2026 World Cup contenders assessed: Spain and Argentina going strong with eight months to go but questions for England and Brazil

This article will run through the six teams that are currently considered a cut above the rest.

It will detail their status, what can be expected from them, as well as a lingering question for each.

There are a few teams who might be disappointed to not be included.

Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Who was the last team to beat Spain in a competitive match? Scotland in March 2023 during qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024.

Luis de la Fuente’s European champions are a juggernaut. They have benefitted from the emergence of players like Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Martin Zubimendi, Nico Williams and, of course, Lamine Yamal as world-class talents. They have looked like the best team in the world for the last few years and nothing from the last 12 months has changed that view.

The one doubt, though, is goalscoring. It seems like a silly thing to say about a team that has been as free-flowing as Spain, but they still do not have a true No. 9 – they often rely on the excellent Mikel Merino in that role.

But if Samu Aghehowa can develop into the international forward his talent suggests he can, Spain are the complete team.

The second of the big European two, France have been solid if not spectacular recently (stop us if you have heard that one before) but it is folly to pay too much notice to what France do between now and the World Cup.

And that is because under Didier Deschamps, France have repeatedly demonstrated that they have a nous for tournament football.

Here is a fun stat. Under Deschamps, France have partaken in six major tournaments, three European Championships and three World Cups. In four of those six tournaments, the only team to knock them out was the eventual champion, including twice in the final.

In one where they were not dumped out by the eventual winners, they exited in the last 16 at the ‘Covid’ Euros, and in the other, they went on to win the World Cup (Spain in 2012, Germany in 2014, Portugal in 2016, Switzerland in 2020 and Argentina in 2022).

The question for France is always the same: How can Deschamps properly balance his incredible attacking talent?

But this year we have another question, namely, is there enough in the midfield? N’Golo Kante will be 35 come the summer, Adrien Rabiot will be 31 and none of the younger players behind them have truly stamped their authority on the team. Can one of them do it this season?

The talent is certainly undeniable, but it also produces one of the biggest questions. Harry Kane has a poor tournament record; Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka all have worrying injury records; and the form of Phil Foden has been patchy.

Can all of this come together to form a tournament-winning squad?

Yes, absolutely, but England have more questions to address than the other teams on this list.

Except maybe Brazil, another team that is surprisingly high on this list. Yes, they are ahead of defending champions Argentina (more on them later). For those who were not paying attention to World Cup qualifying in South America, here is a quick summary.

Brazil lost six of their 18 games during this period (no qualified team lost more), they conceded 17 (no qualified team let in more) and they finished 10 points off Argentina. Notable results include 1-1 draws home and away against Venezuela (who did not qualify), a 1-0 loss at home to Argentina and then a 4-1 hammering away, plus 1-0 losses away at Paraguay and Bolivia.

Yes, there are a lot of world-class players in their prime and yes, Carlo Ancelotti is one of the best managers in the world, but we have never seen him at this level and their most talented player, Vinicius Jr, is having an up-and-down time at club level.

Like France, it is hard to see how the attack takes shape. We said England had variables; Brazil are right there with them. There are so many questions about how it all fits together.

The good news is that there should be a lot more around Messi in the attacking areas, lessening the load on him. Lautaro Martinez remains an excellent striker, while Julian Alvarez has gone from strength to strength at Atletico Madrid.

Further, Franco Mastantuono has made an extremely exciting start to his Madrid career, Nico Paz continues to grow in stature at Como, and Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez are an elite base to build from.

Argentina were magnificent in qualifying – more wins, goals and points than anybody else – and were only bested defensively by rock-solid Ecuador.

They look good and, perhaps crucially, they look like maybe they could actually cope without Messi.

The other half of football’s legendary double-act, Cristiano Ronaldo, will be at the World Cup, it has been confirmed. Ronaldo has scored six in six for Portugal in 2025 and while he may not start every game, he will be a critical part of Roberto Martinez’s squad as they go into the tournament as the new Nations League champions.

Portugal's riches believe the size of their country, particularly in the midfield. They are incredibly stacked with Joao Neves, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Neves, Joao Palhinha, Matheus Nunes and Pedro Goncalves. The defense and goalkeeping positions also boast some of the very best in the world.

The one worry is going to be in attack. Like Spain, they are really waiting for someone to establish themselves as their next great No. 9. Can that be Goncalo Ramos? Maybe, but he’s not really getting enough game time in Paris.

The other big question is can one of the younger players – be that Francisco Conceicao, Rodrigo Mora or Geovany Quenda – really break out this season and become a key part of the squad? We will have to wait and see.