Paraguay are another one I've not followed too much - I feel like I probably ahould give them a decent chance of getting out of this group simply for the fact they're a South American team. The qualifying being so close is certainly interesting but not sure how much it'll convert into finals performance!

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

33) Tunisia

32) Panama

31) Uzbekistan

30) Congo DR

This is where I have the intercontinental playoff winners, Congo DR, returning to the World Cup for the first time since they were Zaire. They indeed will be kicking themselves if they hadn't made through the playoff, as they kind of controlled their main qualifying group over Senegal but punted away a 2-0 lead to them at home, after drawing them in Senegal earlier. They will really think back to their lost points at Sudan as well, who they definitely out-class. I have them ranked just above Uzbekistan because their physical style of play will be tough for anyone to handle. That will be a real battle for 3rd in Group K, in my eyes. If either team wins the match, they could advance to knockouts, a draw puts both their campaigns in doubt.

Edited May 12May 12 by DJHazey

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

33) Tunisia

32) Panama

31) Uzbekistan

30) Congo DR

29) Egypt

Next, I will go with Egypt, the country that used to dominate the ACON but never get to the World Cup and now it's kind of the opposite. In my opinion, they could've been challenged more by Burkina Faso in their qualifying group, but I think Burkina Faso has fallen off from their "glory days", at least based on their lackluster performance in qualifying and their 'just good enough' Round of 16 advancement and blowout loss to Ivory Coast. So I don't think Egypt was really had to do too much to be here, The three-headed dragon of Salah, Mohamed, and Marmoush up front is still dynamic though, so this could be the year they get the first ever World Cup win. They've been placed in a group with a couple of good options for that with Iran and New Zealand. The former will be an extremely important match to secure 2nd place.

Just want to say although I haven't contributed much to the discussion here I've been dipping in and out every day and I'm enjoying reading both of your opinions and rankings.

29. Canada

Group B

CONCACAF (3/6)

World Ranking: 30

Best Result: Group Stage (1986, 2022)

Fixtures:

Bosnia & Herzegovina (12th June, 8PM)

Qatar (18th June, 11PM)

Switzerland (24th June, 8PM)

The first of the three hosts to drop out, Canada have lost all six of their World Cup games so far but look very likely to make some history this time around. Despite surprising everyone by winning the CONCACAF qualifying group in 2022 and playing brilliantly against Belgium in their first game, they underwhelmed in Qatar but have been steadily improving since and now will be thinking about qualifying for the knock-outs on home soil, not just hoping to win a game like before. They were ranked as low as 120 in the world less than 10-years ago but have started taking it much more seriously, boosted by Canadian teams playing in the MLS for 20-years now (Toronto FC were the first in 2007) and a golden generation of talent that have travelled to top European teams (Alfonso Davies, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan).

The Manager: Jesse March

Seen as a bit of a Ted Lasso in the UK due to his time at Leeds United replacing club-legend Marcelo Bielsa being while the Apple TV+ show was at its peak, he did manage to keep them up in 2022 before being sacked the following season. A student of the Red Bull philosophy, after a short spell with Montreal Impact, his next three managerial jobs were at New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzberg and RB Leipzig. His best spell was certainly at Salzberg where he won back-to-back league and cup doubles. He was at one time being lined-up to be the manager of his native-side, USA after Gregg Berhalter left in 2022, but after they rehired Berhalter, Marsch has been very critical of their national associated and joined neighbours Canada. In his first 6-weeks in the job, he took the side to 2024 Copa America where they impressed, reaching the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions Argentina. He’s made Canada a more tactically astute side and will look to implement Red Bull’s famous high intensity, high press system.

Key Player: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)

Currently injured with a month to go before the World Cup, he has spent more time in the medical room than most which has plagued him since the last World Cup. And as of this week, he’s suffered another injury that is putting his participation in doubt. But, he is still only 25 and, despite some long lay-offs, has already achieved more in his career than all other Canadian players combined. He’s the only Canadian to win the Champions League (which he did as a teenager in 2020) and has seven Bundesliga medals in his back-pocket. A real contender for the best current North American footballer, if not of all-time.

Why they're actually going to win it: They’re the host nation with the most momentum going into this tournament and have their best-ever side. Whether Trump would actually hand over the trophy though, that’s a different story.

That's for sure, but I don't think any of the hosts nations this time have been sublime going in. I was also going to add that the Davies injury puts more concerns on Canada. Before that, I would have had Canada as tops, but in reality I think Mexico's home field advantage is more impactful so I would have them as the CONCACAF nation with the most expectations. USA...the less said about what they've been putting up for results the last year or two, the better (the dismantling of Uruguay in a friendly aside).

