I would like to thank all those who took the time to read my blogs where I review the groups of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At first I didn’t think I would be able to review all twelve in time but I did it!
It doesn’t matter whether you read all of them or just one of them. Thank you for reading.
On this page, I have the links to my blogs as well as the competing teams of each group listed. Links are with the group names. Bolded are the nations I predict to qualify for the knockout stage:
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Czechia
Group B: Canada, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Qatar and Switzerland
With each group, you get a mix of teams and how much they’ve achieved in the past. Two teams of Group F have been finalists, one has only made it as far as the Round Of 16 and one has never made it out of the Group Stage. We’ll see what this World Cup has in store for them. Here’s my review of the teams for Group F:
-Netherlands (8): Event though this will be their twelfth World Cup, the World Cup does not feel complete if Oranje is not present. Known for finishing runner-up at the World Cup three times and known for having beloved players like Cruyff, Bergkamp and Rijkaard, Oranje have become beloved around the world. Recent play in the last ten years have shown difficulties in creating a new Dutch team. They failed to qualify for Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018. Also in the past twenty years, they appeared to make a move from graceful play to overly aggressive play. That’s been noticed as they gave played in the three most carded World Cup games including the 2010 Final: the most carded final in World Cup history. A recent third-place at the 2024 Euro has improved their reputation.
The Netherlands’ coaching staff is completely Dutch and their head coach is Ronald Koeman who has coached the team since their 2022 World Cup quarterfinals defeat. Most of the team plays in teams for the Premier League. Star players include goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion, defender and captain Virgil van Dijk who plays for Liverpool, midfielder Marten de Roon who plays for Atalanta, and striker Memphis Depay who plays for Brazil’s Corinthians. The team’s last defeat was against Germany in October 2024. In the past twelve months, they’ve had wins against Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Uzbekistan. They’ve drawn against Ecuador and both games against Poland. Chances are Clockwork Orange can deliver a winning performance for the Cup if they all do things right.
-Japan (18): Samurai Blue made their first World Cup appearance in 1998 and they haven’t missed since. Their first World Cup appearance would lead to a boom in football in Japan. The unfortunate thing is that they have not been able to make it past the Round Of 16: something they’ve done four times. To their achievement, they have won the Asian Cup four times. Their last win being in 2011. Japan comes to the Americas with something to prove.
Japan’s coaching staff is completely Japanese and their head coach Hajime Moriyasu once played for the Japanese team, but retired from the national team before their first-ever World Cup appearance (1996). Star players include goalkeeper Zion Suzuki who plays for Italy’s Parma, defender Yuto Nagatomo who plays for FC Tokyo, midfielder and captain Wataru Endo who plays for Liverpool and striker Ayase Ueda who plays for the Netherlands’ Feyenoord. Their play in the last twelve months have mostly been wins and their most notable have been against England, Scotland, Brazil and South Korea. They’ve endured draws against Paraguay and Mexico, and losses against the United States and Australia. If there’s one team that can pull a surprise at United 2026, it’s Japan. Only the tournament will tell.
-Sweden (38): Sweden are an on-again, off-again nation in football. This is the thirteenth World Cup for the Blagult and their best finish is finalists when they hosted in 1958. Unfortunately they have missed qualifying for the last World Cup and the last Euro. Just as they did for qualifying in 2018, they know how to luck out in qualifying this time around too. They didn’t win a single game in their qualifying play but their UEFA status helped them qualify for the playoff rounds. What happened next? It was there when they finally started winning, beating Ukraine and Poland to qualify.
The Swedish coaching staff is made up of Swedish coaches except for the head coach, Graham Potter, who is from England. Most of the team plays in teams from all over Europe but are most common with England’s Premier League. Star players include goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeld who plays for Sweden’s AIK, defender Viktor Lindelof who plays for Aston Villa, midfielder Mattias Svanberg who plays for VfL Wolfsburg and striker Alexander Isak who plays for Liverpool. Their play in the last twelve months has been a case of mixed results. They won their playoff games against Ukraine and Poland as well as against Hungary and Algeria. They drew twice against Slovenia and once against Greece, and also lost to Norway, Kosovo and Switzerland. It’s very possible their play at the World Cup can prove their naysayers wrong.
-Tunisia (46): One team that seems to have one of the most frustrating World Cup careers happen to be the Eagles Of Carthage. It’s easy to see why. Six previous World Cup participations starting in 1978 and never qualifying for the next round. The 21st Century has given them feats to be proud of like winning the 2004 African Cup of Nations and finalists for the 2021 Arab Cup but they have a record of inconsistency. There’s no doubt Tunisia is hoping this will be their breakthrough year.
Tunisia’s coaching staff is a mix of Tunisian and French coaches and their head coach Sabri Lamouchi was born in France to Tunisian parents. Top players include goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen, defender Montassar Talbi who plays for France’s Lorient, midfielder Ellyes Skhiri who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt and striker Elias Achouri who plays for FC Copenhagen. For their play in the last twelve months, most of their wins have been to African teams but they also won against Haiti, Qatar and Jordan. They’ve had draws to Canada, Palestine and Brazil, and they’ve had notable losses to Nigeria, Syria, Austria and Belgium. 2026 could finally be the breakthrough year Tunisia has been waiting for.
