Winners and losers of the World Cup 2026 draw: France face early tests while Scotland fans' worst fears come true - but the USMNT must be thrilled!

Things are suddenly looking up for U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine came in for plenty of stick during a trying start to his tenure that featured some desperately disappointing defeats and very worrying signs of a strained relationship with 'Captain America' Christian Pulisic. However, after a run of five games without defeat, including a 5-1 demolition of Uruguay achieved without some of his most talented players, Pochettino will now be very confident of avoiding an early exit at next summer's World Cup.

Truth be told, there's absolutely no reason why the co-hosts can't progress as winners of Group D because the draw couldn't have gone much better for them: Australia were among the weakest sides in Pot Two, Paraguay finished sixth in CONMEBOL and, like the Socceroos, struggle to score goals; while Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo was the weakest of the UEFA play-off brackets.

All things considered, a first World Cup quarter-final appearance since 2002 is a distinct possibility for the Americans if Pochettino can maintain the momentum he's built up in recent months.

As one of the seeded sides in a 48-team World Cup, Dider Deschamps' France would have been forgiven for anticipating a rather straightforward group-stage assignment. What they've received, though, is a very early and very tricky test of their credentials.

In Norway, Les Bleus drew the team that absolutely nobody wanted from Pot Three, meaning the French are definitely going to have a fight on their hands for top spot in Group I - and not just because they'll have to figure out a way to stop Erling Haaland.

The 2022 runners-up have also been landed in the same pool as Senegal, who are ranked 19th in the world and showed just how dangerous they are by dismantling England in a friendly at the City Ground earlier this year. It's also worth noting that The Lions of Teranga upset France at in the opening round of games at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan 23 years ago. If history were to repeat itself in the U.S. next summer, France would actually be at risk of suffering another humiliatingly early exit.

A bit like Kevin De Bruyne all the way back in 2022, we'd pretty much given up on Belgium's 'Golden Generation' ever realising their potential. However, all hope is not yet lost. While several stars retired after the Red Devils' calamitous campaign in Qatar, De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Axel Witsel and Thibaut Courtois are still knocking about and, fitness-permitting, all four will feature at next summer's tournament in North America.

Granted, the Belgians performed pretty poorly in qualifying. As winger Jeremy Doku admitted, the majority of their displays were sub-standard and we're not going to suddenly tout them as potential World Cup winners.

However, Rudi Garcia's squad does not lack quality or experience, and should (in theory, at least) cruise through a group containing Iran, Egypt and New Zealand, with only The Pharaohs looking remotely capable of challenging them for top spot.

When Scotland last appeared at the World Cup, in 1998, they were drawn in the same group as Brazil, Morocco and Norway. This time around, they've managed to avoid the Scandinavians, but having to once again tackle the Selecao and The Atlas Lions means the Scots could well struggle to reach the round of 32.

Brazil may not be the force they once were, but they're still the record five-time champions and results have certainly picked up since Carlo Ancelotti took over during the summer. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if the former Real Madrid boss were to coax the best out of Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo next summer.

As for Morocco, they're once again Africa's best hope of finally winning the World Cup. They finished fourth in 2022 and are presently on a 19-match unbeaten run.

Bottom line: Scotland might need to produce the kind of heroics they pulled out of the bag in their dramatic and decisive qualifying win over Denmark just to make the knockout stage. And who knows, with the support of the travelling Tartan Army, maybe it's not beyond the realms of possibility?!

As the highest-ranked side in international football, Spain would have remained among the favourites to win next summer's World Cup even if they'd been placed in a 'Group of Death', so their chances have only increased after a very soft draw.

Uruguay's unpredictability means they shouldn't be underestimated, but last month's 5-1 loss to the U.S. exposed serious problems within Marcelo Bielsa's squad and, at the moment, there's no guarantee that El Loco will still be in charge when the finals get under way. 

As for Saudi Arabia, despite massive subsequent investment in their domestic league, they've actually regressed since pulling off arguably the biggest shock in World Cup history by beating eventual winners Argentina in Qatar in 2022, while Cape Verde will be no match for Lamine Yamal & Co.

When you also consider that Spain's scheduled quarter-final opponent will be the winner of either the United States' or Belgium's group, La Roja look perfectly placed to add the world title to their European crown next summer.

With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still defiantly fighting the ravages of time (to varying degrees of success), it now seems almost certain that the two living legends will once again grace the game's grandest stage next summer.

There's little evidence of Messi becoming a "burden" to Argentina. On the contrary, he remains integral to their hopes of winning a second consecutive title and the Albiceleste should have little trouble finishing top of a group containing Austria, Algeria and Jordan.

As for Ronaldo, he'll be looking forward to adding to his relatively low tally of World Cup goals after having his suspension for the first two games quashed, meaning he's free to face the winner of inter-confederation play-off pathway one (DR Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia) and Uzbekistan, before Portugal take on Colombia in a game that will almost certainly decide the winner of Group K.

However, those hoping for the most dramatic end possible to the era-defining Ronaldo-Messi rivalry - a World Cup final between their respective nations - have been left disappointed, as Argentina and Portugal are on the same side of the draw.

Still, FIFA can console themselves with the fact that a quarter-final clash between the superstar duo is a distinct possibility and would doubtless break the internet anyway!