World Cup 2026 Power Rankings: Spain and England continue to prove their class while USMNT show signs of life - but cracks emerge in all-star Portugal, France and Brazil squads

Cape Verde will become the second-smallest World Cup nation of all time by population after holding their nerve to book their place at next summer's showpiece. Having failed to get over the line in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Libya, the Blue Sharks ensured they will make their tournament debut courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Eswatini that secured top spot in their qualifying group in October, as they remarkably finished four points clear of African powerhouse Cameroon.

The tiny Atlantic archipelago nation recovered from an inauspicious start to their campaign to go on a run of five straight wins and eventually guaranteed their involvement in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a record of seven wins, two draws and just one defeat - a feat that is completely at odds with their failure to reach the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

It's certainly not a team made up of big names; they have Shamrock Rovers' Pico Lopes in their ranks, who was recruited via the professional social networking platform LinkedIn, while they have benefited from eligible players coming forward to represent them since their run to the quarter-finals of AFCON in 2023. They'll be rank outsiders next summer, but you can be sure the Cape Verdeans won't care one bit.

FIFA's decision to grant Oceania a guaranteed spot at the 2026 World Cup made New Zealand's qualification for the finals for the first time since 2010 a formality, as they have nothing remotely resembling worthy rivals in OFC. As defender Michael Boxall said after the All Whites progressed with a 3-0 win over New Caledonia, "We've gone through heartbreak in [previous campaigns] but once the tournament expanded, we expected this of ourselves."

The question now is whether they can make any kind of impact in North America next year. Much will obviously depend on the draw, and a summer friendly win over Ivory Coast offered some grounds for optimism - but it's hard to be confident about the prospects of a team ranked 82nd in the world that was beaten home and away by Australia in September. They followed that up with a narrow defeat to Poland and a draw against an Erling Haaland-less Norway this past week.

Indeed, they've still only won 11 games against non-OFC opposition in the past 15 years, and Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood is the only truly top-class player in New Zealand's squad. So, they'll essentially just be targeting a first-ever victory at the finals, and seeing where that takes them.

After failing to impress anyone on their World Cup debut as hosts in 2022, Qatar will be aiming to leave a much more positive impression four years on after securing qualification for the first time under their own power. The back-to-back Asian Cup champions did not have things all their own way in earning their spot, but got over the line with a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates in October.

Former Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui oversaw that win after taking the manager's job in May, with his main task shoring up a defence that conceded 24 goals in 10 matches during the third round of qualification. The early signs have been promising, while striker Almoez Ali has shown himself to be a threat in the final third by scoring 12 times in qualifying - the most by any player in Asia.

Still, getting out of their group in North America is likely to be a tall order unless Qatar are handed a particularly kind draw in December.

Jordan made history on June 5 by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, sparking wild scenes of celebration in capital city Amman - and all across the country. A 3-0 win over Oman, which came courtesy of a hat-trick from Ali Olwan, left Al Nashama on the verge of clinching a spot at the finals, and a top-two finish in AFC Group B was ensured thanks to South Korea's 2-0 win over third-placed Iraq later in the day.

Obviously, not much will be expected of Jordan at next year's finals. The majority of Jamal Sellami's side ply their trade in their homeland, though star winger Mousa Tamari has spent the majority of his career in Europe, and left Montpellier for Rennes earlier this year.

Jordan, who are ranked 62nd in the world, have also been steadily improving over the past few years and even upset South Korea on their way to a runners-up finish at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar.

Back at the World Cup for the eighth time since they made their tournament debut in the United States back in 1994, Saudi Arabia were forced to take the scenic route towards qualification before finally earning their spot in October.

Roberto Mancini resigned as coach after just over a year in charge following a poor Asian Cup campaign and a disappointing start to World Cup qualifying in October 2024, leading to the reappointment of his predecessor, Herve Renard. And while performances under the French manager haven't been consistent, the Saudis managed to edge out Iraq on goals scored in the fourth round of Asian qualifying to book their place in December's draw.

The influx of foreign superstars into the Saudi Pro League seems to have had a detrimental effect on the national team as a number of players have been forced out of their club line ups, and a repeat of their shock win over Argentina in 2022 feels a long shot at present.

