Three Predictions for the Rest of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Amid a sweltering, wild American summer, the Round of 32 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has kicked off and will continue through July 7th. Team Canada is the first team to advance, knocking off South Africa, and will await the winner of tonight's matchup between Morocco and the Netherlands. This tournament has already been one for the ages, with Lionel Messi making history and Team USA performing at heights we have never seen from the Americans. With plenty of history still left to be made in the coming days, here’s how I see a few things shaking out.
Team USA Moves on to the Round of 16 and Possibly Further
They’ve been the story and team of the tournament, and it’s not just because Team USA is one of three host countries. In two games where Folarin Balogun and company have been fully healthy and loaded, the competition wasn’t even close. After beating up Paraguay, the Stars and Stripes dominated Australia 2-0 without the presence of Christian Pulisic. To close the Group Stage, Team Turkiye got the best of an undermanned USA squad, but, as Zlatan Ibrahimović said on the postgame show, that game “does not matter”.
With both ‘Flo’ and ‘Captain America’ on the pitch, Mauricio Pochettino’s club has a date with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. Although the Bosnians have made for a good story due to their feverish fanbase, it’s still a team that managed only one win in the opening round against lowly Qatar, who finished 0-1-2. Beyond that contest, in which America will be the heavy favorite, the winner of the Belgium-Senegal match will be the competition's heavy favorite. Belgium won Group G with one win and two draws, while Senegal dropped two of three. For all intents and purposes, this is the clearest path for Team USA to return to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2014.
What will give Pochettino pause is who awaits his team after the Round of 16. A combination of Spain, Portugal, and Croatia is the field of soccer royalty that Team USA could play. Cristiano Ronaldo’s club has probably had the toughest go of it this tournament, with Spain being the only country out of the three to win its group and advance without a loss or more than one draw. However, even the mighty Spanish have had shaky moments so far, with a draw against an inexperienced Cape Verde being their biggest blemish in 2026. It’s a crazy thing to say, but of all the teams I’ve mentioned so far that are playing on that side of the bracket, Team USA sticks out to me as the team with the most momentum and the easiest schedule-meaning the odds to make it to the Quarterfinals are well within reach.
Brazil Does Not Make It Past the Round of 32
Speaking of crazy things to say, here’s something that will infuriate nearly 220 million people. While Brazil will be a very popular pick to advance past the knockout stage, I just think the team awaiting them is better. Carlo Ancelotti’s squad has the pedigree, and obviously he does as a coach, but one cannot deny that they weren’t properly tested in the opening round. With a group consisting of two great football nations, Morocco and Brazil, the other two teams in Group C, Haiti and Scotland, would never have been expected to perform as well as they did. The way I see it, "A Seleção" will narrowly beat a feisty Japanese squad before losing to Erling Haaland and Team Norway.
Argentina and France Will Meet Once Again in the Final
For the first time since the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, I’m predicting that the same teams will meet each other in the Final in back-to-back tournaments. Funnily enough, Argentina was a part of both of those games as well, with Diego Maradona’s squad winning in ‘86 and West Germany winning in ‘90. It might be cliché to predict a repeat, but it just feels like the story that makes the most sense. Messi on what could be his last ride, either winning back-to-back World Cup Finals, or handing the torch to Kylian Mbappé, who would finally claim something that has eluded him for years. There will be plenty of challengers who could make trouble for the two squads, such as Lamine Yamal and Spain, or an unknown dark horse club that gives Argentina problems, but I just think this is a matchup four years in the making that was always inevitable. History repeats in a fashion similar to 1990, with the previous tournament’s runner-up winning the next year- I’ve got Team France winning in 2026.
