I have Scotland about here. Admittedly, I hope they will do well, not necessarily on merits, though they've earned some respect after winning their qualifying group and not relying on playoffs. As for Saudi Arabia, yeah we all remember the big upset over Argentina, but that seems like ages ago compared to where they are now. I would not be shocked if they have 0 points in this group, more likely 1 against Cape Verde.

Hazey's Rankings

48) Curacao

47) Qatar

46) New Zealand

45) Haiti

44) Saudi Arabia

43) Cape Verde

42) Iraq

41) Jordan

40) Ghana

39) Bosnia and Herzegovina

38) Scotland

There's going to be a little run of European teams now from me.

Edited May 4May 4 by DJHazey

That famous win against Argentina was the biggest false dawn for both teams in World Cup history.

37. Panama

Group L

CONCACAF (4/6)

World Ranking: 33

Best Result: Group Stage (2018)

Fixtures:

Ghana (18th June, 12AM)

Croatia (24th June, 12AM)

England (27th June, 10PM)

With the three host countries booking their spot automatically, Panama were the highest ranked team in North American qualifying but made a bit of a meal of getting here, relying on Suriname falling apart in their final match to climb above them in the group. Steadily improving each year, Panama feel better suited for this tournament than they did in their only other World Cup appearance in 2018 where they finished bottom of their difficult group with no points and only one goal scored (against England, who they will play again this time around). Perhaps lacking in attacking options, Panama are still not to be underestimated. They aren’t this high in the World Rankings for no reason and impressed as guests at the most recent Copa America in 2024 where they escaped a tricky group featuring Uruguay, Bolivia and hosts USA before succumbing to Colombia in the Quarter-Finals.

The Manager: Thomas Christiansen

There will be Danish representation at this World Cup as Christiansen was born in the country, despite making two appearances for the Spanish national side. He has impressively overseen Panama climb from the 80s in the World Rankings when he joined in 2020 to the 33rd spot they sit in today. With Panama being the top side in qualifying, he saw them play a possession-based style but against the bigger teams, like in the Copa America, he sets the team up to defend and expect him to do that again this time. He will be best known to British fans for a spell as Leeds United manager in 2017 where he replaced Garry Monk.

Key Player: Aníbal Godoy (San Diego)

Not easy to choose as they don’t really have any standout names but Godoy is their captain and record-appearance maker and will be key if Panama do well. I think Panama are going to try to soak up lots of pressure and hit on the counter and Godoy will be key to their defensive effort as a deep-midfielder. He is 36 now so it will be difficult for him to see out every match but if Panama are to do well, expect to be hearing his name a lot.

Why they're actually going to win it: A home confederation tournament will give them a boost and they’ve already shown that they can get results against good sides.

Panama is a stronger side now than they were in 2018, when they got blasted by England. They will try to employ a possession-type strategy which is prone to be exploited by higher quality teams who can possess the ball more readily. I don't see them losing 6-1 again, but it will be a struggle because of the group they've been placed in. I think they have the best chance to beat Ghana on paper, but Ghana will be able to handle the humidity better than Croatia/England would. The tropical climate suits Panama just fine, so keep that in mind.

Hazey's Rankings

48) Curacao

47) Qatar

46) New Zealand

45) Haiti

44) Saudi Arabia

43) Cape Verde

42) Iraq

41) Jordan

40) Ghana

39) Bosnia and Herzegovina

38) Scotland

37) Sweden

Now, maybe controversial I have Sweden, the team with the unfortunate mark of getting 0 points against the likes of Switzerland, Kosovo, and Slovenia and finishing in last place. However, through the infinite wisdom of using UEFA Nations League standings to decide playoff spots, they woke up with a big help of Arsenal's Viktor Gyökeres to beat Ukraine and Poland there. He will be a big factor, along with Alexnader Isak (Liverpool) as to whether Sweden prove themselves as a legitimate contender. Don't overlook Tunisia as a free win either, I think Sweden can be beaten by anybody in their group. They could also beat any of them; a very interesting group indeed.

Edited Tuesday at 17:484 days by DJHazey

36. South Africa

Group A

CAF (9/10)

World Ranking: 60

Best Result: Group Stage (1998, 2002, 2010)

Fixtures:

Mexico (11th June, 8PM)

Czech Republic (18th June, 5PM)

South Korea (25th June, 2AM)

If you listen to their fans, they’re the best team in the world but in reality, South Africa are still a fairly limited side, as evidenced in their disappointing AFCON campaign this year where they were knocked out by a Cameroon side that couldn’t even qualify for this tournament in the last 16. One thing they will be is pleasing on the eye. They are a team that love to attack and they will try to be on the front foot in this tournament. Unlike most African sides, not many of their top players have decided to go abroad with most of Bafana Bafana’s starting XI playing for Mamelodi Sundowns who have won 10 out of the last 12 Premiership titles, including 8-conseuctive which is looking to become 9 very soon. They have some of the most passionate fans and we have a rematch of the iconic opening match from 2010. It’s good to have them back!