After numerous near-misses and no shortage of heartbreak, Uzbekistan will finally make their first appearance at the World Cup finals next summer. Qualification was far from straightforward, with Srecko Katanec forced to step down as coach in January due to illness, and former midfielder Timur Kapadze finished the job that the Slovenian had started by securing a nail-biting 0-0 draw with United Arab Emirates on June 5 that guaranteed a top-two finish in AFC Group A. 

However, that wasn't enough to land him the top job; Italy legend Fabio Cannavaro has been drafted in ahead of the Asian nation's maiden World Cup, with Kapadze serving as his assistant. Now, preparations for the tournament proper are well under way, with the White Wolves having downed Kuwait in a friendly before showing they can mix it with the big boys in a narrow 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in Malaysia.

It's clear that Uzbekistan's undeniably slim hopes of making the knockout stage at the World Cup will hinge upon a strong defence led by Manchester City centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov, though there is talent in attack: captain Eldor Shomurodov is on Roma's books and now playing for Istanbul Basaksehir, who also recently signed the exciting 21-year-old winger Abbosbek Fayzullaev.

For the first time since they hosted in 2010, and for just the third time under their own steam, South Africa have earned qualification for the World Cup, though they almost let it slip through their fingers despite a dominant campaign in CAF Group C. The fielding of an ineligible player against Lesotho in September cost them three points, and they thus needed a win over Rwanda in their final match - as well as a favour from Nigeria - to book their spot for next summer.

A run to the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations suggested the Bafana Bafana were getting themselves back on track after a decade or so in the relative wilderness, and manager Hugo Broos has been able to maintain that momentum with a team that leans heavily on domestic superpower Mamelodi Sundowns. Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is one of the best shot-stoppers currently playing outside of Europe, while Burnley striker Lyle Foster will be expected to provide a goal threat.

Getting out of their group in North America will still likely be tough for South Africa, but they are certainly a team who are riding a wave and could cause a shock or two.

After a 12-year absence, Algeria will be back at the World Cup in 2026 after securing their place with a game to spare in African qualifying. The intervening period has been mixed for the Desert Foxes, who won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations but crashed out in the group stages of the same tournament without winning a game on three other occasions, and thus it's difficult to predict which version of the team will turn up in North America next summer.

Certainly the performances of veteran captain Riyad Mahrez will go a long way to deciding their fate, with the ex-Manchester City winger still pulling the strings as he approaches his 35th birthday. Fellow forward Mohamed Amoura, meanwhile, enjoyed an excellent qualifying campaign as he finished as the top scorer within Africa with 10 goals, and the Wolfsburg striker could be a breakout star of the tournament if things go well for Algeria.

There was never really any doubt over Tunisia reaching a third-consecutive World Cup finals. However, their qualification didn't lack drama, with the Eagles of Carthage sealing top spot in CAF Group H with a 94th-minute winner from Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane in Equatorial Guinea in September.

Of course, coach Faouzi Benzarti - who returned to the role in February, more than a decade after the end of his previous tenure - will have been more encouraged by the fact that his team managed to book their place in North America without conceding a single goal - a perfect record they maintained by scoring nine goals without reply across games against Sao Tome and Principe and Namibia to wrap up their campaign in October.

Despite their impressive defensive statistics, Tunisia will have their work cut out in making the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time ever, given their dearth of quality in attack.

Iran clinched their spot at the 2026 World Cup by twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with second-placed Uzbekistan in Tehran in March - a result that guaranteed the home side a top-two finish in AFC Group A. Mehdi Taremi proved predictably decisive, with the Olympiacos striker scoring both of his country's goals, though he was once again ably supported by Sardar Azmoun.

Iran do not have a particularly deep pool of players - as underlined by their poor showing in the disappointing loss to Uzbekistan in the 2025 CAFA Nations Cup - but they certainly do not lack experience and a team currently ranked 21st in the world should not be underestimated. This will be their fourth-consecutive finals and, with a kind draw, they could make it out of the group stage for the first time at the seventh attempt.

They might not have any supporters in the U.S, though, as American president Donald Trump rolled out a travel ban on a number of countries, including Iran. An exemption has been made that should apply to players, staff and associated families, but it is not applicable to the average supporter, which has cast a considerable shadow over Iran's qualification.

