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
Of the three nations hosting, it’s the United States that will have the most cities and venues contesting with 11 stadiums: 2/3 of the stadiums of this Cup. That number is two more than when they hosted the 24-team World Cup of 1994.
Here’s a brief description of the stadiums:
Dallas’s AT&T Stadium, which is actually in Arlington, is a 94,000-sest stadium opened in 2009.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey was opened in 2010 and seats 82,500.
Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta opened in 2017 and it seats 75,000.
GEHA Field at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium can seat 73,000 and was opened in 1972.
Houston’s NRG Stadium was opened in 2002 and seats 72,000.
Levi’ Stadium in Santa Clara, California opened in 2014 and can seat 71,000.
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is a 70,000-seat stadium that’s actually in Inglewood and was opened in 2020.
Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was opened in 2003 and can seat 69,000.
Lumen Field in Seattle can seat 69,000 and was opened in 1998.
Boston’s Gilette Stadium is a 65,000-seat stadium that’s actually in Foxboro and was opened in 2002.
Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was opened in 1987 and can seat 65,000.
Anyways enough of this stadium talk. Let’s now focus on the teams of World Cup Group D:
-United States of America (16): Where to start? The United States is not the joke in football they used to be. They now field a talented team that knows how to play well in international tournaments. They still have a lot of well-known struggles. The last time they got as far as a World Cup quarterfinal was back in 2002. Their last three appearances have found them out in the Round Of 16. The Stars And Stripes have shown recent prowess. They finished runner-up at the most recent CONCACAF Gold Cup and they’ve won three of the four CONCACAF Nations Leagues.
When they were the sole host in 1994, they only went as far as the Round of 16. To prepare themselves for a good showing as hosts, the US Team’s coaching staff is completely of foreign coaches and their head coach is Argentinean Mauricio Pochettino. The players come mostly from either MLS or European teams. Stars in the team include goalkeeper Matt Turner from the New England Revolution, defender Tim Ream from Charlotte FC, midfielder Weston McKenzie form Juventus and striker Christian Pulisic from AC Milan. Their play in the last 12 months has been a mixed bag. They’ve had wins against Australia, Japan and Senegal. They’ve had draws to Costa Rica and Ecuador. Their biggest losses came to Switzerland, Belgium and Portugal. I’m sure that the United States will rise to the occasion and give a performance the host nation can be proud of.
-Paraguay (40): Paraguay is not normally known for their athletes but La Albirroja have been known to perform well. They’ve won two Copa Americas, won an Olympics silver in 2004, and they’ve competed in eight previous World Cups with their best finish being the quarterfinals in 2010. They have struggled to qualify since. As for the Copa Americas, the last four have been either out in the quarterfinals or the group stage.
The coaching staff is mostly Argentinian and the head coach is Argentina’s Gustavo Alfaro. Star players include goalkeeper Gatito Fernandez from Paraguay’s Cerro Porteno, defender Gustavo Gomez from Brazil’s Palmeiras, midfielder Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United and striker Oscar Romero from Argentina’s Huracan. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Uruguay, Mexico, Nicaragua and Greece, they’ve drawn against Japan and Ecuador, and they’ve lost to Brazil, Morocco, the US and Mexico. This World Cup looks to be the perfect stage for Paraguay to stage their comeback to the football world.
-Australia (27): It’s looks as though since their World Cup return in 2006, The Socceroos have made it a mainstay to be part of the World Cup. That comes from the help of switching from Oceania’s OFC to Asia’s AFC. They’re on some years, off other years. At the last World Cup, they made the Round Of 16 for the second time ever. Australia hopes to make up for the disappointment of their quarterfinals finish at the 2023 Asian Cup.
Australia has an all-Australian coaching staff with head coach Tony Popovic being a former national team player who was part of Australia’s breakthrough at the 2006 World Cup. Top players include goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from Spain’s Levante, defender Milos Degenek from Cyprus’ APOEL, midfielder Ajdin Hrustic from the Netherlands’ Heracles Almelo and striker Martin Boyle from Scotland’s Hibernian. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved notable win against Cameroon, Canada and Japan, a draw against Switzerland, and they’ve endured losses to the United States, Mexico and Colombia. Chances are the Socceroos could just surprise the world again with their play.
-Turkey (22): Turkey have always been known to have a talented team but the biggest challenge for Ay-Yildizlilar is World Cup qualifying. They have been successful for qualifying for six Euros since 1996 but this will only be their third World Cup. Their last World Cup in 2002 helped them establish themselves with a third-place finish. Here, they will be coming just after a quarterfinals finish at the Euro.
The current team has a coaching staff that’s a mix of Turks and Italians and Italian Vincenzo Montella is the head coach. Most of the players play for teams in Turkey’s Super Lig and other European teams. Top players include goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir, defender Merih Demiral who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu who plays for Inter Milan and Kerem Akturkoglu who plays for Fenerbahce. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved notable wins against the United States, North Macedonia, Venezuela and Georgia. They’ve only had a single draw against Spain. They also had a loss to Spain months earlier and a loss to Mexico. 2026 marks a return for Turkey to show the world what they’re made of!
