The 2026 World Cup qualifiers are well under way and so far there have been some great wins, intriguing upsets, and fascinating stats that look to be setting up an amazing World Cup.
The defending champion, Argentina, have been looking very promising and are currently leading their group, the CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation), by a landslide. Argentina’s star player Lionel Messi has not yet been confirmed to be playing in the world cup, but other stars such as Emiliano Martínez, Alexis Mac Alister, and Julián Álvarez have been making a huge impact. The 2022 runner ups, and 2018 World Cup winners, France, have also been putting together a promising performance in their qualifying matches, currently leading the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) group D. Some athletes representing France include stars such as Kylian Mbappé, the winner of the golden boot in the 2022 World Cup, and Ousmane Dembélé, the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or.
There have also been some intriguing new countries shocking everyone with their performances, one of them is Norway. Norway failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but they have had an absolutely commanding presence in group I of UEFA. They are currently in first place with a stunning +26 goal differential (the number of goals scored relative to the number of goals scored against them). Norway has had some impressive wins, such as an 11-1 win over Moldova, and a 3-0 upset against Italy. Italy has been on decline after they won the Euros in 2020 but failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
In North America, the United States, Mexico and Canada are already qualified due to the fact they are going to be the host countries in 2026. Other than that there are not many other teams in North America that have put on a notable performance so far, but Jamaica, Honduras and Suriname are at the top of their groups.
Some other countries that have been powerhouses in previous years are Spain, Portugal, and England. Spain in particular has some impressive talent on their squad this year. Arguably Spain’s biggest star is Lamine Yamal. Yamal is 18 years old and he has been putting on astounding performances for the Spanish national team, and his club team, Barcelona. Yamal won the Euros, a tournament involving the entirety of Europe, in 2024 with Spain and the La Liga title in the 2024-25 season with Barcelona. Spain also came close to winning the nations league in 2025 but lost in the final to Portugal. This nations league victory for Portugal could mean an excellent world cup run in 2026, due to the fact that Spain is currently one of the favorites and the fact Portugal was able to take them down bodes very well for the coming world cup. Portugal’s squad includes players such as: Bruno Fernandes, Ballon d’Or nominee Nuno Mendes, and of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is confirmed to be playing in the 2026 world cup. England also has countless world class players, however they have not won a world cup since 1966. Some of their stars include Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and rising star Cole Palmer, who just won the Club World Cup with Chelsea. England is looking good, currently at the top of their group by quite a large margin.
The 2026 World Cup qualifying matches are expected to wrap up this spring and the 2026 World Cup will begin in June. Over the next couple of months these current standings are expected to change and transform into an amazing tournament. Just by looking at these current standings in the qualifiers it is evident that the 2026 World Cup will be one to remember!
