FIFA World Cup: Star players, form and group predictions - G to L

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ kicks off this week and we cannot wait!

The World Cup is the biggest stage in world sport and we've taken a close look at all 48 teams across the 12 groups.

Check out Groups G to L below:

See Groups A to F HERE.

GROUP G

Belgium

Tues 16 Jun vs Egypt
Mon 22 Jun vs Iran
Sat 27 Jun vs New Zealand

FIFA ranking: 9

Qualifying: Finished top of a group featuring – Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan & Liechtenstein without losing a game.

Kevin De Bruyne & Jeremy Doku starred with 11 goals between them across the 8-game campaign.

Coach: French Manager Rudi Garcia took over from Dominic Tedesco after the 2024 Euros – beginning a regeneration of an aging squad. Garcia formally managed Napoli, Roma, Marseille & Lyon playing a proactive style based on possession and high-pressing.

Stars: Despite the regeneration – Kevin De Bruyne is still the key cog at the heart of their midfield and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois had a terrific qualifying series.

Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard & Andre Onana have all been consistent Premier League starters this season for Man City, Arsenal & Aston Villa. Sporting centre-back Zeno Debast leads a new-look back-line.

Expectation: No longer labelled the Golden Generation but still with a golden tinge. Have more than enough to get through this group – getting deep into the tournament will be a lot more difficult.

Egypt

Tues 16 Jun vs Belgium
Mon 22 Jun vs New Zealand
Sat 27 Jun vs Iran

FIFA Ranking: 29

Qualifying: Like most of the top African nations – breezed through qualifying - winning all but 2 of their 10 qualifiers and beating out Burkino Faso to top spot by 5 points – scoring 20 goals and conceding 2.

Coach: National Hero Hossam Hassan – took over the job in 2024 after a 177 caps and 69 goals for the national team as a player & a wide ranging club coaching career taking over after the 2023 Cup of Nations campaign.

The team were beaten in the Semi-Final of the latest campaign by eventual champions Senegal.

Hassan’s twin brother Ibrahim (a winner of 133 caps) is also a member of the coaching staff.

Stars: Mo Salah is still the captain and expected to lead the line alongside Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush.

The remainder of the squad are largely drawn from the Egyptian Premier League giants Ah-Ahly and Zamalek – Mahmoud Trezeguet the most notable – formerly of Aston Villa & Anderlecht – could bring up his 100th cap during the tournament.

Expectation: Should follow Belgium through without too much trouble here – given their experience in international tournaments (albeit it more often in the African Cup of Nations.)

A knock-out win or two would be a superb way to send off Mohammed Salah in what will be his 2nd and last World Cup.

Iran

Tues 16 Jun vs New Zealand
Mon 22 Jun vs Belgium
Sat 27 Jun vs Egypt

FIFA Ranking: 20

Qualifying: Won their qualifying group ahead of Uzbekistan, the UAE & Qatar to qualify. Since then have struggled winning just one of their 5 friendly matches since then.

0-0 draws with Cape Verde in Dubai & a 2-1 loss to Nigeria in Turkiye in March have some observers worried about their ability to generate consistent chances.

Coach: Amir Ghalenoei took charge of the team after the 2023 Asian Cup where they knocked out Japan in the Quarter-Finals before losing to eventual Champions Qatar in the Semi-Finals.

He is battling both political turmoil at home – where the team departed overnight for Turkiye to prepare and apply for visas to fly to the USA for the tournament and in naming a playing squad with star striker Sardar Azmoun omitted from the squad following criticism of Iran’s current ruling regime.

Stars: Azmoun’s omission leaves the attacking responsibility in the hands of Olympiacos Striker and National Team Legend Mehdi Taremi who was at the centre of protests against the Ayatollah during the last World Cup in Qatar.

The majority of the rest of the squad are drawn from clubs in the Middle East – Ali Alipour has been a standout in the Asian Champions League with Persepolis over the past 2 seasons.

Expectation: The circumstances make it very difficult to see them progressing – although a 2nd placed finish could see them meet the United States (or the Socceroos) in the Round of 32. Either clash would be one of the most built-up fixtures in the tournament.

New Zealand

Tues 16 Jun vs Iran
Mon 22 Jun vs Egypt
Sat 27 Jun vs Belgium

FIFA Ranking: 85

Qualifying: Won the OFC qualifying series with a 7-0 victory over Fiji at the Cake Tin before a 3-0 win over New Caledonia at Eden Park thanks to goals from Michael Boxall, Kosta Barbarouses & Eli Just.