The Manager: Hugo Broos

Now in his 70s, Broos will retire after this World Cup after a decorated career saw him represent Anderlecht and Club Brugge as a player while managing both of them and many more in a 38-year coaching career. His biggest achievement was probably leading Cameroon to the AFCON title in 2017. He has been South Africa manager since 2021 and led them to third-place in 2023’s AFCON as well as beating Nigeria to qualification for this World Cup, despite a 3-point deduction.

Key Player: Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Despite being a team that loves to attack, South Africa’s best player is their veteran goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. Having some experience with Tottenham in his youth development, it wasn’t until the 2023 AFCON where he really made his name worldwide with an epic-performance in the Quarter-Finals against Cape Verde where he saved four-penalties in the shoot-out. He looked unbeatable and it led to him winning the Best Goalkeeper award at the tournament and appear on the long-list for the 2014 Ballon d’Or.

Why they're actually going to win it: With some many of their players coming from Mamelodi Sundowns, they already have so much experience playing together and will feel more like a club-side. There's no need to try and get everyone to gel in the short preparation window.   

Yes, their fanbase (if they were able to actually get tickets - don't get me started, just know I missed out on three lottery rounds myself) are bound to make it a party atmosphere at their matches. They seem to be a squad that aren't going to be afraid of the competition in the slightest and Group A is the one most being dubbed the 'Group of Life' -- so they have as fair a shake as anyone. However, Mexico will be very tough for any of them to top, playing south of American border.

Hazey's Rankings

48) Curacao

47) Qatar

46) New Zealand

45) Haiti

44) Saudi Arabia

43) Cape Verde

42) Iraq

41) Jordan

40) Ghana

39) Bosnia and Herzegovina

38) Scotland

37) Sweden

36) South Africa

We match on this ranking! Next another European side.

Edited Wednesday at 17:233 days by DJHazey

Ireland have the pleasure of playing Qatar in a friendly on the 28th May which should have been a send off to the tournament and looking forward to playing Mexico and South Africa. But alas, it wasn’t to be.

Will I still head to the friendly, well yup for my sins!

On 27/04/2026 at 01:32, Houdini said:

I think Haiti, Curacao and Iraq will all be knocked out at the group stage with 3 defeats from 3. Just to score a goal will be a nice achievement, a bit like how Panama celebrated scoring against England at the 2018 World Cup even though they were being thrashed at that moment in the game.

Carrying on from where I left off for the subsequent teams that have been mentioned:

Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, Qatar, Panama - Can't see these teams making it at all into the top 2 of their groups and most likely they will not be among the highest 3rd placed teams either.

Jordan - They're in an open looking Group J but I think they'll fall short of making it into the top 2. Not so sure they'd be among the highest 3rd place teams either if they were to finish there in the group

Scotland - They will finish 3rd as Brazil and Morocco will be too strong for them but they could be among the highest 3rd place teams

Saudi Arabia - 3rd at best for them in their group

South Africa - Will finish bottom of Group A

Bosina and Herzegovina - Could make it out of Group B, this is one of the most open groups and it doesn't look like there is a stand out team here

New Zealand - they have a good chance of making it out of Group G in 2nd place, likely to be between them and Egypt for 2nd place

South Africa will be interesting - I've not really paid much attention to them since 2010 and I gather they weren't the top seeded team in their qualifying group this time round, but then again they wouldn't have wialofied for the 2010 World Cup if they weren't hosting it and they still managed a respectable four points. Given the group they've landed in they certainly have a chance of getting out.

Hazey's Rankings

48) Curacao

47) Qatar

46) New Zealand

45) Haiti

44) Saudi Arabia

43) Cape Verde

42) Iraq

41) Jordan

40) Ghana

39) Bosnia and Herzegovina

38) Scotland

37) Sweden

36) South Africa

35) Czechia

This where I am placing Czechia who I think are in competition with (#36) South Africa for bottom tier of Group A, on paper. There is a world where I see South Korea finishing last, based solely on their recent form, but they usually tend to get up for big tournaments. Nothing about Czechia ever really excites me but then I forget any squad buoyed by Schick and Souček has a chance to make waves.

