2026 FIFA World Cup Thread

[NWI_Irish96]

First round of group stage predictions:

A: Mexico, Draw
B: Canada, Switzerland
C: Morocco, Scotland
D: USA, Draw
E: Germany, Ecuador
F: Netherlands, Sweden
G: Belgium, Draw
H: Spain, Uruguay
I: France, Norway
J: Argentina, Austria
K: Portugal, Columbia
L: Draw, Draw

Only 11 for 24. Not very good.

A: Czechia, Draw
B: Switzerland, Canada
C: Draw, Brazil
D: USA, Draw
E: Germany, Educador
F: Draw, Japan
G: Belgium, Draw
H: Spain, Uruguay
I: France, Norway
J: Argentina, Draw
K: Portugal, Draw
L: England, Croatia

14 for 24. Not much better

A: Draw, South Korea
B: Draw, Bosnia-Herzegovina
C: Brazil, Morocco
D: Draw, Draw
E: Cote d'Ivoire, Germany
F: Draw, Netherlands
G: Iran, Belgium
H: Draw, Spain
I: France, Senegal
J: Draw, Argentina
K: Draw, DR Congo
L: Draw, Ghana

15 for 24. 40 for 72 for the entire group stage.

On to the knockouts. Going pretty chalky for the round of 32:

Canada
Brazil
Germany
Netherlands
Norway
France
Mexico
England
Belgium
United States
Spain
Portugal
Switzerland
Egypt
Argentina
Colombia

14 for 16 in the round of 32. Not going as chalky for the round of 16 though:

Canada
France
Norway
Mexico
Spain
United States
Argentina
Colombia

[Ted$8roadFan]

Cape Verde-Argentina: what a game!

[thspfc]

Some of my free time lately has been spent on a rating system combining results, who those results are against, and goal difference to rank every team's performance 1 to 48 without any influence of pre-torunament expectations.

So it's not a forward-looking power ranking, but rather a backwards-looking performance ranking. It's not perfect, and very much subject to change, but here's how it's rating the teams that are still alive:

1. France - 30.5
2. Argentina - 24.5
3. Mexico - 23.0
4. United States - 22.5
5. Switzerland - 20.5
6. Brazil - 20.0
6. Spain - 20.0
8. England - 18.5
8. Colombia - 18.5
11. Portugal - 17.5
13. Belgium - 16.0
14. Canada - 15.0
15. Norway - 14.0
16. Morocco - 13.0
17. Egypt - 10.0
27. Paraguay - 4.0

Mexico's 12 straight up points is huge. US and Switzerland both have 3 wins over knockout teams, with France and Argentina being the only other such teams as of now.

Morocco and Paraguay are the only teams that feel like misplacements to me right now, but Morocco should win today and jump way up, and if they don't then they weren't misplaced to begin with. Paraguay loses points for their goal difference (the worst of any remaining team by 4 goals) and they didn't win their round of 32 game, rather drew it and won on penalties.

[1995hoo]

Our token Canadian may not believe this, but I was rooting for Canada today. Too bad.