GROUP J vs. Algeria (June 16, Kansas City) vs. Austria (June 22, Dallas) vs. Jordan (June 27, Dallas)
GROUP D vs. Türkiye (June 13, Vancouver) vs. USA (June 19, Seattle) vs. Paraguay (June 25, San Francisco)
GROUP G vs. Egypt (June 15, Seattle) vs. Iran (June 21, Los Angeles) vs. New Zealand (June 26, Vancouver)
GROUP C vs. Morocco (June 13, New York/New Jersey) vs. Haiti (June 19, Philadelphia) vs. Scotland (June 24, Miami)
GROUP B vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (June 12, Toronto) vs. Qatar (June 18, Vancouver) vs. Switzerland (June 24, Vancouver)
GROUP L vs. Croatia (June 17, Dallas) vs. Ghana (June 23, Boston) vs. Panama (June 27, New York/New Jersey)
GROUP I vs. Senegal (June 16, New York/New Jersey) vs. Iraq (June 22, Philadelphia) vs. Norway (June 26, Boston)
GROUP E vs. Curacao (June 14, Houston) vs. Ivory Coast (June 20, Toronto) vs. Ecuador (June 25, New York/New Jersey)
GROUP F vs. Netherlands (June 14, Dallas) vs. Tunisia (June 20, Monterrey) vs. Sweden (June 25, Dallas)
GROUP A vs. South Africa (June 11, Mexico City) vs. South Korea (June 18, Guadalajara) vs. Czechia (June 24, Mexico City)
GROUP C vs. Brazil (June 13, New York/New Jersey) vs. Scotland (June 19, Boston) vs. Haiti (June 24, Atlanta)
GROUP F vs. Japan (June 14, Dallas) vs. Sweden (June 20, Houston) vs. Tunisia (June 25, Kansas City)
GROUP K vs. DR Congo (June 17, Houston) vs. Uzbekistan (June 23, Houston) vs. Colombia (June 27, Miami)
GROUP I vs. France (June 16, New York/New Jersey) vs. Norway (June 22, New York/New Jersey) vs. Iraq (June 26, Toronto)
GROUP A vs. Czechia (June 11, Guadalajara) vs. Mexico (June 18, Guadalajara) vs. South Africa (June 24, Monterrey)
GROUP H vs. Cape Verde (June 15, Atlanta) vs. Saudi Arabia (June 21, Atlanta) vs. Uruguay (June 26, Guadalajara)
GROUP D vs. Paraguay (June 12, Los Angeles) vs. Australia (June 19, Seattle) vs. Türkiye (June 25, Los Angeles)
Are Spain favourites for the World Cup 100 days out? (2:30)Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens break down ESPN’s World Cup Power Rankings and share their picks for who will finish top at the tournament. (2:30)
Tuesday marked 30 days to go until the start of the FIFA World Cup, with the opening game set for Mexico City between co-host Mexico and South Africa on June 11. In addition to laying out the second edition of our Power Rankings, where our global reporters and experts voted for the top 15 contenders set to take part in this summer’s competition, we’re drilling deeper on the major nations and the three host nations.
Not only are we taking a projection of their starting XIs based on form and fitness, but we are predicting their squads, formation and dissecting their strengths and weaknesses. The last two months have seen some big injuries and big names ruled out, which will present opportunities for new stars to step up.
– Meet World Cup debutants: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, Uzbekistan – World Cup kit ranking: Which teams will look best in 2026? – Aggravations prompt fans to ask: Is the World Cup worth the expense?
How are they looking with less than 30 days to go? Let this be a 10,000-foot view of how they’re shaping up.
JUMP TO: Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Canada | England | France | Germany | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Portugal | Senegal | Spain | South Korea | U.S.
Squad snapshot: Argentina enter the 2026 World Cup as defending champions, a status that presents both a challenge and a massive responsibility. However, Lionel Scaloni’s side possesses two primary virtues: mental fortitude and an innate ability to compete. They have a clear identity, and are a consolidated team rather than just a collection of individual talents — this is something of a rarity in international football.
The squad will once again feature Messi, whose presence provides an extra incentive to retain the trophy — something no team have achieved in over 60 years. By appearing in his sixth World Cup, the legendary No. 10 will break the record.
Argentina’s weaknesses involve a lack of depth in certain positions and the recurring physical issues of their defenders. The team also lack strong alternatives at full back, while in attack they rely heavily on two world-class strikers: Álvarez and Martínez.
For this tournament, Scaloni will have to make crucial decisions to ensure the necessary generational transition. Following Ángel Di María’s departure, but with Messi still as the focal point, there will be room for several stars to shine alongside emerging talents such as Barco and Paz. — Damian Didonato, ESPN Argentina
With the ball, though, while Australia possess explosive individual talent in the likes of McGree, Irankunda and Touré, the team have a tendency to become static during extended periods of possession. They can also be vulnerable to counter pressing: their all-action first-choice midfield isn’t as comfortable in tight areas as others, which can cause dangerous turnovers in their own half.