Despite a run of 8 games without a win last year a 4-1 defeat of Chile in March has provided some hope they can be competitive in a tough group.

Coach: Englishman Darren Bazeley has been in charge since 2023 – moving to Australia for the start of the A-League as a player with the New Zealand Knights – Bazeley has never left!

He took on the role after consistent involvement with the New Zealand junior system since 2011.

Stars: Nottingham Forest Striker Chris Wood is coming off the back of two strong seasons in the Premier League – vice-captain Marko Stamenic is just 24-years-old plying his trade in the Championship for Swansea City.

Alex Paulsen, Ben Old, Eli Just and Ben Waine are all familiar names to A-League audiences and are all now plying their trade in Europe.

Expectation: A swansong for a lot of players like Wood – the youngsters will be up for it… a win would be a massive achievement.

GROUP H

Spain

Tues 16 Jun vs Cape Verde
Mon 22 Jun vs Saudi Arabia
Sat 27 Jun vs Uruguay

FIFA Ranking: 2

Qualifying: Finished top of their qualifying group just 3 points ahead of Turkiye after being held to a 2-2 draw in Seville having already won 6-0 in Turkiye.

Bulgaria and Georgia were swatted aside comfortably home-and-away but the European Champions.

Coach: Luis de la Fuente leads La Roja to a 2nd major tournament having beaten England in 2024 European Championship Final – following on from the 2023 Nations League triumph a few months earlier.

Spain are unbeaten since a March 2024 friendly against Colombia (a run of 28 games) – and haven’t lost a competitive game inside 90 minutes since a Euros Qualification tie against Scotland in March 2023 (a run of 32 games).

De la Fuente’s contract runs until the end of the 2028 Euros in the UK & Ireland.

Stars: Lamine Yamal has had another terrific season with Barcelona but is under an injury cloud and expected to be rested for at least the opening game against Cape Verde.

Their depth is the envy of the rest of the world – Pedri & Gavi are the next generation of Barcelona stars along with Yamal.

Mikel Oyarzabal is expected to fill the centre-forward role he occupied during the Euros.

Expectation: Favourites to win it all with the most complete squad and an experienced Head Coach. They’re run to the final isn’t simple though – Germany, Japan, France could all meet them before the final.

Cape Verde

Tues 16 Jun vs Spain
Mon 22 Jun vs Uruguay
Sat 27 Jun vs Saudi Arabia

FIFA Ranking: 69

Qualifying: Topped a qualifying group that included Cameroon by 4 points to qualify for their first World Cup.

It was even more surprising given they’d failed to qualify for the end of year African Cup of Nations – although in 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire they’d shocked plenty by qualifying for the Quarter-Finals.

Coach: Pedro Leitao Brito known as Bubista – is the former captain of the National Team & Head Coach since 2020.

His only coaching experience is across several club sides in Cape Verde & he’s served two stints as assistant before rising to the role of Head Coach.

Stars: Dailon Livramento is the star striker – scoring 4 goals in qualifying – he’s currently on loan at Casa Pia in Portugal from parent club Hellas Verona.

Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro is currently at PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands – and left-back Joao Paulo has been a regular starter in Switzerland with Basel.

Expectation: They’re a hipster pick to do well this tournament – I can’t tell you if that’s accurate but there are enough voices saying it to make me believe it.

Won’t beat Spain but 1 win to go through against a poor Saudi Arabia and an understrength Uruguay is possible.

Saudi Arabia

Tues 16 Jun vs Uruguay
Mon 22 Jun vs Spain
Sat 27 Jun vs Cape Verde

FIFA Ranking: 61

Qualifying: Struggled through qualifying – finishing 3rd – 6 points behind the Socceroos before winning their 4th Round Group (where they hosted all 3 games) ahead of Iraq and Indonesia on goals-scored.

The process drew criticism from Iraq Head Coach Graham Arnold due to the opaque nature of AFC’s decision over who hosted the group.

Coach: Former boss Herve Renard was sacked with 55 days until the World Cup’s start after a 4th place finish in the FIFA Arab Cup – with former Greek International Georgios Donis filling the hotseat.

Donis has recently been coaching in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Khaalej & Al Wehdah. He was previously in charge of Al Hilal taking over after their defeat to the Western Sydney Wanderers in the 2014 Final.

