Who is best placed to lift the trophy, which names could define the tournament, and where might the surprises come from? Ahead of the 2026 World Cup across the USA, Canada and Mexico, eight television pundits — all former internationals — share their early thoughts on the contenders.
WHO’S GOING TO WIN?
Steph Houghton: Houghton is hoping England can go all the way to the final, but she sees serious strength elsewhere. In her view, France and Spain both have outstanding squads packed with players capable of deciding matches, while Brazil also remain a major threat.
Wayne Rooney: Rooney keeps his list of leading contenders short and familiar, pointing to Spain, France and England as the teams that must be taken most seriously.
Olivier Giroud: Giroud believes France and Spain stand out as the two strongest sides, though he says the bigger question is whether they would meet in the final or cross paths earlier in the competition. He also expects at least one African nation to make a deep impression, naming Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana as teams dangerous enough to spring a surprise on their day.
Ian Wright: Wright’s pick is Spain. As reigning European champions, he believes they have the right blend of established quality and emerging talent to challenge for the biggest prize.
Karen Carney: Carney expects France to be among the favourites, not least because of the experience of manager Didier Deschamps. But she is also keeping a close eye on Portugal, a team she feels is being overlooked. With Joao Neves, Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes in midfield, she argues there are few trios in world football with more quality.
Patrick Vieira: For Vieira, France remain the side everyone else has to chase. He points to their individual brilliance, strong collective spirit, competitive edge and physical power as the qualities that make them capable of winning another World Cup.
Karen Carney thinks Portugal, inspired by Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, can be dangerous at this summer’s World Cup
PLAYERS TO WATCH?
Roy Keane: Lamine Yamal for Spain. I love any player who can go past somebody one on one. And Julian Alvarez for Argentina is peaking at the right time. England’s Nico O’Reilly could have a huge tournament from an attacking left-back position, and Erling Haaland will have a big impact for Norway.
Ellen White: Nico O’Reilly for England, Antonio Nusa for Norway and Ivory Coast’s Yan Diomande.
Ian Wright: Yamal. He’s having a great season and he’ll love playing at his first World Cup. England’s Harry Kane is in the form of his life and the best striker in the world. Michael Olise too – France is so stacked with talent but he’s shown he can stand out when surrounded by stars. It’s good to see Neymar being called up by Brazil after injury too; I’m praying he’s doing a Rocky or Mr T behind the scenes.
Wayne Rooney: For England Elliot Anderson is brilliant and there’s Kobbie Mainoo, and Yamal for Spain is a top player. There are some great young players in the competition.
Olivier Giroud: Desire Doue for France – he’s only 21 but you can see what a talent he is. Everyone knows him from the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain; I think he’ll make history now with France.
Patrick Vieira: There are a few talented young players who can use this competition as a platform to showcase their skills. Yamal, then we have Michael Olise with the French team, and for England it’s Saka. I think Pedri could lead the Spanish team.
Steph Houghton: Elliot Anderson and Nico O’Reilly for England, I can see them being starters. And Rayan Cherki for France.
Karen Carney: You’ve got three global superstars defying the odds and battling it out again and it might be their last World Cup – Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar. If you saw Neymar’s reaction to being selected where he broke down and cried… these footballers could have anything in the world but the one thing he wanted was to go to the World Cup. Plus there’s always going to be a young breakout star, like Colombia’s James Rodriguez in 2014 who ended up at Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, 24, has been tipped to star for France by Ian Wright and Patrick Vieira
ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND’S CHANCES?
Roy Keane: I worry about England defensively, especially in the knockout stages against a top nation. I think they’ll still go to the knockout stages, but come the crunch games where it’s tight I think they’ll come up short. Scotland have a tough group – I think they’re capable of getting out of it but after that I wouldn’t have high hopes.
Ian Wright: England do have a chance. We have the best No 9 in the world in Harry Kane and this group of players have a lot of experience together in tournaments now, they’re ready to take that next step. England should be aiming for the final, they’ve got enough talent and a great manager. I don’t think this is a season where people will say, ‘Oh, he’s being jingoistic’, I’ve got total faith that this team can get to the semis and the final. Scotland have a tough group, but if McTominay, McGinn and Robertson are at their best they will get through.
Karen Carney: It’s a long tournament and I hope England grow in confidence as they go on, while the Scots have to start well against Haiti, because then they’ve got Brazil and Morocco. If they beat Haiti they have a good chance of going through, but I think they might lack a definitive centre-forward.
Scotland will need Scott McTominay on form if they are to progress, says Ian Wright
YOUR BEST MEMORIES
Olivier Giroud: My fondest memory is definitely when I lifted the trophy in 2018. As a spectator it’s France winning on home soil in 1998 when I was 11 years old.
Ellen White: The best memories have been watching the underdogs thrive and seeing a team or player you maybe don’t know making a huge impact on the world stage. The colours, the vibrancy, the cultures and communities all coming together to celebrate their teams. And also, football is simply a beautiful thing to watch.
Steph Houghton: My fondest memory is captaining the Lionesses to a bronze medal in Canada in 2015. My best memory of watching the World Cup would be 1998 when Michael Owen scored a beauty against Argentina.