Squad snapshot: Fitness is still the biggest worry for this Belgium team. The squad is interesting on paper, with a bit of everything — different profiles, ages and experience levels — but the biggest issue is injuries to many of their key players. Lukaku is the biggest concern, with hamstring and other muscle issues limiting him to just five Serie A appearances so far this season, most recently on March 6. Time is running out for him to get fit and lead the line.
Squad snapshot: Brazil are facing two different issues in their preparation for the World Cup: the limited time head coach Carlo Ancelotti has with the team, and a growing list of injuries to important players.
Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Estevão were all considered very important players for Ancelotti, but they are now going to miss the World Cup entirely. Alisson remains a safe pair of hands in goal, though nobody knows exactly how he will return from his latest injury suffered at Liverpool. Winger Raphinha and midfielder Bruno Guimarães have also spent time on the sidelines to recover from a heavy workload.
What we do know is that Brazil are trying to build a team around the speed, technique and intelligent movement of their attacking players, without a traditional No. 9 striker as a reference point, and supported by a very strong midfield duo — especially driven by Casemiro’s leadership.
There’s also a worrisome trend of red cards, with players picking on up three times in their last five matches. “We’re physical, we play hard, but we’re not a dirty team,” coach Jesse Marsch said in March. — Cesar Hernandez
Squad snapshot: England only need to find a little improvement to have a strong chance of ending their 60-year wait for a major international trophy. The FA hopes that Thomas Tuchel can provide it as an elite coach with a tactical acumen that many view as an upgrade on his respected predecessor, Gareth Southgate.
He could start with a bang before a ball is kicked, with midfielder Phil Foden and right back Trent Alexander-Arnold huge doubts to make the final squad despite their experience and pedigree, and there are other areas of concern.
England’s center backs are not entirely convincing, although Guéhi’s move to Manchester City only furthers the idea he is developing into a top-class player, while O’Reilly’s rapid progress at City could provide a solution to the problematic left back position.
Overall, England’s strength is in attack with a rich array of options and one of the best No. 9s in world football: Kane. Tuchel has sometimes favored Rogers’ all-around contribution over the star power of Bellingham in the No. 10 role, while he must figure out how to rotate the likes of Palmer and Saka effectively during a difficult schedule.
England have historically struggled in hot conditions at the end of another arduous Premier League season in which many clubs have had extended runs in European competition. Tuchel must succeed where Southgate came up just short in forging a clear identity which maximizes that individual talent, and he must do so while battling another familiar enemy: fatigue.– James Olley
There’s depth and quality at center back, and even with Kimmich deployed at right back, central midfield should be fine with Pavlovic and one of Goretzka or Stiller alongside him. Nagelsmann also has plenty of options in attacking midfield, too, even with the injury-enforced absence of Serge Gnabry and doubts over Sane.
It’s a question of how the pieces fit together, but you can expect Nagelsmann to put his faith in Wirtz and Musiala and one other. That “other” could be Havertz, unless he’s needed up front because, of course, that’s the other area of scarcity for Germany right now. Woltemade isn’t a target man, Undav is a different profile altogether, and guys like Burkardt and Fullkrug don’t have much support to get a spot in the squad outside of their immediate families.
Overall, there’s plenty of talent, but it’s spread unevenly throughout the side. And with a number of stars coming off injuries or difficult seasons — starting with Wirtz and Musiala — Nagelsmann will need to get creative.– Gab Marcotti
Squad snapshot: What originally would have been a formidable Japan squad could have its depth tested given some horrible luck on the injury front. Takumi Minamino is almost certain to miss the World Cup following his ACL injury in December, while talismanic captain Wataru Endo faces a race against time to recover from a foot ligament injury he suffered back in February.
Question marks also hang over the fitness and match readiness of Itakura, Tomiyasu and Ito, who ordinarily would have made for quite the back three.
It does mean that coach Hajime Moriyasu has been forced the rearrange the pieces of his adventurous 3-4-2-1 system that reaped a remarkable 48 goals from 13 matches throughout their qualifying campaign. Kamada is capable of dropping back from his usual playmaker role, which means Mitoma — who was possibly the most attacking wing back you’ll ever find — will likely slot in as one of the No. 10s.
Japan do look well settled in the midfield engine room, even if Endo is forced to sit out. Their central midfield depth even saw Morita — a mainstay for the qualifiers — omitted for the March friendlies, though they could still boast an all-Premier League central midfield duo in Kamada (Crystal Palace) and Tanaka (Leeds).