Stars: As usual – all players are drawn from the Pro League – Salem Al-Dawsari of Al Hilal, who catalysed the upset of Argentina in Qatar had lost his spot in the starting lineup under Renard to Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammate – Abdullah Al Hamdan at Al Nassr – although he’s only managed 5 goals in 19 appearances this season.

Expectation: After being extremely fortunate to qualify and then sacking their coach two months out from the tournament they’ve heavy favourites to finish bottom of the group.

Uruguay

Tues 16 Jun vs Saudi Arabia
Mon 22 Jun vs Cape Verde
Sat 27 Jun vs Spain

FIFA Ranking: 17

Qualifying: Finished 4th in CONMEBOL Qualifying ahead of Brazil – starting strongly before their form tailed away with qualification all but secured.

Coach: Legendary Argentine Marcelo Bielsa will take the team to his 4th World Cup – after taking over in 2023. They can take confidence from their 2024 Copa America performance where they knocked out Brazil on penalties after topping their group with a perfect record before falling to Colombia in the Semi-Final in Charlotte.

Stars: Fede Valverde has taken the mantle from Luis Suarez as the team’s talisman – Man Utd’s Manuel Ugarte and Sporting Lisbon’s Maximiliano Araujo are two of the few others drawn from European clubs though.

Top Scorer in qualifying Darwin Nunez now plies his trade in Saudi, while several of the squad are drawn from Mexican and Brazilian clubs.

Expectation: They should get out of the group – but a win after that is going to be difficult given they’ll likely face England or Croatia.

GROUP I

France

Weds 17 Jun vs Senegal
Tues 23 Jun vs Iraq
Sat 27 Jun vs Norway

FIFA Ranking: 1

Qualifying: Finished top of their qualifying group ahead of Ukraine, Iceland & Azerbaijian – won 5 drew 1 (against Iceland in Reykjavik). Mbappe topped the scorers list – scoring 5 goals in 6 games.

Coach: 2018 World Cup Winning Coach and 1998 Cup winning Captain – Didier Deschamps is in charge – as he has been since 2012 – qualifying Le Bleur for the last 2 finals.

Intense speculation continues to surround his future with no contract signed post-World Cup.

Deschamps furthered those rumours saying he was “ruling nothing out” when asked about the vacant Italy jobbed post-World Cup.

Faced criticism after their Semi-Final defeat to Spain in the 2024 Euros Semi-Final.

Will be unbeaten for exactly a year if they avoid defeat to the Ivory Coast & Northern Ireland in lead-up to the tournament.

Stars: Kylian Mbappe was the 2018 Golden Boot Winner & Ousmane Dembele is the reigning Ballon D’Or winner!

Michael Olise has starred this year for Bayern, Desire Doue, Marcus Thuram, Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki are all proven European performers.

Expectation: The only thing stopping them from making the final is the fact they’ll likely face Spain in the Semi-Final. They also need to fit all their attacking talent in the same side – a headache that most other countries would like to have.

Senegal

Weds 17 Jun vs France
Tues 23 Jun vs Norway
Sat 27 Jun vs Iraq

FIFA Ranking: 14

Qualifying: Qualified top of their group ahead of DR Congo – by 2 points to secure their spot in the finals after a relatively straight-forward campaign. Won the AFCON Final against Morocco although the result is still under dispute with the case to be heard in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Coach: Pape Thiaw is one of the younger managers at the tournament – and was at the centre of the controversy around the Senegalese walk-off during the AFCON Final.

He was found guilty by CAF of ‘unsporting conduct’ & ‘bringing the game in to disrepute’ – fined $US100,000 and banned from the touchline for 5 games – meaning he’s unlikely to be sighted on the sideline during the tournament.

Stars: Sadio Mane is still the team’s star despite now playing his football alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.

Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Illiman Ndiaye (Everton), Idrissa Gueye (Everton) & Pape Sarr (Spurs) all ply their trade in the Premier League.

Expectation: African Champions* and will provide a stiff test for the French & Norway – will want to avoid finishing 3rd but even if they do – a good chance of winning a Round of 32 game and making some noise later in the tournament.

*Search ‘AFCON Final Controversy’

Iraq

Weds 17 Jun vs Norway
Tues 23 Jun vs France
Sat 27 Jun vs Senegal

FIFA Ranking: 57

Qualifying: Took the longest route through qualifying of any team – securing their place as the final qualifiers in the tournament defeating Bolivia 2-1.