My Qualifier Predictions: Predicting the Top 2 is easy. I think Netherlands will top it with Japan second. However, I feel my third-place pick, Tunisia, will not be a wildcard qualifier.
FUN FACT: The June 20th game of Tunisia vs. Japan at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe will be the 1000th World Cup match ever!
And there you go. That’s my look at World Cup Group F. Hard to believe I’ve done six blogs of this and I’m only half-finished! Did they have to expand to 48 teams?
I must admit when I look at the team’s rosters, I often forget that most nations have not officially declared their World Cup teams. Every time I look at Wikipedia with the team information, it lists a lot, but very rarely the official cut. So I’m dealing with teams as I type along. In this group, Spain have not officially their team for Qatar 2022 and Germany only declared theirs on Thursday!.
Without further ado, here is my look at Group E of World Cup 2022:
-Spain (7): La Furia Roja are an interesting team. For so long they’ve been known as “football’s greatest underachievers.” Then starting in the late noughts, they had an amazing run winning Euro 2008, World Cup 200 and Euro 2012. Then they went back to their underachieving ways going out in the group stage at World Cup 2014, the Round of 16 at Euro 2016 and the Round of 16 at World Cup 2018. However Spain has shown progress as they made the semifinals of Euro 2020.
The coaching staff of Spain’s team is completely of Spaniards. Head coach Luis Enrique won Olympic gold in 1992, participated in three World Cups and in Euro 1996. Most of Spain’s players play for La Liga with some playing in England and France. Recent results have they’ve had both wins and draws against Portugal and Czechia. They achieved wins against Sweden and Greece, but they’ve also endured a loss to Switzerland. Qatar is the scene for them to try and achieve another World Cup.
-Costa Rica (31): If there’s one thing to learn about Los Ticos, it’s you don’t count them out of World Cup play. They often come with low expectations, but can surprise, like when they made the Round of 16 in 1990 and the quarterfinals in 2014. As they prepare for their sixth World Cup, they again come with low expectations. At the last CONCACAF Gold Cup, they only made the quarterfinals. On top of it, they’ve never had a win against any of their World Cup opponents.
Most of the coaching staff are Costa Rican, but the head coach is a Colombian – Luis Suarez – who has managed five previous Latin American teams. Most of the team including captain Brian Ruiz plays for the Costa Rican league. In recent play, they’ve won against Nigeria, United States and New Zealand. They’ve had recent draws to South Korea and Mexico, and losses to Panama and Canada. Qatar is another chance for Costa Rica to prove to the world how well they can play.
-Germany (11): It almost seemed like a given. If the Mannschaft doesn’t win the World Cup, they would at least be guaranteed to go as far as the quarterfinals. Their past record seemed to sum it up well. That all changed during Russia 2018 when they appeared to be under the alleged “curse of the defending champion.” Their failure in the group stage was their first World Cup opening round ouster since 1938. It was after Euro 2020 and their exit during the Round of 16 that they knew it was time to fix things.
Germany’s coach since Euro 2020 is Hansi Flick. He was assistant coach to the German team from 2006 to 2014 and was head coach of Bayern Munich from 2019 to 2021. Most of the players of the World Cup squad play for Germany’s Bundesliga with four playing for the Premier League and two playing for Spain’s La Liga. Since Euro 2020, they’ve had mixed results including a win and a draw against Italy, two draws against England, a draw against the Netherlands, and a draw and a loss against Hungary. Qatar 2022 is the stage for Germany to redeem itself.
-Japan (24): Since they made their World Cup debut in 1998, Japan has competed in every World Cup since and Qatar will be #7 for them. One thing they will hope to do is go past the Round of 16, which the Samurai Blue have never done. Their most recent feat is making it to the finals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
Since their Round of 16 exit in Russia 2018, they’ve returned to having Japanese coaches. The entire coaching staff is Japanese with Hajime Moriyasu as head coach. Interestingly enough, Moriyasu was part of the last Japanese team that failed to qualify for a World Cup (back in 1994). The team mostly play for European leagues with a few players that play for the J-League. In recent play, they’ve achieved wins against the US, Ghana, Australia and their top Asian rival South Korea. They’ve also had draws against Ecuador and Vietnam, and losses to Tunisia and Brazil. It could be here in Qatar that Japan could pull a surprise.
My Prediction: It’s not easy to make a prediction here as all four teams have known strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless I predict the qualifiers to be Spain and Germany. I predict Japan to have the best chances to upset.
And there you go! Another review of another World Cup group. This time it’s Group E. Eagerly awaiting the start. Hard to believe it’s coming this soon! Hard to believe it will be this late in the year!
Jon The Blogcentric 