World Cup Group Stage Predictions

By: Pranav Perumal

Edited by: Advaith Venkataraghavan, Maurya Mopuri, Shiven Patel

Photo by My Profit Tutor

Every four years, the whole world stops to admire one tournament. Countries from all over the world. Fans gather in massive groups and organize parties for it. Nations arrive, rivalries explode, people who haven’t watched a single minute of soccer start tuning in to every single game; the FIFA World Cup brings together the whole world for one cause. For the first time in history, the World Cup will be hosted in three different countries. The USA, for the first time in 32 years; Mexico, for the first time in 40 years; and Canada, for the first time in the country’s history.

This year’s World Cup promises to bring more action and surprises. With the addition of 16 more teams into the mix, the tournament increased to 48 teams for the first time in its history, creating opportunities for underdogs to show they belong along with powerhouses to legitimize their stay at the top. Debut countries emerge into the global spotlight while the favorites continue to cement their place in the tournament’s legacy.

With the increased number of teams comes the increased amount of groups in the group stage. This year, there are 12 groups in the tournament opposed to the original 8 groups from the last edition. Although some groups seem more straightforward than others on paper, all twelve are extremely unpredictable throughout the course of this tournament.

Without further ado, here are my predictions for the group stage of the World Cup. Please beware that these predictions were made to the best of my knowledge and feel free to communicate any disputes in the comments.

Enjoy!

Group A

1. Mexico
2. Czech Republic
3. South Korea
4. South Africa

Group A seems like one of the more balanced groups in the tournament. Mexico come into the World Cup unbeaten for 8 straight games. Javier Aguirre’s men flaunt home field advantage for all of their group stage games. Captained by Edson Alvarez, the Mexican team looked very organized and confident in those performances. Their star players, Raul Jimenez and Santiago Gimenez, will be expected to lead the attack and serve as the team’s primary goalscorers. Combining this with young sensation Gilberto Mora and veteran Guillermo Ochoa provides the team with a healthy combination of experience, youth, and leadership, helping pave their way to the top of their group.

Czechia enter the tournament having won their last 6 games including two penalty shootouts against Ireland and Denmark to qualify. Their talisman, Patrik Schick, comes into the tournament having scored 16 goals for Bayer Leverkusen this season. The leadership of Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal, and Ladislav Krejci provides Czechia with the boost they need to finish 2nd in the group.

Group B

1. Switzerland
2. Bosnia
3. Canada
4. Qatar

Similar to the previous group, Group B also seems to be closely matched. Switzerland is entering the World Cup in poor form, with only 1 win in their last 5 games. However, Switzerland have often delivered underrated performances in tournaments, having reached the knockouts of both the Euros and the World Cup for the past 14 years. Although the retirement of Xherdan Shaqiri does hurt Die Nati, they certainly have the players to make up for it. Granit Xhaka captains this team after having a remarkable season with Sunderland in the Premier League. Along with him comes the experience of Manuel Akanji, coming off a league title with Inter Milan, and Gregor Kobel of Borussia Dortmund. Attacker Dan Ndoye was a key contributor in Switzerland’s qualifying campaign and has great potential to become a major threat for opponents. From a broad perspective, this team’s defensive discipline and chemistry provide the foundation for them to top their group.

The Swiss hope to make a run in this year’s World Cup

Bosnia and Herzegovina had to fight vigorously to reach this World Cup. They scraped through via a penalty shootout win against Wales in the semifinals before another penalty shootout win against favorites Italy. Their star player, Edin Dzeko, who is returning from a fantastic campaign for Schalke, is looking to show out one final time in what is likely his last World Cup. The 40 year old Bosnian Diamond has scored 78 goals for his national team and will look to increase that total. Along him is his striking partner, Ermedin Demirovic. He racked up 12 goals and 3 assists as he led VFB Stuttgart into 4th in the Bundesliga. Although Bosnia do have some defensive struggles, I do think that this is a resilient team that will marginally finish second, with Canada trailing them by goal difference.