After finishing behind Jordan and South Korea & losing out to Saudi Arabia on goal difference a 3-2 win over two-legs against the UAE secured Graham Arnold’s place in a inter-confederation play-off for the 2nd straight World Cup qualifying campaign.

Coach: Graham Arnold – the former Socceroos coach took over during the 3rd Round – and has already become a hero in the war-torn nation for guiding them to their first World Cup since 1986.

The qualifying success followed a disappointing Arab Cup campaign where they were knocked out in the Quarter-Finals by Jordan.

Former Sydney FC & Newcastle Jets winger Ali Abbas is operating as Arnold’s translator.

Stars: The two goalscorers in the play-off against Bolivia were strike partners – 30yo Aymen Hussein & Luton Town’s Ali Al-Hamadi.

Midfielder Amir Al-Ammari is one of the few other players playing outside the middle east in Poland with Cracovia.

Expectations: After such an arduous qualifying campaign – could not have landed in a tougher group. Anything better than 3 losses and Arnie may well be seen as a national deity in Iraq where he is already beloved.

Norway

Weds 17 Jun vs Iraq
Tues 23 Jun vs Senegal
Sat 27 Jun vs France

FIFA Ranking: 31

Qualifying: Topped their group with a perfect 8 wins from 8 ahead of Italy, Israel, Estonia & Andorra.

The 4-1 win over Italy at San Siro secured their place at the tournament with Erling Haaland managing a remarkable 16 goals in the campaign.

Coach: Stale Solbakken is the first manager to take the Norwegians to a World Cup since 1998.

He’s been in the role since 2020 – taking over midway through the failed 2022 qualification campaign.

Faced pressure after missing 2024 Euros qualifying behind Spain & Scotland but recovered to gain promotion to League A of the Nations League before securing qualification for the World Cup.

Stars: Erling Haaland led the team in qualifying along with Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard who will be fresh off lifting the Premier League trophy despite an injury affected season.

Fulham pair Sander Berge and Oscar Bobb & Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth – will all be key.

Expectation: Very high given they haven’t played in a major tournament since 1998 when they were knocked out in the group stages. Think of them as this generation’s Belgium – which means Quarter-Finals are likely before a heart-breaking defeat to a more historic footballing power.

GROUP J

Argentina

Weds 17 Jun vs Algeria
Tues 23 Jun vs Austria
Sun 28 Jun vs Jordan

FIFA Ranking: 3

Qualifying: Finished top of CONMEBOL Qualifying for the first time in the Round Robin era dating back to 1998 – re-inventing themselves in the process to lessen their reliance on Lionel Messi – although he was still the top scorer in qualifying with 8.

Victories against Brazil home-and-away the highlight of the campaign.

Coach: Lionel Scaloni is still in his first senior coaching role! Following the 2022 World Cup victory with success in the 2024 Copa America in an unprecedented era of success for the Argentine National Team.

He is yet to sign on beyond this World Cup and there is strong speculation he will depart after the end of this campaign.

There have been some questions about preparation for this tournament with a notable lack of quality opposition – wins over Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania & Zambia have been viewed as a blatant cash grab by the country’s football association keen to rake in the cash in Messi’s final years in an Albiceleste shirt.

Stars: Leo Messi will captain and lead the side at his 5th World Cup.

Julian Alvarez is, to most judges, now the team’s best player – after a sterling season with Atletico Madrid.

Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Macallister & Rodrigo De Paul will play key roles again.

There are some questions over their backline with Cristian Romero coming off an injury affected season at Tottenham & Nicolás Otamendi still the first choice at 37 years old.

Expectation: Reigning champions with a real chance of going back to back… particularly if they meet England in a Semi-Final…

Algeria

Weds 17 Jun vs Argentina
Tues 23 Jun vs Jordan
Sat 28 Jun vs Austria

FIFA Ranking: 28

Qualifying: Lost only one match in qualifying at home to Guinea and finished top of the group by 7 points in a straightforward series.

Coach: Bosnian – Vladimir Petkovic takes Algeria to his 2nd World Cup (after leading Switzerland in 2018 – where they reached the Round of 16).

He led them to the Quarter-Finals of last year’s AFCON – topping their group with 3 wins from 3 before defeating Benin in the Round of 16 and falling to Nigeria in the Quarter-Finals – conceding just 3 goals in 5 matches during the tournament.