Veterans of four of the previous five World Cups, Ghana have emerged as one of the major forces in African football since the turn of the century. However, the Black Stars reached a low ebb in November 2024 when, after failing to win any of their six qualifying games, they failed to earn a spot at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. Manager Otto Addo unsurprisingly came under intense pressure, but he and his side have bounced back in impressive fashion over the past year.

In the six World Cup qualifiers they have played in 2025, Ghana have won five of them, recording an aggregate score of 16-1 to top their group. Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus are looking likely to head into the finals off the back of impressive Premier League campaigns if early-season form is anything to go by, while Jordan Ayew continues to contribute key goals at the age of 34. And so while the failures of the recent past still linger in the background, Ghana have the talent to make a push for a place in the knockouts.

For a team as successful as Egypt are within African football, their record in reaching World Cups is pretty abysmal. The Pharoahs have reached five of the last 10 AFCON finals, winning three of them, but 2026 will mark just the second time they have competed on the global stage since 1990. Their previous display left plenty to be desired, too, as they lost all three matches within what looked to be a less-than intimidating group in 2018, and thus putting on a much better show will be front of mind for Egypt's players next summer.

No more so is that the case than for Mohamed Salah, who continues to be the driving force for his national team after netting nine goals in qualifying. He has been joined in attack by Manchester City's Omar Marmoush in recent times, while manager Hossam Hassan also possesses a defence that conceded just two goals in 10 qualifying matches. As such, Egypt will surely pose a threat in North America.

Canada are a team on the rise under Jesse Marsch - as underlined by the fact that they've climbed from 40th to 26th in the world rankings this year. It's not been all plain sailing, of course. June's CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final loss to Guatamela was a major embarrassment - but the Canucks responded well to that setback, with back-to-back friendly wins in Europe, over Romania and Wales, before they were beaten by Australia and held to a draw by Colombia back on home soil in October.

It also shouldn't be forgotten that shortly after taking over in May of last year, Marsch led Canada to a fourth-placed finish at the 2024 Copa America - which arguably ranks as the finest achievement in the nation's soccer history. The challenge now, of course, is to make an even bigger impact at the 2026 World Cup. Canada have only qualified for the finals on two previous occasions (1986 and 2022) and they lost all three of their group games on both occasions.

However, Marsch has a top-class forward in Jonathan David, while the belief is that captain Alphonso Davies, who tore his ACL in the Nations League win over the U.S. in March, will be back in action - and back to his best - well before the Canadians bid to make their own little bit of history at the World Cup.

Australia confirmed their participation in the 2026 World Cup in emphatic fashion by winning away to Saudi Arabia on June 10 (when merely avoiding a five-goal defeat would have sufficed) - but it was the 1-0 win over Japan five days before that effectively secured qualification. Had Tony Popovic's side failed to defeat the Blue Samurai, their task in Jeddah would have been so much tougher, and they struggled to get a hold of the ball in Perth. However, Aziz Behich's stunning 90th-minute strike proved decisive in every sense.

The Socceroos are now looking forward to a sixth-consecutive appearance at the finals but, as it stands, this star-less squad doesn't look capable of matching the last-16 finishes achieved in 2006 and 2022. 

Still, both performances and results have improved since Popovic succeeded Graham Arnold as coach last September, and exciting youngsters Mohamed Toure, Nestory Irankunda and Alessandro Circati all caught the eye in both the 'Soccer Ashes' wins over New Zealand in September and October's victory over Canada. 

The reigning African champions ahead of the upcoming Cup of Nations, Cote d'Ivoire 'warmed-up' for the defence of their crown by going unbeaten through World Cup qualifying, winning eight of their 10 games while not conceding a goal, though they still had to wait until the final matchday to secure their spot amid tough competition from Gabon. The Elephants had failed to reach the last two global tournaments, but are back moving in the right direction following the retirements of their much-celebrated 'golden generation'.

Captained by Franck Kessie, the squad also contains the likes of Amad Diallo, Nicolas Pepe, Sebastien Haller and Simon Adingra, as well as highly-rated Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande. Led by Emerse Fae, who memorably took over as manager midway through their triumphant AFCON campaign, Cote d'Ivoire might not possess the same number of household names as they did when they qualified for three successive World Cups between 2006-2014, but they have a momentum behind them that could prove difficult to derail.