Group C

1. Brazil
2. Scotland
3. Morocco
4. Haiti

Brazil enter the competition with all of their players in red-hot form. Raphinha is coming off another magical season with Barcelona, racking up 20 goals and 6 assists this season. Igor Thiago just had his breakout season in the Premier League, where his 22 goals helped lead Brentford to the top half of the table. Vinicius Junior had 22 goals and 11 assists in an underperforming Real Madrid side which went trophyless in back to back seasons for the first time 16 years. The man everyone is looking forward to seeing, however, is 34 year old Neymar Jr. Coming into the tournament, Neymar’s place in the squad was under major questioning as the Santos winger had many injury concerns. Despite that, he still managed to make the 26 man squad for the World Cup.

Defensively, this Brazil team is also one of the best in the tournament. Center backs Gabriel and Marquinhos come into the World Cup having won major trophies for their respective clubs. In goal, Alisson still remains a top class goal keeper along with Ederson, who’s a strong backup. In the midfield, Casemiro is coming off a great farewell season for Manchester United, racking up 9 goals and 2 assists, and delivering when the team needed him most. Adding to their depth is Éderson (different from Brazil’s goalkeeper), who has just completed a big-money transfer to Manchester United as Casemiro’s successor. It’s another piece in what is shaping up to be a very complete Seleção side with genuine potential to go far.

Raphinha hopes to lead Brazil to World Cup glory (Barca Blaugranes)

Scotland scraped into the World Cup in a very memorable fashion. Needing a win in their final game against Denmark to secure qualification, Scott McTominay’s bicycle kick along with Kenny McLean’s goal from the halfway line, helped Scotland win the game 4–2 and clinch their spot in a World Cup for the first time since 1998. McTominay has been the heart and soul of this Scottish side. Clutch goals along with midfield stability makes him the one to watch out for this summer. The Scottish team contains several leaders within its side as well. Andy Robertston comes into the World Cup after finishing his illustrious Liverpool career and moving on to Tottenham Hotspur, while John McGinn and Kenny McLean continue to assist within the locker room. This Scottish team is definitely one to look at as its all round talent and recent form provide strong chances to upset elite nations.

Group D

1. Turkey
2. USA
3. Paraguay
4. Australia

Turkey come into this tournament unbeaten in the last 8 games, with their last loss coming in September of last year. Two 1–0 wins against Romania and Kosovo in the semifinals and finals of the qualifiers meant that they reached the World Cup for only the 3rd time in the country’s history. Hakan Calhanoglu captains Turkey after winning the Scudetto(League title in Italy) with Inter Milan. Starboy Kenan Yildiz and Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler have had strong performances recently and are definitely one of the duos to look out for. Although they have had their share of defensive struggles, the team is well constructed and will be able to finish at the top of Group D.

The USA under Mauricio Pochettino so far has been extremely inconsistent, with 3 wins and 3 losses in their last 6 matches. Furthermore, the losses have been extremely concerning defensively as they have let in 9 goals across their losses. One major positive remains their 5 -1 win against Uruguay, where they looked clinical in front of goal. USA’s main man, Christian Pulisic, is looking to bounce back after a disappointing campaign with AC Milan. Striker Folarin Balogun is looking to carry his good form into the tournament, while the midfield of Weston McKennie, Giovanni Reyna, Malik Tillman, and Tyler Adams continues to remain solid. The biggest gap in their squad is their defense, and when combining this with their recent unpredictability, the US are unlikely to top the group, but remain strong contenders for 2nd. If they end up finishing anywhere lower than that, major discussions need to be held regarding the future of the team.

The USA hope to impress their home crowd this World Cup (ESPN)

Group E

1. Germany
2. Ecuador
3. Ivory Coast
4. Curacao

After winning the World Cup in 2014, Germany have been bounced out of the group stage for the past 2 editions. This seems to be the year that they have finally figured it out. Under Julian Nagelsmann, Die Mannschaft have won their last 9 matches with their last loss coming against Slovakia in September of last year. Joshua Kimmich leads the German side after winning the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. Although Florian Wirtz’s season with Liverpool was a massive disappointment, he’s had much better form with Germany. Denis Undav comes into the World Cup having scored 19 goals in the Bundesliga, the second most in the league. Jamal Musiala still managed to score 6 goals and get 4 assists in 15 games after coming back from his gruesome leg injury last year. Defensively, Manuel Neuer has once again been called up for the tournament, though recent injuries have created concerns over his tournament performance. Antonio Rudiger and Jonathan Tah will look to lead the backline. I really like this German team and believe they have the potential to even win the whole tournament. On the other hand, it is plausible that Germany don’t even make the knockouts in the first place, which would then immediately prompt discussion on Julian Nagelsmann’s place in the team.