Karen Carney: My first World Cup was France 98. I still have a France 98 lunchbox. I took my sandwiches in it to football camp when I was 10. I supported England but I absolutely adored Brazil, with Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Cafu and Roberto Carlos. That was the group who made me fall in love with football. Every birthday I would get a Brazil kit.
Roy Keane: I’ve got good memories of playing in America in 1994. We had Jack Charlton throwing on plastic bags of water and as you caught them the bags would burst, so I think they’ll be a little more organised with the water breaks this time round.
Jack Charlton oversees training with Roy Keane (right) in Ireland’s 1994 campaign
WHAT IMPACT WILL THE NEW FORMAT HAVE?
Ian Wright: I find it scandalous that the tickets, accommodation, travel…everything’s so extortionate. Games are going behind a paywall in some countries. It’s ridiculous what’s happening, it’s a rich man’s game now. Football should be for everyone. But I’m excited that we have a lot of newcomers: Curacao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan – coached by Italian World Cup-winning captain from 2006 Fabio Cannavaro, who I love – are all playing in the World Cup for the first time.
Roy Keane: My family are delighted that I’ll be over there for five and a half weeks! It lasts so long, whole squads will have to play a part.
Karen Carney: The volume of games is massive – 104 matches with 48 teams and more than 1,000 players – it’s significantly bigger than previous tournaments. And I’m excited to see new teams that have never featured before. It’s across three countries so you’ve got to factor in the travelling, different time zones and jet lag; it’s also going to be very hot.
Olivier Giroud: Because eight third-placed teams will qualify from the group stage there’ll be more hope for the underdogs. So with the big teams their coaches might prioritise a ‘don’t lose’ mentality over a ‘must-win’ mindset.
Steph Houghton: Playing against teams from different continents with different styles will have a huge influence on how this tournament will go. Playing in the USA, Canada and Mexico will impact games because of the temperature, with teams trying to conserve energy as much as possible.
Interviews by Andrew Preston
ITV1’s World Cup coverage starts on Thursday at 6.15pm, before the opening game, Mexico v South Africa; BBC1’s begins on Friday at 7pm before Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina
ITV presenter Mark Pougatch on why the World Cup’s atmosphere is so unique…
My first proper World Cup memory is 1978 when I was 10. I was sitting down with Dad and I said, ‘Well, England haven’t qualified so we’re supporting Scotland.’ He said yes, and then they lost 3-1 to Peru! That was my first realisation that just because you know nothing about these other countries, it doesn’t mean they’re not really good. There’s always lots of jeopardy.
I’ve covered four World Cups on the radio and this will be my third for TV. My first big memory for radio is England playing Argentina in Sapporo, Japan, in 2002. It was four years on from David Beckham being sent off against Argentina so there was a massive build-up. I remember walking into the ground thinking, ‘Where did all these England fans come from?’ I recall Beckham scoring, and afterwards the pianist at my hotel was playing Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.
My first TV World Cup was Moscow in 2018, where England played Colombia in the round of 16. Colombia equalised at the end and it went to penalties, and we all thought, ‘Oh no!’ England hadn’t won a penalty shootout since the Euro 96 quarter-finals but we won, and we still use footage of Ian Wright and Lee Dixon dancing together like they’re auditioning badly for Strictly on our credits.
The great thing about the World Cup is the colour and the fiesta. So you’ll be playing Switzerland and they’re all shaking cow bells. You’ll suddenly see this block of colour in town and you’ll go, ‘Oh right, Mexico are playing tomorrow.’ You can see the Dutch a mile away, it’s like it’s the law they must wear orange.
Qatar 2022 reached five billion viewers worldwide – it really is the biggest show on Earth and this one’s bigger than ever. It’s absolutely fantastic to see this ‘we’re all in this together’ spirit – it’s football, you can’t buy your way out of trouble. It’s our best 11 versus your best 11 by dint of birth. Never underestimate the purity of that.
Mark Pougatch with fellow ITV World Cup presenters Semra Hunter and Laura Woods
I look forward to seeing Curacao at their first World Cup. This is a huge moment for them. I’m not a commentator so I don’t need to know every player. I read up and if two or three things catch my eye that are interesting then I back myself that you’ll be interested at home. So on Curacao for example, where is it and what do they like to do? Their manager is Dick Advocaat, who’s Dutch and has managed a lot at the World Cup.
I think England will at least reach the quarter-finals, but then they could play Brazil. I really like Thomas Tuchel, though, and I’m confident he knows what he’s doing. The World Cup’s never been longer, there’ll be more matches over nearly six weeks, it’s obviously going to be hot, so it’s a real squad issue. You’ve got to get that balance right, but I’m confident he will. The Scots have to start well against Haiti, because then they’ve got Morocco, who are a very good team, and finally Brazil. I’ve said Spain will win it all along. They know how to win. And my player to watch is France’s Desire Doue.
Tournaments have a life of their own and a lot will depend on how the hosts USA, Canada and Mexico do. I’m interested to see how the USA embraces it. They understand more than anyone that you have to put the fan at the heart of the experience, so I think there’ll be a lot of razzamatazz.
People ask if I get nervous – I say, no, I get focused. People are watching live and you want to get it right, but my attitude is very simple. If I enjoy it and I make the pundits relax, there’s every chance people at home will enjoy it.
Which England star has 7 GCSEs? Who has lost half of his finger? Test your knowledge of Thomas Tuchel’s squad with our exclusive quiz HERE.