Paraguay have come a long, long way over the past year or so - and coach Gustavo Alfaro is the main reason why. La Albirroja fell at the first hurdle in last summer's Copa America, losing all three of their group games, which resulted in the dismissal of Daniel Garnero. Alfaro has worked wonders since taking over, with Paraguay clinching qualification for the World Cup thanks primarily to an immediate upturn in form that saw them beat Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay during a 10-game undefeated run.

Their progress was checked by a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Sao Paulo in June, but Paraguay secured a place at the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010 courtesy a scoreless draw with Ecuador in September. Their preparations for the tournament proper have since got under way with two friendlies in Asia, where they played out a creditable draw with Japan, although they were beaten by South Korea.

So, while Alfaro doesn't have any world-class attackers to call upon, he boasts a brilliant backline led by Palmeiras' veteran centre-half Gustavo Gomez that is very hard to break down.

Jaime Lozano led Mexico to Gold Cup glory in 2023, but he was sacked after last year's abysmal Copa America campaign in which El Tri failed dismally to get out of what was expected to be a very straightforward group featuring Jamaica, Venezuela and Ecuador. Consequently, Javier Aguirre is back at the helm and, this time, he's being assisted by the legendary Rafael Marquez, who has been pencilled in to take over as head coach after the World Cup.

It's certainly been an eventful start to Aguirre's third tenure, with Mexico recovering from a shock first-leg loss to Honduras (during which the coach was struck by a beer can thrown by a home fan!) to go on and win the Nations League in March - before then claiming another trophy in June with a 2-1 victory over the U.S. in the final of the Gold Cup in Houston. 

A run of four games without a win since that triumph, including a 4-0 loss to Colombia in October, has cast doubt over whether El Tri are really good enough to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup - but it is worth noting that the last time they did so was the last time they hosted the tournament...

Mauricio Pochettino's long-awaited appointment as the USMNT's new coach was announced a year ago to great fanfare, and the Argentine's reign kicked-off with an encouraging 2-0 win over Panama in Austin. However, Pochettino is no miracle-worker and the scale of the task ahead of him has since been made painfully clear, as the Americans lost seven of their subsequent 17 games since - an ignominious run that included some seriously troubling losses to Turkey, Switzerland and South Korea.

Even more worryingly, questions were raised over the character of certain players, including Christian Pulisic, whose relationship with Pochettino has been the subject of great debate since the AC Milan attacker skipped the summer's Gold Cup to rest after a long season in Serie A. Consequently recent wins over Japan and Australia, as well as a draw with in-form Ecuador, have provided some blessed relief for Pochettino at a time when some were questioning his position.

Improvements still need to be made, and it feels like the Argentine coach is still experimenting in a bid to discover his preferred line up, but thing do finally seem to be moving in a positive direction for the co-hosts.

South Korea's participation in next summer's World Cup will come as a surprise to absolutely no-one given the Taeguk Warriors have featured in the past 10 tournaments. This time around, qualification was sealed with an unbeaten campaign, which they completed by routing Kuwait 4-0 in their final fixture.

It wasn't all plain sailing, though, as they were held to three consecutive draws before getting the job done against Iraq, while several key players are getting on a bit, including legendary captain Son Heung-min. Still, manager Hong Myung-bo has got the Koreans back on track after their shock semi-final loss to Jordan at the 2023 Asian Cup, which resulted in the dismissal of Jurgen Klinsmann as coach, and the new boss has already started trying to rejuvenate the squad ahead of next summer's tournament in North America.

However, the 5-0 friendly thumping by Brazil in October might ring some alarm bells with the World Cup fast approaching, although South Korea somewhat redeemed themselves by getting the better of Paraguay a few days later.

The start of the Gennaro Gattuso era has been as entertaining as the man himself! Under Luciano Spalletti's surprise successor, the Azzurri have scored 16 goals in four matches - including five in back-to-back games in September that were followed up by comfortable victories over Estonia and Israel over the past week.