Germany hope to advance to the knockouts for the first time since 2014 (Get German Football News)

Ecuador are coming into the World Cup as major dark horses, showing exceptional form in their recent matchups. They are currently unbeaten in 19 games with their last loss coming back on September 6, 2024. The defensive resilience of this team is impeccable: in each of those 19 games, they haven’t conceded more than 2 goals. Furthermore, the team also boasts strong chemistry. Willian Pacho and Piero Hincapie headline the backline of Ecuador with both these men coming off Champion League and Premier League victories respectively. Along with Joel Ordonez and Pervis Estupinan, they will look to frustrate teams defensively. Attacking wise, this team is also well rounded. Moises Caicedo in the midfield is coming off a productive season with Chelsea FC while Enner Valencia’s track record with La Tri also gives a boost to the national team. If everything clicks for Ecuador, this is a dark horse team that many nations should be worried about.

Group F

1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Japan
4. Tunisia

The Dutch are still fighting for their first World Cup in the country’s history. Having been one of the powerhouses for a long time, this is a great chance for the Netherlands to finally grab the one trophy that has been evading them. They breezed past their qualification group, grabbing 1st place and automatically qualifying into the tournament. Since then, however, the Dutch have struggled in friendlies. They drew a losing game against Ecuador, lost against Algeria and barely scraped a 2–1 win against Uzbekistan. Ronald Koeman’s men have to be very disciplined throughout this whole tournament to have a shot at glory. It all starts with their backline captained by Virgil Van Dijk. He didn’t have the best of seasons for Liverpool this year but will continue to help hopefully lead the Dutch to World Cup glory. Robin Roefs had an incredible season for Sunderland as the Black Cats stayed up in the Premier League after promotion from the Championship. The midfield is headlined by Frenkie De Jong, Tijanni Reijnders and Ryan Gravenberch. De Jong is experienced within the national team and Gravenberch has shown that he is an elite midfielder. The questions are surrounding Reijnders, who didn’t have the best debut season for Manchester City. The attack has been questioned as of late. Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo haven’t hit form in the national team with the former not scoring since last October and the latter only scoring twice since last September.

The Dutch need everyone to contribute in order to finally lift the World Cup (Yahoo Sports)

I thought a lot about who would come second in this group. Ultimately, I think the Swedish will just edge out Japan on goal difference because of their star studded attack. The striker duo of Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak continues to be formidable. Isak has been injured most of the season but has come back in time for the World Cup. Gyokeres started his debut season for Arsenal slowly but picked up quickly to deliver strong performances and rack up 20 goals. Youngsters Lucas Bergvall and Yasin Ayari need to be very good in the midfield for Sweden to advance. I do think Japan will advance on points for 3rd place teams, but the star power of Sweden’s attack provides them with the foundation to advance safely to the knockouts.

Group G

1. Egypt
2. Belgium
3. Iran
4. New Zealand

To be completely honest, I don’t trust this Belgian team at all. After the last edition of the World Cup in 2022 and the Euros in 2024, Belgium don’t seem like they’ll be the team to come out on top, which is why I’ve gone for Egypt to top the group. The attack is the HEADLINE of the Egyptian team, led by the main man Mohamed Salah of course, but I doubt that he’ll steal the spotlight in this edition of the tournament. It’s time for Omar Marmoush to take the throne; he’ll be Egypt’s top scorer. Salah will still be a focal point of this attack, no doubt about that, but I sense that he will assist more rather than score throughout this group stage. Omar Marmoush has mainly been a substitute behind either Erling Haaland or Antoine Semenyo, but when he did come onto the pitch, he looked incredibly promising. This World Cup will be his breakout tournament, his opportunity to truly showcase his skills. Egyptian defense and midfield play will have to be solid in order to go far in this tournament, but they should barely squeeze their way to the top of Group G.