My Qualifier Predictions: This is is. Predicting the Top 2 and the possible wildcard. For the Top 2, I predict Turkey to top with the United States second and my third-place prediction, Australia, to qualify.
And there you have it! That is my look at Group D of the World Cup. With the US having 11 of the 16 host stadiums, hopefully this should be a smooth ride, despite Trump’s politics and all that’s happening.
It’s interesting for the World Cups, the host nation is normally in the first group. Same with the Euro. The Copa America has the defending champions in Group A instead and the host nation in any group. Here it’s Group C. Not that I have a problem with it. It’s just unique that way. In the meantime, here’s my look at Group C of this year’s Copa America:
-United States (11): You either love them or you hate them, but you can’t deny that The Stars and Stripes or The Yanks are a football force you should take seriously. They’ve qualified for eight of the last ten World Cups and even got as far at the quarterfinals in 2002, they’ve won the CONCACAF Gold Cup seven times, and have even finished fourth at the Copa America twice. With the World Cup coming in 2026, you can bet the USA want to be on.
The team is coached by Greg Berhalter who played for the US in two World Cups including 2002 when they last made it to the quarterfinals. Top players include defender Antonee Robinson, midfielder Weston McKennee and forwards Tom Weah and Christian Pulisic. They’ve had a win against Ghana since the end of World Cup 2022. They’ve also achieved a win and a draw against both Jamaica and Mexico. They’ve also had two wins and a loss to Trinidad and Tobago and losses to Germany, Colombia, Slovenia and Serbia. The stage is ready here in the US and they want to deliver a team the host nation can be proud of just before they co-host World Cup 2026.
-Uruguay (15):La Celeaste or Los Charruas are a sentimental favorite for many people. They won two straight Olympic gold medals in the 1920’s, they won the first-ever World Cup in 1930 and upset hosts Brazil in 1950. For these past fifteen years, Uruguay has showcased its greatest team in four decades with a fourth-place finish at the 2010 World Cup and a 2011 Copa win. Recently its Group Stage ouster at Qatar 2022 led many to think their recent Golden Generation was ending.
A year ago, Marcelo Bielsa was assigned to be the head manager of Uruguay’s team. Top players include defender Jose Gimenez, midfielders Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Betancur, and forward Luis Suarez. Notable wins since the end of World Cup 2022 include Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and South Korea. They’ve had draws against Japan and Colombia and losses to Ecuador and the Ivory Coast. Chances are right here in the USA, Uruguay could have what it takes to win the Copa.
-Panama (45): It looks like Los Canaleros have been going through their greatest era ever. This decade they qualified for the 2018 World Cup and finished runner-up in three CONCACAF Gold Cups this century. Despite their recent success, they still show a lot of vulnerability like most Central American teams. Despite their great abilities, it’s been hard for them to prove themselves against the bigger teams.
Panama’s team is coached by Danish-born Thomas Christiansen who emigrated to Spain and played for Spain internationally. Top players include defenders Fidel Escobar and Michael Murillo, midfielders Anibal Godoy and Yoel Barcenas, and forward Jose Fajardo. Notable wins in the last year and a half include Costa Rica, Qatar and Bolivia. They had a win and a draw against Guatemala and had draws against the US and El Salvador. They’ve also had losses to Mexico, Jamaica, Canada and Paraguay. Chances are Panama could deliver a shocker and go further than most expected.
-Bolivia (85): Now is a struggle for La Verde to prove themselves. Team history shows them playing in three World Cups and scoring only one goal. They’ve had a single Copa win back in 1963. Their last Top 3 finish at the Copa was runner-up back in 1997 and they’ve only made it past the group stage once this century in the Copa.
Bolivia’s head manager is a Brazilian: Antonio Carlos Zago who was part of Brazil’s Copa winning team of 1999. Top players include defender Jose Sagredo, midfielders Leonel Justiniano and Rodrigo Ramallo, and goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. Bolivia has had it rough this past year and a half with wins only coming against Saudi Arabia, Peru and Andorra. They had a draw to Chile but all their other games were losses. Nevertheless, anything can happen in a football game and Bolivia could deliver a shocker or two.
My Predictions: I easily felt Uruguay will top this group. Seeing some of the head-to-head results got me questioning. In the end, I favored the USA over Panama.
And there you go. That’s my look at Group C of the Copa America. Just one last group to review and I’m ready for the tournament!
And just like that, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway. It is so weird to be talking about the World Cup right around the time I’m doing my Christmas shopping. I’m so used to watching World Cup games in hot weather. You find it odd, too?
So far only four games have been played. All teams from Groups A and B have completed their first matches. This tells quite a bit in terms of how things might go, but it doesn’t tell everything. I know I’ve been delivering previews to each of the World Cup groups. This is just simply a post with hyperlinks to all my group analyses. I will also post the two countries from each group I think will qualify for the knockout round. Also even though the teams Groups A and B have already played their first games, my original predictions still stand. So here are the links:
For the record, I’m not listing my predictions as who will finish first and second. I’m listing in group order. Anyways best of luck to all teams and let’s enjoy the show, despite the odd time differences!
Jon The Blogcentric 