France are the team to beat at the 2026 World Cup. That's not a prediction — it's a scoreline. Five wins, 14 goals scored, two conceded. The FOX Sports World Cup NOW panel of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan made it official in their latest power rankings: Les Bleus sit at No. 1, and the gap to the rest is real.
"They were the odds-on favorite. They were the team that all of us, I believe, at this little round table has picked to win the tournament," Kljestan said. "They've been the best attacking team. Best defending team. They're No. 1."
Hard to argue with 14-2 in five matches. Their round of 16 was a gritty 1-0 over Paraguay — the kind of result that separates genuinely elite sides from one-dimensional ones. They can win ugly. They can win big. France's odds to lift the trophy look well-founded right now.
Spain the surprise package, Argentina still Messi-dependent
Spain claimed No. 2 with the most statistically freakish run of the tournament: nine goals scored, zero conceded across five matches. "The fact that they're in a quarterfinal without having conceded a goal — that's impressive," Edu said. Any side thinking about backing their opponents will need to reckon with that defensive record.
Argentina sit third despite winning all five games. The concern is how. A comeback from 2-0 down against Egypt. Extra time against Cape Verde. "They've made football fans suffer," Ortiz said — and she meant it as a compliment, but only just. Guzan was blunter: "There's other guys on that team, they're going to have to step up." When your entire tournament runs through one 37-year-old, that's a structural risk the deeper you go.
England take fourth after a legitimately eye-catching 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca — the first competitive win there since 2013. Bellingham with a brace, Kane with a goal and assists. The panel rated them just below Argentina, and that feels about right. The question England haven't answered yet is whether they can beat a top-four opponent when it matters.
The bottom half: Norway are the wildcard, Switzerland are the sleeper
Norway occupy sixth, and it's hard to find fault with a team that has won every game Erling Haaland has played in — four from four — while he races for the Golden Boot. Advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in Norwegian football history by beating Brazil is the kind of result that reshapes how you think about a team. If there's one side from the bottom half that could genuinely upset a top-four team once, it's Norway.
Morocco sit fifth after a 3-0 demolition of Canada and a nervy penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands. Ortiz was firm: don't sleep on them. Their quarter against France will test that.
Belgium moved to seventh after their 4-1 rout of co-hosts USA — a result that looked convincing until you remember they barely survived Senegal in the previous round and went 1-2-0 in the group stage. The scoring ability is there. The consistency isn't.
Switzerland are eighth, and the panel's verdict was blunt. "I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8," Kljestan said. Needing penalties to beat Colombia earns you passage to the next round. Not much else.
Kljestan's broader read on the bottom four: "I personally don't think that any of the teams outside the top four can win this World Cup. You have to win three more games, and I don't see any of those teams knocking off any of the top four teams, let alone doing it twice more." Guzan agreed — doing it once is possible, doing it three times at this level is a different conversation entirely.