Mateo Retegui's thirst for goals doesn't seem to have been diminished by his summer transfer to Saudi Arabia while Sandro Tonali, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicola Barella and Gianluigi Donnarumma are elite-level players who would slot into any other team with eyes on glory this coming summer.

The issue for Italy is that, despite their strong start under Gattuso, their chances of automatic qualification remain slim, meaning they will likely have to once again plot their way through the play-offs to reach the tournament proper. They have failed on the previous two occasions - but will it be third time lucky in 2026?

Senegal remain one of Africa's strongest sides, as highlighted by their dismantling of England back in June, but the Lions of Teranga came perilously close to missing out on automatic qualification for the World Cup as they went 2-0 down in their must-win clash with DR Congo in September, only to turn the match on its head in the second half and secure a 3-2 victory that set them up to ease over the finish line a month later.

Pape Thiaw is still able to call upon veterans Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly and Idrissa Gana Gueye, while the performances of Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye and Nicolas Jackson over the past couple of years suggest Senegal should arrive in North America with a dynamic attack that doesn't require Mane to be its driving force as it did at previous tournaments.

Having made it into the knockout rounds at two of their previous three World Cups, few would bet against the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winners repeating the feat this time around.

After back-to-back 6-0 victories in the first international break of the new season, Belgium were far less convincing in their October fixtures - first being held by North Macedonia for the second time in this qualifying campaign, before having to come from behind to see off a stubborn Wales side in Cardiff, courtesy of two Kevin De Bruyne penalties.

Consequently, the Red Devils' hopes of finally ending their major tournament drought are still hard to gauge, given the low level of opponents they're playing in UEFA Group J. They're currently just one point clear of North Macedonia at the top, albeit with a game in hand. Indeed, it still feels as if De Bruyne's best chance of winning something with his country has passed him by - which is something he's been open about in the past himself.

We thought we'd seen the last of Luka Modric after Croatia's devastating first-round elimination at the Euros, but the Ballon d'Or winner has every chance of captaining his country at the World Cup at 40 years of age. Indeed, Croatia are well on their way to qualification after winning all five of their six games in UEFA Group L so far - an impressive run of form featuring a 5-1 demolition of Czech Republic and a 4-0 rout of Montenegro.

Of course, doubts persist over Croatia's continuing dependence upon not only Modric, but also Ivan Perisic (36) and Andrej Kramaric (34). Still, Petar Sucic and Franjo Ivanovic (both 21) have emerged as exciting prospects while the defence is led by Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol. If there's one thing we know about the third-placed finishers at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it's that they love defying the odds.

Nestor Lorenzo has done a fine job since taking charge of Colombia in June 2022, leading Los Cafeteros to the final of last summer's Copa America before securing a spot at the World Cup with one game to spare.

James Rodriguez was key to their qualification, with the breakout star of the 2014 World Cup rather fittingly opening the scoring in the 3-0 win over Bolivia that guaranteed his country a top-six finish in CONMEBOL, but Bayern Munich star Luis Diaz was also immense.

Colombia certainly aren't short on quality - Jhon Arias, Richard Rios and Daniel Munoz are all talented players, while Jhon Duran is a real wildcard - and they showcased that in October's 4-0 win over Mexico. However, punters will be wary of backing a team that went six games without a win before finally getting over the finish line against Bolivia.

Marcelo Bielsa is taking Uruguay to the World Cup and that's joyous news for anyone that loves colourful characters and attacking football. 'El Loco' is one of the most iconic coaches in football history and will be optimistic about his side's chances of springing a surprise or two next summer.

As well as overcoming Brazil on their path to the semi-finals of the 2024 Copa America, Uruguay also took four points off the Selecao during their World Cup qualification campaign - and even upset Argentina in Buenos Aires.

The two-time world champions have found wins a little hard to come by in 2025, but they picked up narrow friendly victories over the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan in October, and a team containing Darwin Nunez, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Federico Valverde will be well worth watching in North America.

Nobody will want to go up against Ecuador at the World Cup. La Tri proved an absolute nightmare to play against in South American qualifying - which maybe isn't that surprising given their defence features Paris Saint-Germain's Willian Pacho and new Arsenal signing Piero Hincapie, and is protected by Chelsea's ball-winning machine Moises Caicedo.