This Belgian team has many questions to answer during this World Cup. One of the biggest is: “How sustainable is this old core of Belgium?” Both Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne are 34, Romelu Lukaku is 33 and Axel Witsel is 37. Along with supporting players of Hans Vanaken, Thomas Meunier, and Leandro Trossard, this is certainly an old Belgian team. With that said, there are indeed many emerging young players. However, there are some concerns with them going into the tournament. Jeremy Doku, for example, is coming off his best season for Manchester City, scoring 7 goals with 8 assists; his dribbling has also caused fullbacks difficulties. Unfortunately, he did get injured during a training session on Tuesday, so his availability for the game against Egypt is in question. Amadou Onana had a disappointing season for Aston Villa, and hasn’t played superbly for the national team either. If they wish to advance, Belgium need their older core to lead and have their young players be healthy and clinical in front of goal.

Group H

1. Spain
2. Uruguay
3. Saudi Arabia
4. Cabo Verde

Forget topping their group, Spain is my favorite to win the whole shebang. The Euros winners are coming into this tournament in RED HOT form. The Nations League Final loss to Portugal has been their only loss in the past 2 years, and even then, penalties had to decide the outcome of the match. The world’s focus, and mine, will be on 18 year old superstar Lamine Yamal. The phenom has put up his best numbers with Barcelona in his career so far, netting 22 goals along with 17 assists in all competitions. The defense of all other nations will be focused on stopping him, however, that opens the floor for the many other attacking options that La Roja possesses; Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino, and Pedri are only a few examples. Defensively, Spain is just as good. In terms of goalkeepers, Spain has two of the best in the world, and they’re still being benched by Unai Simon. With their defenders, they have a ton of options to go to here as well, including Marc Cucurella, Pau Cubarsi, Alex Baena, Pedro Porro, Aymeric Laporte, Alejandro Grimaldo, Eric Garcia and Marc Pubill. Luis De La Fuente is going to have his hands full trying to pick the best starting 11, and I can confidently say this team sports a great chance of lifting the trophy in July.

Lamine Yamal aims to propel this star-studded Spain team to World Cup glory (CNN)

Uruguay has confused me as of late. After the CONMEBOL (South American Confederation) World Cup qualifiers finished, I would’ve thought that Uruguay could make it to maybe the quarterfinals. Since the qualifiers, they have only won twice in their past six games, with one of their losses including a 5–1 thrashing against the USA. To put it bluntly, Marcelo Bielsa has to pull things together within the team if they want a shot to go far. Federico Valverde captains this team after an individually successful season at Real Madrid, scoring 9 goals along with 12 assists in all competitions; he, alongside experienced players such as Ronald Araujo, Jose Gimenez, Sergio Rochet, Giorgian De Arrascaeta and Guillermo Valera, have to be leaders on the pitch and showcase their talent. Uruguay also surprisingly only has 1 player aged 24 or under in their squad, highlighting the experience of their players further. Overall, their attack and midfield is solid, and if their defense can also work together as a team, I can see this Uruguay team make it to the round of 16.

Group I

1. France
2. Senegal
3. Norway
4. Iraq

This French national team is probably the best it’s been since 1998. They have always shown up and shown in recent World Cups. Winners in 2018 and runners up in 2022, they’ll be looking to add a third World Cup in Didier Deschamps’ last tournament as the French manager. The spotlight will always be on Kylian Mbappe. The striker is hoping to break Miroslav Klose’s record for most goals scored at the World Cup while also becoming France’s all time World Cup top scorer. Past Mbappe, the attacking options are limitless. Michael Olise is playing like a Ballon d’Or frontrunner with 22 goals and 29 assists in all competitions so far. They also have the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Marcus Thuram, Rayan Cherki, Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Jean-Philippe Mateta. With regards to midfielding and defense, they’re also one of the strongest in the tournament. Ngolo Kante is back in the World Cup squad after missing 2022 due to injury. Aurelian Tchouameni is looking to build off his international successes. Fullbacks Jules Kounde and Malo Gusto are hoping to bounce back after a below-par season with Barcelona and Chelsea respectively. Centre backs Ibrahima Konate and William Saliba will look to build off previous international form and stay disciplined. Even on the bench, France have the likes of Lucas Hernandez, Adrien Rabiot, Manu Kone, and Maxence Lacroix. Les Bleus have a fantastic shot at winning the World Cup, provided they play as a cohesive unit and don’t let individual star power overshadow the collective effort.

