fast breaks in behind and is prone to many underwhelming periods of play within matches, but at their brilliant best they look phenomenal and have weathered difficult circumstances to win vs Finland and the USA in test matches. I will tip them to overcame a very difficult opponent in the Round of 16 and then exit in the next stage, to preserve some euphoria and belief in the nation and finally end the run of group stage exits.
Jack Laushway
Champion: Germany
Golden Ball: Vitinha
Golden Boot: Kai Havertz
Young Player: Kenan Yildiz
Biggest Surprise: Ecuador
Biggest Disappointment: Spain losing in Round of 32 to Argentina
Germany: Win Group E with 7 points, and shock the world by beating France in the Round of 16 after an early red card from France costs them the match. With Spain and France both out, Germany finds serious confidence in the QF and SF before pulling off one last upset against Portugal in the final in penalties.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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