No team in CONMEBOL conceded fewer goals(just five in 18 games), while they also kept a staggering12 clean sheets, with their only two defeats coming away to Brazil and Argentina, whom Ecuador beat at home in their final qualifier to clinch second spot in the South American standings. 

So, while coach Sebastian Beccacece is short on penetration up front (the 35-year-old Enner Valencia remains their best source of goals), they're very well-equipped to frustrate the life out of their World Cup opponents and make amends for their 2022 group-stage exit.

Japan became the first team to actually qualify for the World Cup on March 20 by beating Bahrain with goals from Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo. It will be an eighth-consecutive appearance at the finals for the Blue Samurai, who were one of the revelations of the previous edition in Qatar, where they upset Germany and Spain on their way to the last 16 before unluckily losing to Croatia on penalties.

The stated objective now is to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, but whether they can do so is already a topic of intense discussion. Coach Hajime Moriyasu certainly has a strong and settled starting 11, which features Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma and is wonderfully well led by Liverpool's Wataru Endo, but there were nagging doubts over the squad's strength in depth even before an experimental side was beaten by the U.S. in a friendly.

Nonetheless, many of the World Cup's traditional superpowers will definitely want to avoid drawing a dynamic and well-balanced team who scored 30 goals in qualifying while only conceding three. They showed what they are capable of in their October friendlies, too, as they dramatically defeated Brazil for the first time ever after a draw with Paraguay.

Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil very much remain a work in progress, which is understandable given the Italian only took over in June - but results really need to pick up soon. The Selecao's October friendlies in Asia delivered an eye-catching 5-0 win over South Korea and an alarming 3-2 loss to Japan, where they surrendered a two-goal lead in a second-half capitulation.

It should be acknowledged that the first defeat of Ancelotti's tenure came at high altitude and in pretty controversial circumstances in Bolivia last month, but the performance was still poor, and it's not as if his side played particularly well against Ecuador and Paraguay back in June either.

There's arguably no better coach in world football than Ancelotti when it comes to uniting a team of individual talents but, right now, Brazil are less than the sum of their parts, and he faces a real battle to pull something out of the bag on the biggest stage.

Germany have gotten back on track somewhat after their World Cup qualifying campaign began with an ignominious 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in September, although a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg didn't exactly tell us much after the minnows were reduced to 10 men inside 20 minutes in Sinsheim.

While he drew a blank in that game, Newcastle's in-form Nick Woltemade proved he could be the prolific No.9 his country are desperately searching for when Julian Nagelsmann's side travelled to Belfast on Monday, continuing his hot streak in front of goal with a flicked first-half header that proved to be the difference against a stubborn Northern Ireland.

These ground-out results reflect that Germany should still qualify for the World Cup, but there is increasing doubt over their ability to actually win it.

Aside from Lionel Messi leading Argentina to World Cup glory, Morocco were the story of Qatar 2022, with The Atlas Lions becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals in the tournament's history. As it stands, Morocco also look like the continent's best hope of a victory in 2026.

Walid Regragui's free-scoring side have lost just two games since finishing fourth in Qatar and are presently on a 16-match winning streak - during which they qualified with ease for a third-consecutive World Cup for the first time in the country's history.

With Real Madrid attacker Brahim Diaz having been successfully integrated into a very strong side captained by Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi, Morocco will not lack quality or belief - especially if they win the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil six months before the World Cup begins...

The Netherlands are one of the more curious teams in international football. For example, they never really convinced at Euro 2024 yet still made the semi-finals.

Frustratingly, it remains difficult to know what to make of the Dutch, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Poland and then blew a 2-0 lead in Lithuania before nicking all three points thanks to a second-half winner from Memphis Depay back in September, only to then rack up successive 4-0 wins over Malta and Finland over the past week.

Depay, the Netherlands' new all-time leading goal-scorer, perfectly personifies the inconsistencies of Ronald Koeman's team: one minute brilliant, bang average the next.

Say what you will about Didier Deschamps, but the man is resilient. The painfully pragmatic coach appeared to be a sitting duck after last year's Nations League loss at home to Italy, in what was France's first outing following a mind-numbingly boring run to the semi-finals of Euro 2024. However, there was nothing dull about Les Bleus' run to the last four of the Nations League, where they were beaten 5-4 by Spain in a cracking contest.

