The greatest competition in sports begins tomorrow. And with this year’s version being super-sized from 32 to 48 teams, the largest competition in sports history will also be getting underway. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the format of the World Cup and are thinking of a traditional American tournament where 48 teams would require 47 games to crown a champion, let me just tell you “NO!” This tournament is going to be a whopping 104 matches spread out over 39 days.
As I have said before
and as I will say many times again, The World Cup is the greatest event in sports. It is so much more than just a competition. It is a gathering of people from all around the world (not just the 48 countries involved) all displaying their patriotism as outwardly as possible. It is a celebration of a sport that is nearly sacred in many societies around the world and that has the ability to break down barriers and unite people (so long as those people are not the Brazilians and Argentines). And in host cities and in participating countries, it turns into a 24/7 party. I’ve seen businesses in Latin America closed during World Cup games and heard of schools cancelling days so kids can stay home and watch the games. Every four years, the greatest collection of soccer talent gathers in order to award the world’s most coveted trophy.
Now, unfortunately for me and for just about all the other fans I know, this World Cup decided to make it nearly impossible for the average person to get tickets to the games. The ticketing process was a nightmare and that is even before I get to the part about how FIFA allowed “the market” to inflate prices to exorbitant levels. Sadly, I will not be traveling to any of the host cities to view any games in person and to experience the fan fests. But that doesn’t mean I won’t still enjoy the games. Detroit, where I live, is going to be hosting their own version of the fan fests – outdoor viewing parties with massive TV screens that are free to attend.
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Before the 1st game kicks off tomorrow, here is a preview of the tournament.
WHERE: The 2026 World Cup is being hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This is the first time there has been 3 host nations. The cities hosting games are Vancouver and Toronto, Canada; Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, Mexico; Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Miami, USA. The Final will be at MetLife Stadium just outside NYC (though stadiums are not permitted to go by their corporate sponsor names during the World Cup and just bear the name of its location, in this case New York New Jersey Stadium).
FORMAT: The 48 teams are broken into 12 groups of 4. Each team is guaranteed three games. In the past, when it was 8 groups of 4, the top 2 from each group advanced to the 16-team knockout rounds. Now, the top 2 from each group in addition to the 8 best third-place teams advance to a 32-team single-elimination tournament. Tiebreakers in the group stage are determined by 1. head-to-head result; 2. goal differential; 3. goals scored; 4. fair play points (based on red and yellow cards received).
FAVORITES: You can check out FanDuel’s full list of odds for the tournament. The following image is the top ten.
Only eight nations have ever won a World Cup. You can see six of them above in spots 1-3 and 5-7. The other 2 nations to have won are Uruguay (15th best odds) and Italy (did not qualify).
BEST PLAYERS: This conversation still has to start with the old guard. Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal are two of the best to ever play this game. And both of them are getting set to appear in their 6th World Cup, which will be a new record for male players (one woman has been in seven). Messi and Argentina are the defending champions having won the Cup in 2022 in Qatar. Ronaldo’s best performance came in his first appearance in 2006 when Portugal made the semifinals. Sure, they are both past their primes, but both are still expected to be starters for their nations when they get going in group play.
A couple other names that have led their respective nations to new heights but who are probably seeing their final World Cup are Croatia’s Luka Modric and Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk.
France’s Kylian Mbappe also needs to be mentioned in any conversation about top players. He led France to the Cup at the 2018 edition in Russia before losing in the 2022 championship game to Messi’s Argentina. Mbappe scored a hat trick in the ‘22 final, becoming one of just 2 players to ever do that. He has 12 total goals across his two appearances; the all-time record is 16, so he very much has the record in site (Messi has 13).
Among the non-favorite teams, some names to know are Erling Haaland of Norway, Moises Caicedo of Ecuador, Luis Diaz of Colombia, Mohamed Salah of Egypt, and Jeremy Doku of Belgium.
Back to the teams most likely to win, these are the names that will be remembered if their country triumphs. For Brazil, it is Vinicius Junior (“Vini”) and Raphinha (many soccer players are known by a single name). Argentina also has Julian Alvarez and Emiliano Martinez, arguably the best goalie in the world, to go with Messi. Portugal features Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha along with Ronaldo. England has Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. The French have Ousmane Dembélé in addition to Mbappe. And Spain has Pedri and Lamine Yamal. Yamal, whose 19th birthday will occur during this World Cup, already has led Spain to a European Championship (2024) and is the future of the sport. Someday, his name will be mentioned along with Pelé, Diego Maradona, Messi, and Ronaldo, as among the best to ever do it.
WHAT ABOUT THE USA?: The American team has the 15th best odds of winning the World Cup, matching Uruguay. They should make it out of their group, and it would be a shock if they did not. The other teams in this group are Australia, Paraguay, and Turkey, all of whom are below the USA on FIFA’s rankings. It also helps the cause that the Americans are among the hosts for this year’s competition, and only 2 hosts have ever failed to make it out of their group (South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022). That said, this squad is not exactly coming in looking that great. In four friendly (soccer speak for a game not a part of a tournament or league play) matches that USA has played in 2026 leading up to these games, they have lost three of them, beating only Senegal while losing to a trio of European teams.
Christian Pulisic is the biggest star on this team, a midfielder who plays for AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A league. In his World Cup debut in 2022, he had one goal and a pair of assists as Team USA made it to the Round of 16. The biggest goal-scoring threat is, in my opinion, Folarin Balogun, who is making his World Cup debut. Balogun, who was born in the USA but moved to the UK when he was just one month old, plays for Monaco in France’s Ligue 1. He recorded 19 goals this past season and has scored 9 goals in his career for the US National Team.
While I expect this team to get out of group, I don’t think a deep run in the knockout stages is a realistic expectation. Much of their success will be determined by how the bracket ends up being filled out. With the new wrinkle of some 3rd place teams advancing past the group stage, it is very difficult to predict who the Americans could play in those early knockout rounds. There are 495 possible arrangements of the 32-team bracket. The USMNT could end up playing a team that finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their group in the round of 32. Depending on how the field ends up, I think the best-case scenario for the USA would be a birth in the quarterfinals, but most likely I believe they only win one game in the bracket and lose in the round of 16.
O’S PICK: As stated above, only 8 nations have ever lifted the Cup. And as the odds for this year’s competition show, it is highly likely that one of them does it again in East Rutherford, NJ, on July 19. The best odds among non-prior winners is Portugal, but I think their window has already closed. They have a great goalie and great defense, but Ronaldo isn’t as potent a goal scorer as he used to be and their newer stars don’t put the ball in net as much as needed to in order to compete with the other top squads.
So picking from the seven prior winners in this World Cup (again, Italy is not going to be there), I am going with the team with the best odds, though that is not the reason why. I am a big fan of Spain’s team and have been since their win in 2010 in South Africa. I think this World Cup will be the official changing of the guard as Messi and Ronaldo exit the stage and Lamine Yamal gets his coronation as the best player on the planet. In an all-European final, Spain will win their second world title.