Stars: 34 year old Riyad Mahrez – former Leicester City & Manchester City player – is the captain and star – now plying his trade with Saudi Pro League’s Al-Ahli and leading them to the Asian Champions League title this season.

Son of French Legend Zinedine – Luca Zidane is the goalkeeper.

Manchester City left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is their only genuinely world class player.

Leverkusen midfielder Ibrahim Maza was named in the Bundesliga’s Under-20 team of the season.

Expectation: One of the older African Nations which gives me pause in the heat and humidity. Likely a 3rd placed finish – that means qualification past the Round of 32 will be very difficult.

Austria

Weds 17 Jun vs Jordan
Tues 23 Jun vs Argentina
Sun 28 Jun vs Algeria

FIFA Ranking: 24

Qualifying: Finished top of a tight qualifying group just 2 points ahead of Bosnia-Herzegovina to qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.

They’ve managed that despite a Nations League campaign where they failed to gain promotion to League A.

Coach: Ralf Rangnick was appointed Head Coach of his home nation back in 2022 just months after his departure from Manchester United – following Austria’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Since then, the Austrians have exceeded expectations – topping their Euro 2024 Group ahead of France before falling to Turkiye in the Round of 16.

Stars: The Austrians have relied heavily on the output of Real Madrid fullback David Alaba for the majority of the last decade but Rangnick has harnessed his abilities for the good of the team more effectively than any other coach.

Konrad Laimer is coming off a strong season for Bayern Munich, while Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer grew up playing in Rangnick’s academy set-up at RB Leipzig.

The big question mark surrounds the centre-forward with Red Star Belgrade’s Marko Arnautovic expected to get the nod at the age of 36.

Expectation: Probably lower than it should be for a talented group under one of the best managers in the world. Probably not good enough to beat Argentina out of the group – and 2nd place likely means Spain in the Round of 32.

Jordan

Weds 17 Jun vs Austria
Tues 23 Jun vs Algeria
Sat 27 Jun vs Argentina

FIFA Ranking: 63

Qualifying: Surprised many by finishing – 2nd in their group behind South Korea conceding just 8 goals in their 10 games and securing 4 draws to secure their first ever World Cup appearance.

Coach: Moroccan Coach – Jamal Sellaimi secured the side’s first ever qualificiation – taking over in 2024 ahead of the qualifying campaign following a promising performance at the 2023 Asian Cup where they were only defeated in the final by hosts Qatar.

Sellaimi carried on from that success – reaching the final of the 2025 Arab Cup where they were defeated by Morocco in the final.

That campaign along with the successful World Cup Qualification led to King Abdullah to fast-track his Jordanian citizenship!

Stars: Ali Olwan was the top scorer in the 2025 Arab Cup with 6 goals in 6 games as they team qualified for the final and will lead the line again. He also top scored in qualifying – finding the back of the net 9 times in their 10 matches.

Mahmoud Al-Mardi is the captain and long-time midfield maestro.

Expectation: Another Middle Eastern team that has benefitted from major tournaments and qualifying in the Middle East recently. North America will be a very different kettle of fish. Surprised if they pick up more than a point in their first World Cup.

GROUP K

Colombia

Thurs 18 Jun vs Uzbekistan
Weds 24 Jun vs DR Congo
Sun 28 Jun vs Portugal

FIFA Ranking: 13

Qualifying: Finished 3rd in South American qualifying on the back of 7 goals across the campaign from Bayern Munich Winger Luis Diaz.

Draws away with against Argentina & a home victory against Brazil have proven they’re threats to even the biggest teams in the world on their day.

Coach: Nestor Lorenzo – played the World Cup Final in 1990 as Argentina fell to Germany – since then has largely worked as an assistant to Argentina’s National Team (and junior National Teams) under Jose Pekerman.

The Colombian job is only his 2nd Senior Head Coaching role but after being appointed in 2022 the team has had a consistent run of success – going 28 games unbeaten between 2022 & 2024 defeating Brazil, Uruguay & Spain over that period.

They qualified for their first ever Copa America Final in 2024 only falling to Argentina in Extra-Time.

Stars: Bayern’s Luis Diaz is the team’s star with a superb supporting cast.

Galatasary Centre-Back Davinson Sanchez will be known by Premier League fans for his time at Tottenham.

Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz also plies his trade in the Premier League and watch out for Sporting Libson’s Luis Suarez who scored 28 goals in 32 league games in Portugal this season.

34-year-old James Rodriguez is in the squad but not expected to start – he’s playing his club football in the MLS with Minnesota United.

Expectation: Some aging stars but some very capable European calibre talent – means they could even qualify ahead of Portugal from this group. Round of 16/Quarter Final seems about par.

DR Congo

Thurs 18 Jun vs Portugal
Weds 24 Jun vs Colombia
Sun 28 Jun vs Uzbekistan

FIFA Ranking: 46

Qualifying: Finished 2nd to Senegal in a tight group (losing only to the group winners and away in Sudan) – which sent them to the play-offs.

Their African play-off victories against highly fancied Cameroon & Nigeria (on penalties) awa them through to an inter-continental play-off against Jamaica – victorious 1-0 after extra-time to qualify for the first time since 1974 (when they qualified as Zaire).

Coach: Nicknamed ‘The Florist’ – Frenchman Sebastien Desabre guided DR Congo through the longest campaign in the world (outside South America) to bring DR Congo to the World Cup.

Before being appointed in 2022, Desabre had done most of his work in North Africa – predominantly with big club sides in Egypt, Tunisia & Morocco.

DR Congo’s 3rd place finish in 2023’s AFCON was the best in their history – and laid the groundwork for a successful qualifying campaign.

Stars: 21-year-old Noah Sadiki is coming off an outstanding campaign at Sunderland – and Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe scored the goal against Jamaica that took them through the play-off.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also well-known to Premier League audiences for his time at Southampton, Manchester United & West Ham.

Expectation: Have recruited strongly from their diaspora but are amongst the weakest teams from Africa. At risk of falling out in the group stage – particularly given Uzbekistan’s relative strength compared to other lowly ranked nations.

Portugal

Thurs 18 Jun vs DR Congo
Weds 24 Jun vs Uzbekistan
Sun 28 Jun vs Colombia

FIFA Ranking: 5

Qualifying: Had a fairly messy campaign – unable to defeat Hungary at home and beaten convincingly by the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on the 2nd last matchday.

A 9-1 win against Armenia on the final day secured their spot at a 7th straight World Cup.

Coach: Roberto Martinez is widely respected for his time in England with Swansea, Wigan and Everton before taking over Belgium who he guided to a 3rd place finish at the 2018 tournament before being bundled out in the Group Stages in 2022 and being sacked.

He’s now balancing the very difficult question of just how central 40-year old Cristiano Ronaldo should be to the team in this tournament.

Stars: Cristiano Ronaldo’s 3-game suspension for his red card against the Republic of Ireland was controversially down-graded to 2-matches without explanation by FIFA but he is still under an injury cloud heading into the tournament – with no guarantee he’ll start the opening game against DR Congo even if he is fit.

PSG’s Goncalo Ramos has led the line in his absence but has scored just once in the past year for Portugal while being relegated to the bench for most of the season in France.

Bruno Fernandes was the Football Writer’s player of the year in the Premier League and is surrounded by European quality in the form of Atletico’s Joao Felix, Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, PSG’s Vitinha, Nuno Mendes & Joao Neves.

One of the tournament’s dark horses.

Expectation: If Ronaldo starts regularly – they can’t win it. If he doesn’t… they absolutely can but they’ll have a tricky run to the Quarter-Final where Messi and Argentina await.

Uzbekistan

Thurs 18 Jun vs Colombia
Weds 24 Jun vs Portugal
Sun 28 Jun vs DR Congo

FIFA Ranking: 50

Qualifying: Qualified for the first World Cup after a series of near misses over the past decade in Asia – finishing behind Iran in Group A by just 2 points – losing once in their 10 matches (oddly against 4th-placed Qatar rather than the Iranians who they drew with home-and-away).

Coach: Italian World Cup Winning Captain – Fabio Cannavarro returned to Asian Football for the first time since his short stint in charge of China during the 2019 Asian Cup.

Was appointed in October 2025 after qualification was secured – and has managed friendly victories over Gabon and Venezuela (on penalties) since his takeover.

Stars: Made up largely of the outstanding U20s 2023 Asian Champions with most of that talented squad now at the peak of their powers.

Eldor Shomurodov is the team’s star – playing his football at Roma since 2021 (spending this season in Turkiye with Istanbul Basaksehir).