35. DR Congo

Group K

CAF (8/10)

World Ranking: 46

Best Result: Group Stage (1974)

Fixtures:

Portugal (17th June, 6PM)

Colombia (24th June, 3AM)

Uzbekistan (28th June, 12:30AM)

Their first qualification since 1974, when they were still called Zaire, and one of their defenders infamously received a yellow card for running out of the wall and booting the ball away before Brazil could take a free-kick. DR Congo is the fourth-most populace country in Africa but political instability, frequent wars and economic crises have meant that they never lived up to their full footballing potential, despite two AFCON wins in 1968 and 1974. However, they are a footballing-mad country and are starting to show signs of improvement. They almost qualified automatically but threw-away a 2-0 lead against Senegal and ended up in the play-offs where they overcame a fancied Nigeria on penalties to earn the right to take on Jamaica in the inter-continental play-off. Due to the instability in their country, a lot of people have had to emigrate from the country and they have started to use this large diaspora with Wan-Bissaka hailing from England, Lionel Mpasi, Arthur Masuaku, Cédric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa from France and Noah Sadiki from Belgium.

The Manager: Sébastien Desabre

Also from France is their manager Sébastien Desabre who is a rare coach who never played professionally. Despite still being in his 40s, he’s got a lot of experience with this already being his 15th job. His biggest success so far was also on the African-stage where he helped Uganda qualify for the 2019 AFCON and reached the Last-16 before a 1-0 defeat to eventual finalists Senegal. He’s been at DR Congo since 2022. Nicknamed ‘the florist’, he prefers an adaptable approach where he sets his team up in what he feels is the best way to beat their opponent rather than sticking to a rigid approach.

Key Player: Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United)

Most people would say that veteran striker Cédric Bakambu is the key-man as he does it all up-top for DR Congo usually, I’m going to say Wissa has the potential to be the difference-maker. Everyone knows how good he is from his time at Brentford but his Newcastle move this season has been a disaster. He spent the first half of the season injured, missing out on DR Congo’s AFCON squad and has really struggled to find his footing in a struggling Newcastle side since regaining fitness. However, I think this will spur him on and he will be determined to prove his worth at this tournament. If he can re-find the form that got him a place in the Best XI at AFCON 2023, DR Congo might just have a chance.

Why they're actually going to win it: Their last World Cup appearances left some enduring scars and they will be desperate to leave some better memories this time and ensure that free-kick is never mentioned again.

Hazey's Rankings

48) Curacao

47) Qatar

46) New Zealand

45) Haiti

44) Saudi Arabia

43) Cape Verde

42) Iraq

41) Jordan

40) Ghana

39) Bosnia and Herzegovina

38) Scotland

37) Sweden

36) South Africa

35) Czechia

34) Paraguay

I'm going to put Paraguay down here, which shows where I think they would finish in Group D (USA, Australia, Türkiye). Great job qualifying, but it was an expanded format, as we know. They can hold opponents down, expect their matches to be pretty snoozy, but they're going to struggle to score. Like, at all. They'll always play it very safe, while everyone else in the group will take chances.

Edited Friday at 17:391 day by DJHazey

34. Iran

Group G

AFC (4/9)

World Ranking: 21

Best Result: Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022)

Fixtures:

New Zealand (16th June, 2AM)

Belgium (21st June, 8PM)

Egypt (27th June, 4AM)

What can we say about Iran? With just over a month until the World Cup starts and we’re still not even sure if they’re going to play. If you thought that the circumstances surround their last appearance were difficult, with players protesting against their own government, that’s nothing compared to the country being bombed by the country that’s supposedly meant to welcome them. On a purely footballing level, they’ve been the nearly-men for many years now, never being able to escape the group stage. 2022 would have hurt with their dramatic win against Wales leaving them only needing a draw in a tense grudge match against the USA in their final game but Pulisic left they in tears. A really favourable group draw was meant to their big chance this year but who knows how they’re going to react to these circumstances? They have a solid, dependable side which sees them constantly in and around the top 20 in the World Rankings but I think non-footballing reasons makes this seem like too much for them.

The Manager: Amir Ghalenoei

They’ve had four World Cup’s in a row with Carlos Queiroz in their coaching staff (as Assistant Manager in 2006 and Manager in the three most recent) but this time they’ve looked much closer to home, hiring their league’s most successful manager, Amir Ghalenoei to lead the side. He has had another spell as Iran manager before, where he saw them to a disappointing Quarter-Final exit in the 2007 Asia Cup. Don’t expect a different approach to Quieroz, Ghalenoei still relies on largely the same players and sets the team up to soak up pressure and strike when they have a chance.

Key Player: Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos)

Lethal at Porto between 2020-2024, not so lethal in a one-year spell with Inter Milan, Taremi is now back banging them in for Olympiacos. With 59-goals for the National Team too, there’s no doubt who is Iran’s biggest goal threat. At 33, this is probably his last chance to impressive on the biggest stage.