Mbappe hopes to break records and win another World Cup for France (Sports Illustrated)

Having gotten all the way to the AFCON final this January, Senegal are entering this tournament in great form. Although they suffered a 3–2 loss against the United States, they have been otherwise unbeaten since last November. While they have shown dominance against African nations, they have been inconsistent against nations outside the continent: A 0–0 draw against Saudi Arabia 3 days ago, a 2–0 win against Peru in March, a 0–2 defeat against Brazil last November, and a 2–3 defeat against the USA. The rest of their matches have been from the Africa Cup of Nations, friendlies against African teams, or World Cup qualifiers. Kalidou Koulibaly leads Senegal after a disappointing campaign with Al-Hilal. He did suffer an injury during the season which might affect his performance during this tournament. Sadio Mane is looking to add to his great Senegal career after having a great season with Al-Nassr where they won the league for the first time in 7 years. Illiman Ndiaye, Pape Sarr, Pape Geuye and Nicholas Jackson will all look to be the supporting cast to help propel Senegal to the knockouts along with the experience of Edouard Mendy. It will be tough as they have to go through France and Norway, but this seems like a resilient Senegal team that can make it to the round of 16.

Group J

1. Argentina
2. Austria
3. Algeria
4. Jordan

The defending champions are looking to go back to back for the first time since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Argentina are coming into the World Cup having won their last 7 games. Their lack of international games leading up to the tournament, however, could prove to be very costly. Of course, it will be Lionel Messi to lead the Argentines into the World Cup. So far in the 2026 MLS season, he has 12 goals and 7 assists in just 14 matches. As always, he is turning up at the right time for his team. Apart from Messi, La Albiceleste have a lot of great attacking options: Lautaro Martinez has shown that he can be one of the best strikers in the world; Nico Paz has just come off an incredible season with Como; Julian Alvarez has been great for Atletico Madrid; Alexis Mac Allister can offer more attacking from the midfield along with Enzo Fernandez. Emiliano Martinez, who won the golden glove in the last World Cup, will be looking to anchor Argentina once again. Argentina also has a lot of leadership in their team. Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Giovanni Lo Celso, Nicolas Otamendi, and Nicolas Tagliafico will all be looking to help guide Argentina to another deep run and possibly a second straight World Cup.

Argentina hope to become back-to-back World Cup champions (BBC)

Austria have always been slight underdogs in tournaments. They come into this tournament unbeaten in their last 11 games which included a massive 5–1 win against Ghana. Ralf Rangnick has been great as manager since he took over in 2022. Although they missed out on the last World Cup and didn’t make it out of the group stage in the last Euros, the team has recently looked revitalized. David Alaba captains the Austrian side after bidding farewell to his Real Madrid career. Marko Arnautovic enters his last World Cup after winning the Serbian League with Crvena Zvezda. Austria has a lot of experience on their team, including the likes of Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer, Alexander Schlager, and Florian Grillitsch. This team must lean on their leadership and experience to hold their nerves and finally end their 44-year wait to advance from the group stage.

Group K

1. Portugal
2. Columbia
3. DR Congo
4. Uzbekistan

This is the best Portugal has looked in a long time, especially in the midfield. They haven’t lost a game since the Euro 2024 quarterfinal against France. They are led by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo, who has finally gotten his first league title with Al Nassr by scoring 28 goals and racking up 2 assists. He is constantly chasing his 1000 goal milestone and will look to decrease the gap in his last ever World Cup. The real strength of Portugal is in the midfield: Vitinha and Joao Neves have looked like the best midfield duo in the whole world for PSG; Bruno Fernandes just broke the single season assist record in the Premier League with 21 assists; Bernardo Silva continues to be a top midfielder along with his former Manchester City teammate, Matheus Nunes. In defense, Nuno Mendes continues to establish himself as one of the best fullbacks in the world. Joao Cancelo has proven his quality at Barcelona, where he became one of the Catalan club’s standout defenders. At the heart of the backline, Ruben Dias brings leadership and composure to the team. Portugal have a great mix of leadership, star power, and youth in their squad, which provides them with the potential to win the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history.

