The latest World Cup standing from The Athletic has Spain and France at the top of its 48-team 2026 rankings, a fresh pre-tournament read on who looks strongest with less than a year to go before the World Cup begins. The ranking was updated after all qualifiers were known, with changes made for managerial shifts, injuries and other factors.
That timing matters because the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America is scheduled to begin on June 11, and every one of the 48 qualified teams is now being measured against the same finish line. For readers looking for a snapshot of the field before the games start, this is the clearest one yet: Spain and France sit ahead of the pack, while Argentina, Brazil, England and Germany each arrive with their own questions about how close they are to that level.
Spain’s case is built on the quality of its best XI, but even the leading contender is not entirely clean. Lamine Yamal is the only clear fitness concern in the squad, though he is expected to play during the group stage, which keeps Spain near the top without removing the doubt entirely. France, meanwhile, have an embarrassment of attacking options in Kylian Mbappe, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki, but that depth comes with a catch: at least one of those names will not make the first-choice team.
Elsewhere in the field, Argentina still look like a team built to matter. They won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and followed that with back-to-back Copa America titles in 2021 and 2024, and Lionel Scaloni remains in charge even as Lionel Messi turns 39 during the tournament. Brazil enter with Neymar in the squad and Carlo Ancelotti as manager, while England have leaned into Thomas Tuchel’s control by leaving out Phil Foden and Cole Palmer despite Harry Kane ending the season with successive hat-tricks and Ollie Watkins scoring six goals in five games. Germany, for their part, recalled Manuel Neuer and were handed a relatively friendly group draw.
The ranking is a reminder that a World Cup field can be packed with talent and still have clear tiers at the top. Spain and France may look strongest on paper, but the margins already show where the pressure sits: a fitness check on Yamal, a selection call in France’s attack, and a long summer in which reputations will be tested before the first match is even played.
