The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday when Mexico and South Africa square off in Mexico City. The United States Men’s National Team opens up what they hope is a deep run in the tournament when they battle Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on Friday night. Along with the United States and Mexico, Canada will also host a number of games during the tournament that will run until July 19th.
Since the United States last hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1994, the number of teams has now doubled. During the 1994 edition,
there were 24 teams vying for soccer’s greatest championship. 2026 will mark the first time there will be 48 nations competing to be the best in the world. Hopefully, the College Football Playoff doesn’t get any ideas and tries to expand to a 48-team playoff since nobody is clamoring for that many teams to be involved in the postseason.
While we don’t want the College Football Playoff to turn into the FIFA World Cup when it comes to the number of teams involved, we can look for similarities when it comes to the teams involved in both tournaments. Today, we are going to try to find the World Cup squad that is the closest comparison to the Ohio State Buckeyes. With so many teams competing in the FIFA World Cup over the next month, there are bound to be some interesting opinions on which nation’s team most resembles the men of the scarlet and gray.
Today’s question: Which team in the FIFA World Cup is most similar to Ohio State football?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Spain
Despite the two squads having different shades of red, there are a lot of similarities between La Roja and the Buckeyes. Spain enters the 2026 FIFA World Cup ranked second in FIFA’s rankings, which is a spot we could see Ohio State ranked when the initial season rankings are released in a couple of months. The 2010 FIFA World Cup champs are a popular pick to win their second title this year, while Ohio State currently is the favorite to win the upcoming College Football Playoff.
Along with being at the top of their sports, Spain and Ohio State also have a massive collection of talent. Much like how wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is seen as a generational talent for the Buckeyes, La Roja has Lamine Yamal, who many are looking at as the next massive soccer star. If you’re looking for a quarterback comparison, the Julian Sayin of Spain is Rodri, who is the team’s captain. Smith and Yamal will get more attention on their respective teams, but Sayin and Rodri are the engines that run their squads.
Another similarity between Spain and Ohio State is that they both can be wildly entertaining, as well as wildly frustrating at times. In the loss to Miami in the CFP quarterfinals, the Buckeyes were overwhelmed by the Hurricanes. Last time Spain played a FIFA World Cup game, La Roja looked stuck in the mud against Morocco in a match they were heavy favorites heading into. Spain was sent home in the round of 16 when they lost in penalty kicks. At least Ohio State won’t have to wait four years to try and wash the bad taste out of their mouths from the loss.
This will be the first FIFA World Cup for Luis de la Fuente, who is the manager of Spain. The comparison between de la Fuente and Ryan Day isn’t exact since de la Fuente managed a few teams in La Liga in Spain, starting in 2013. He worked his way up the national team coaching ranks before being appointed manager of the main squad in December 2022. The rise by de la Fuente brings back some memories of Day’s rise in a way. Despite de la Fuente’s previous managerial experience, this is by far his biggest job, much like how Ohio State was far and away bigger than any job Day had held prior to being named the head coach in Columbus.
The last time Spain competed in a major tournament was when they won Euro 2024, taking down England 2-1 in the final. Ohio State responded by winning the CFP at the end of the 2024 season. If La Roja are able to lift the trophy next month, the final could be a good sign for the title hopes for the Buckeyes this season.
Matt’s answer: France
Admittedly, this is a question far more suited for Brett’s areas of expertise. He is a much bigger soccer fan than I am, as, while I have always enjoyed the game, my knowledge of international football is limited to what my 11-year-old nephew tells me about his video games and card collecting.
So, while I think that Brett taking Spain is a little on the nose, I am going to go with another European power as the best Ohio State football analogue: France.
Now I know that many red-blooded Americans in Buckeye Nation will cringe at the idea of OSU being compared to the Frenchies, but hear me out. France enters every major tournament — including the World Cup — with a roster that is chock full of some of the most absurdly talented players in the game, much like our beloved Buckeyes.
From global superstar Kylian Mbappé to FIFA’s reigning Best Men’s Player of the Year, Ousmane Dembélé, to one of the best defenders in the world, William Saliba, to up-and-coming superstar Désiré Doué, France has it all. It isn’t difficult to transpose Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., and Chris Henry Jr. over top that roster and see the similarities.
Like Ohio State, France is not just expected to simply win games; France is expected to win trophies. Getting to the quarterfinals is not an acceptable level of accomplishment for Les Bleus. Making a deep run but falling short is not automatically celebrated. That is the Ohio State experience in international soccer form. You can be elite, respected, feared, and loaded, and still spend the entire offseason answering questions about why you did not finish the job.
There is also the style piece. France, like Ohio State, can overwhelm you with talent in space. The athleticism jumps off the screen. The skill is obvious. But when things get tight, the scrutiny gets louder. Are they too conservative? Are they maximizing all that talent? Is the manager (or coach, depending on which side of the Atlantic you hail from) getting enough out of the roster, or just getting in the way?
So, no, Ohio State is not Spain; Ohio State is France: impossibly talented, annually dangerous, judged only by championships, and somehow always one loss away from a national referendum.