Expectation: Don’t write them off… likely to finish bottom but capable of causing a shock along the way.

GROUP L

England

Thurs 18 Jun vs Croatia
Weds 24 Jun vs Ghana
Sun 28 Jun vs Panama

FIFA Ranking: 4

Qualifying: Cruised through qualifying with 8 wins from 8 – scoring 22 goals and conceding none - leading to another national discussion on why they are forced to play these games at all.

Since then, they’ve drawn with Uruguay and been beaten by Japan at Wembley in two uninspiring performances… make of that what you will.

Coach: German Thomas Tuchel became the Nation’s first German Manager and first non-Englishman since Fabio Copello in 2010.

He is not expected to continue in the role past the World Cup and has set his squad up as such – leaving out big names like Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Manchester City’s Phil Foden & Manchester United’s Harry Maguire.

Most fair-minded English supporters have seen these squad moves as a positive and live in hope that they may operate as a cohesive unit.

Stars: Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane is coming off another phenomenal campaign where he managed 61 goals in all competitions (36 of them in the Bundesliga – 14 more in the Champions League).

Arsenal’s Declan Rice was one of the defining figures of the Premier League season – along with club teammate Bukayo Saka.

Question marks remain over the backline with Marc Guehi to partner one of John Stones, Ezri Konsa or Dan Burn in the heart of defence.

Expectation: It’s coming home… until it isn’t. That point should come in the Quarter or Semi-Finals.

Croatia

Thurs 18 Jun vs England
Weds 24 Jun vs Panama
Sun 28 Jun vs Ghana

FIFA Ranking: 11

Qualifying: Finished top of their group unbeaten ahead of fellow qualifiers Czechia, the Faroe Islands, Montenegro and Gibraltar.

Coach: Manager Zlatko Dalic – has been in charge since 2017 – leading the team to the final in 2018 and a 3rd place finish in 2022.

Group Stage elimination from Euro 2024 – where they were beaten convincingly by Spain and drew with Italy and Albania - has forced the beginning of an evolution to the next generation of Croatian talent.

Stars: Ballon D’Or Winner Luka Modric will lead the team in likely his final world cup after a solid season with AC Milan.

Familiar names Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, Josko Gvardiol are all still involved.

Expectation: May finally have run out of legs… should still have enough to get out of the group comfortably but another deep run would fly in the face of footballing logic.

Ghana

Thurs 18 Jun vs Panama
Weds 24 Jun vs England
Sun 28 Jun vs Croatia

FIFA Ranking: 74

Qualifying: Finished top of a fairly weak group keeping 7 clean sheets in their 10 games and losing 1 game away in Comoros.

Coach: Experienced International campaigner – Carlos Queiroz has taken on the role after failing to qualify for the World Cup with Oman.

His appointment has caused some controversy in Ghana with former coach and Ghanaian International Otto Addo sacked just 72 days out from the tournament following 5 consecutive friendly losses.

Stars: Antoine Semenyo has had a break-out season in the Premier League initially with Bournemouth before a successful January move to Manchester City.

Jordan Ayew is expected to continue as captain despite being part of the Leicester City side that was relegated from the Championship.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey will anchor the midfield – he’s now playing his football in Villareal.

Expectation: No shortage of talent but a big shortage of organisation and team unity. Makes them complete wild cards who could upset everyone and top the group or be bundled out in the group stages losing to Panama on the way.

Panama

Thurs 18 Jun vs Ghana
Weds 24 Jun vs Croatia
Sun 28 Jun vs England

FIFA Ranking: 33

Qualifying: Qualified for their 2nd World Cup – finishing top of their group ahead of Suriname, Guatemala & El Salvador – winning 3 games and drawing 3 games.

Coach: Danish Coach Thomas Christiansen has been in charge since 2020 amid a restructuring of the country’s football federation and leading a steady development of the team over the past 6 years.

The biggest sign of progress came in the 2023 Gold Cup where they eliminated the USA in the Semi-Finals before falling to Mexico in the final.

They followed that with a CONCACAF Nations League Final in 2025.

Christiansen is now the nation’s longest tenured head coach.

Stars: José Luis Rodríguez was the team’s equal top-scorer in qualifying – playing his football in Mexico with Pumas.

Expectation: About the same as 2018 when they lost 6-1 to England in the Group Stage. A point would be a massive achievement.