Why they're actually going to win it: Can you imagine the story if they were to win it? A good start and it might feel written in the stars.

33. Tunisia

Group F

CAF (7/10)

World Ranking: 44

Best Result: Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)

Fixtures:

Sweden (15th June, 3AM)

Japan (21st June, 5AM)

Netherlands (26th June, 12AM)

A really poor AFCON where they were knocked out in the Last 16 on penalties by a Mali side that played for over 90 minutes with 10-men has seriously dented any enthusiasm there was for Tunisia going into this tournament. They qualified in style with 9-wins and 1-draw with zero goals conceded, finishing 13 points ahead of second placed Namibia. However, when you consider that the pot 2 team, Equatorial Guinea, had two wins stripped off them and boycotted another match, it starts to look less impressive. They don’t have much flair going forward and will be relying on a strong defence to see them through a particularly tricky looking group. They replaced their manager after their poor AFCON and so their new manager hasn’t had much chance to work with the squad before the tournament.

The Manager: Sabri Lamouchi

Ex-Nottingham Forest and Cardiff manager Lamouchi was hired in January to try to turn the countries fortunes around. As a player Lamouchi made 12 appearances or France, won Ligue 1 with Monaco and also played for Inter Milan, Parma and Marseille. At Forest, he was their first manager to complete a full season at the club for over 9 years when he fell short of the Championship play-offs on the final day of the season in 2019/20. He has managed at the World Cup before, seeing Ivory Coast through qualification in 2014 before being knocked-out in the group stage after loses to Colombia and Greece.

Key Player: Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley)

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Hannibal will be key if Tunisia are able to show any attacking intent at this tournament. A high-energy, dynamic presence in the centre of pitch, Hannibal loves a tackle and a press but what sets him apart from Tunisia’s other midfielders is that he has the composure and technical ability to then progress with the ball and try to start quick counters. This will be their first World Cup without Wahbi Khazri who carried the team on his own during those tournaments, including scoring the iconic winner against France at last year’s tournament.

Why they're actually going to win it: No matter how unlikely, they have won a game at their last two tournaments so, if they turn up, they could turn that into a few more.

I didn't realise both Iran and Tunisia have group stage curses almost on par with the Scots!

Tunisia are a team I've thought very little about in the run-up to this contest! Not expecting much from them but if they make it into the Round of 16 or beyond I'll be all behind them.

32. Czech Republic

Group A

UEFA (14/16)

World Ranking: 39

Best Result: Final* (1934, 1962) *As Czechoslovakia

Fixtures:

South Korea (12th June, 3AM)

South Africa (18th June, 5PM)

Mexico (25th June, 2AM)

Two penalty shootout victories (over Republic of Ireland and Denmark) after consecutive 2-2 draws saw the Czechs book their spot through the Play-Offs after a disappointing group stage saw them lose to Faroe Islands before pipping them to second. But Czech Republic are back on the big stage for the first time in 20 years and will be fancying their chances of getting out of the group. That team 20 years ago was a bit of a golden generation with Petr Cech, Tomáš Rosický, Milan Baroš and Ballon d’Or winner Pavel Nedvěd all in the squad. They don’t have the same quality this time around but do have a hard-working side that are capable of causing any team frustration. They competed as Czechoslovakia until 1994 and were runners-up twice in their old form.

The Manager: Miroslav Koubek

A goalkeeper during this career, retiring at Sparta Prague in 1982, Koubek has tonnes of experience and, at 74 years young, will become the eldest ever manager to take charge at a World Cup when they face South Korea on the tournament’s opening day. Aside from a short spell as assistant manager of Chinese club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger in 2008, he has been managing in the Czech Republic since 1983, leading giants Slavia Prague and three spells at Viktoria Plzeň where he won the league title in 2015. More important he managed my favourite Czech side Bohemians 1905 who I saw play live in the Europa Conference League qualifying stage against Bodø/Glimt during my holiday to Prague in 2023.

Key Player: Tomáš Souček (West Ham United)

Very familiar to Premier League fans, Souček gets his fair share of stick at West Ham and every time a new manager comes in, they seem to drop him for a bit. But he always finds his way back in their plans and has a knack of scoring massively important goals at decisive moments thanks to his great physicality and willingness to stick his head on the end of every cross. He has recently been stripped of his captaincy after some controversies with the team but he always works his way back in favour at West Ham so I’m sure he’ll do the same with Czech Republic.

Why they're actually going to win it: Only the Netherlands have been to more World Cup finals without winning one than the Czechs and a favourable group draw could see them gain momentum and put that fact to right.