Cristiano Ronaldo aims to decrease the gap to 1000 goals in his last World Cup as a player(Sky Sports)

Columbia are definitely a dark horse in this tournament. They have immense firepower and experience that can take them far. However, they have struggled against more elite nations. A 2–1 defeat to Croatia and a 3–1 defeat to France, prompts them to regroup and stay composed from a defensive standpoint. James Rodriguez captains the Columbians after leaving Minnesota United early to prepare for the World Cup. Star winger Luis Diaz will be looking to continue his great form into the World Cup after scoring 26 goals and getting 19 assists in this year for Bayern Munich. Luis Suarez (not the Uruguayan striker) has been clinical for Sporting CP in his debut season, racking up 34 goals and 6 assists. The real questions lie within the defense. Davinson Sanchez and Daniel Munoz have to be at their best in order for Columbia to make a run in the tournament. If their defense and midfield can stay stable while allowing for the stars to light up the pitch, Columbia can definitely make a run in this World Cup.

Group L

1. England
2. Croatia
3. Ghana
4. Panama

There have been some questions regarding the 26 man squad for England. Exclusion of players like Cole Palmer, Harry Maguire, Phil Foden, and Trent Alexander-Arnold left many fans in confusion; regardless, they still have immense star power to go far in this tournament. For starters, Harry Kane is playing out of his mind this season. The Bayern Munich striker has scored 61 goals in all competitions in only 51 games, and it would be wrong of me to forget to mention the fact that he’s the best goal scorer in the entire world this season. Bukayo Saka is coming off a Premier League title with Arsenal, scoring 11 goals and racking up 8 assists in all competitions, while Marcus Rashford is also coming off a great loan spell in Barcelona. The backup options for attackers are great also with the likes of Eberechi Eze, Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers. England’s midfield is also well rounded. Jude Bellingham, for example, still remains a star of this England team despite a disappointing season for his standards; at the same time, Declan Rice is coming off a Premier League title win with Arsenal and was a key figure in the midfield for them, and Kobbie Mainoo and Elliot Anderson have proven to be two of the Premier League’s best young midfielders. The defense can line up in many different ways. Nico O’Reilly is coming off a great breakout season for Manchester City, and Marc Guehi started the season off at Crystal Palace before earning his move to Manchester City, playing great ever since. Reece James still remains a top-class right back when he is healthy, and Ezri Konsa still remains a great backup option for the English. England has been waiting for the World Cup to come back home since 1966, let’s see if they take this golden opportunity.

Croatia have asserted themselves as a nation to look out for in international tournaments. Runners up in 2018 and bronze medalists in 2022, Croatia have gone from a dark horse nation to an ELITE European powerhouse. Captained by the ageless wonder in Luka Modric, Croatia boasts capable leadership in its team. Ivan Perisic, Ante Budimir, Mateo Kovacic, Dominik Livakovic and Andrej Kramaric all look to compose and lead the team, led at the helm by Modric. Luka Vuskovic and Josko Gvardiol provide a skilled young core; Vuskovic has just come off a great loan spell at Hamburg, while Gvardiol is coming off winning two trophies at Manchester City. Both will need to ensure that the defense is organized and set. Croatia looks to be a dangerous team that can make a deep run once again.

Modric captains Croatia in his final World Cup (3 Seas Europe)

There you have it. My predictions for this world cup’s group stage.

The group stage of the FIFA World Cup always promises drama. Whether it’s a major upset or a controversial finish, there is always some kind of tension that keeps fans on the edge of their seats. Many of these groups are too close to call and could easily lead to several high-profile early exits. All of this is sure to pave the way for a fascinating knockout stage with much to look forward to.