Kylian Mbappe's return to form has obviously been integral to France's mini-revival, but they've also been aided by Michael Olise taking his game to a whole other level since joining Bayern Munich, and Ousmane Dembele finally getting his act together.

All things considered, then, Deschamps actually has an outside chance of ending his tenure on a high next summer. However, France still aren't anywhere near as good as they should be, given the wealth of talent at their disposal, and alarm bells will likely be ringing after they were forced to come from behind before eventually being held by minnows Iceland (albeit without the injured Mbappe) on Monday. The routine home win over Azerbaijan a few days prior won't lighten the mood, with qualification not yet guaranteed.

Very few fans attach much importance to the Nations League, but it proved an absolute life-saver for Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Martinez. Both men came under an awful lot of pressure to walk away from the Portugal national team after the incredibly embarrassing Euro 2024 campaign. However, victory in the Nations League strengthened their respective positions as captain and coach, meaning Ronaldo will almost certainly lead Martinez's Portugal into the 2026 World Cup at 41 years of age.

With the likes of Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Bruno Fernandes featuring in an undeniably stacked Seleccao squad, Portugal probably have more than enough quality to continue carrying Ronaldo, who can still be relied upon to find the net when presented with simple opportunities. Though he missed a penalty against Ireland during the recent break, he did score twice against Hungary, albeit that wasn't enough to secure victory as Martinez's side missed out on the chance to seal their spot in December's draw with two games to spare.

In truth, both performances during the October break left a lot to be desired, and improvements will be needed if Ronaldo is to complete his set of international trophies before finally retiring.

Statistically speaking, Sir Gareth Southgate was England's most successful manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, but he failed to end the most infamous trophy drought in international football, with the Three Lions once again coming up short at Euro 2024, where they were outclassed in the final by Spain. The Football Association, thus, turned to Thomas Tuchel to lead the country at the 2026 World Cup, so what chance does the German have of finally getting England over the line at a major tournament? A pretty good one, based on what we've seen so far. 

Granted, England toiled at times against deep-lying opponents in a painfully weak qualifying group - the games against Andorra were particularly tough to watch - but it was difficult not to be impressed by the sheer scale of their dominance in the 5-0 rout of Serbia in Belgrade in September, and they backed that up with further impressive showings against Wales and Latvia, the latter of which ensured they became the first European side to secure their spot at the finals.

Tuchel's England are yet to concede a competitive goal, Harry Kane is in Ballon d'Or-winning form up front while youngsters Anthony Gordon, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers have all stepped into the line-up and immediately impressed. The big question remains quite how the likes of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold factor into things once they are fit and firing, but there might not be a more formidable squad on show this summer than the Three Lions.

Will he or won't he? Lionel Messi could have retired after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022 with his magical, Diego Maradona-like performances in Qatar but, because he was still having so much fun with the Albiceleste, he stuck around to win another Copa America. The question remains, however, whether he will continue until 2026. 

Lionel Scaloni's squad is becoming less dependent upon Messi, as they so thrillingly underlined by routing Brazil in March without their injured skipper. Of course, even if Messi decides to walk away from the international arena before next summer, Scaloni won't be short on attacking talent, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez to choose from up front, while the coach has wisely taken advantage of the fact that his team qualified early for the World Cup by blooding exciting youngsters such as Nico Paz and Franco Mastantuono.

The fact remains, though, that if Messi plays on, Argentina would be even more confident about retaining their title.

Spain were outstanding at Euro 2024 - but it's looking like they could be even better at the 2026 World Cup. Lamine Yamal continues to go from strength to strength, the same goes for his Barcelona team-mate Pedri, while Dean Huijsen has slotted seamlessly into the back four.

La Roja are by no means unstoppable; Portugal proved that by edging them out on penalties in the Nations League final in June. However, doubts over their lack of a proper No.9 are dissipating because they're not having any issues scoring goals, in part due to Mikel Merino continuing to prove he can be a real threat in the final third even when playing in his preferred midfield role.

Luis de la Fuente's side have scored 15 unanswered goals in their first four qualifying matches and continue to look a class apart as they close in on securing their spot at the tournament next summer.