Edited May 13May 13 by DJHazey

Yeah having not gone through qualifying I don't have much to go on for Canada! Their last World Cup performance wasn't amazing but they are in probably the easiest group of the lot.

28. Ghana

Group L

CAF (6/10)

World Ranking: 74

Best Result: Quater-Finals (2010)

Fixtures:

Panama (18th June, 12AM)

England (23rd June, 9PM)

Croatia (27th June, 10PM)

Certainly the team I have overperforming their World Ranking in this countdown, Ghana have the World Cup history other African nations can only look at with envy but have been a disaster ever since Luis Suárez handballed in South Africa 2010. They were comfortably ranked in the top 20 in the world then but have now spent 2-years in the 70s. With four AFCON titles, only Egypt and Cameroon have won it more but they faced the ignominy of not even qualifying for the most recent tournament, after two consecutive group-stage exits. This is despite, on paper, having the best front-three in Africa. Senegal are probably the only other country that could name a front-three anywhere near as strong as Mohammed Kudus, Iñaki Williams and Antoine Semenyo and still have options such as Jordan Ayew, Abdul Fatawu, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Kamaldeen Sulemana as back-ups. Their results have been awful of late but they’ve recently hired a manager who has some experience at this level...

The Manager: Carlos Queiroz

If you were worried after reading my Iran post that you wouldn’t get your Queiroz fix at this World Cup then worry not as less than a month ago, Ghana confirmed that he’ll be taking charge of their side. An international football manager veteran, he first took charge of his native Portugal in 1991 when they were not a top side and had spells with Sporting Lisbon, NY/NJ MetroStars, Nagoya Grampus Eight and the UAE before he took charge of South Africa and helped them qualify for the 2002 World Cup before resigning before the tournament kicked-off. It wasn’t joining Manchester United as assistant manager in 2002 where he really made his name. He stayed there until 2008, aside from one season as Real Madrid manager which didn’t go well, winning trophy galore and earning a second-spell as Portugal manager. They struggled in qualifying for 2010, eventually winning a play-off and reaching the Last-16 in the tournament. He then had his first spell at Iran, reaching two World Cups and only missing out on the knock-outs in 2018 after Spain scored an injury-time equalizer against Morocco in their last-group game. He has since had unsuccessful stints at Colombia, Egypt, Qatar and Oman the other sides of his return with Iran in 2022.

Key Player: Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City)

Born in Chelsea, Semenyo committed to Ghana in 2022 and made two substitute appearances at that year’s World Cup. In the time since, he has become one of the most coveted players in the Premier League after joining Bournemouth in 2023. His six-goals in the opening seven-games this season eventually led to his big-money move to Man City in January that has already resulted in his first trophy, the Carabao Cup in March. A dynamic winger which great skill and ball-control, he’s really added goals to his strengths in recent years and with Kudos being injured for most of the season, a lot of Ghanian hopes will be directed squarely at him.

Why they're actually going to win it: It was only a Luis Suárez that stopped them becoming the first African side to reach the Semi-Finals of the World Cup and they now feel very overdue a bit of luck at the World Cup.

Hey I can totally understand having Ghana higher than World Rankings and recent results because of the country's pedigree. It does seem like ages since they opened African Qualifying by losing to Comoros. Even though the island nation is on the upward trend, the loss was still embarrassing, no doubt. To me, the loss was a microcosm of what they'd been doing the past few years which have led to their paltry international ranking. They could certainly turn the switch on and as LewisGT stated, they have the talent to do so.

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

33) Tunisia

32) Panama

31) Uzbekistan

30) Congo DR

29) Egypt

28) Iran

I'm going to go Iran here, but there is also a chance they just fall flat on their faces and who would blame them when their country is going through much bigger things at the moment? Normally I would give them the edge over Egypt, but because of my apprehension to anoint them as the top tier Asian side they usually are I think they are right there with them in Group G (I also have Egypt at #30 and Iran at #33 in my own personal World Rankings) but think Iran has slightly better history at the World Cup.

DR Congo - Could challenge Colombia for 2nd in Group K but I think they will ultimately finish 3rd, I also have a feeling that they will not score enough goals to be in contention for highest 3rd place teams.

Iran - It's certainly going to be interesting from an atmosphere point of view how their fans will be in the stadium. All of their group stage matches are going to be in the territory of their number one Opps! In terms of what happens on the pitch I think they will most probably finish bottom of Group G. They could sneak a win against New Zealand but I think that might be as good as it gets for them.

Tunisia - They could get 2nd place in group F, think it will be closely fought for that spot between them, Japan and Sweden. Getting 3 points in particular against a Sweden side that struggled to qualify and are managed by Graham Potter will be key to their hopes of progressing.

Czech Republic - They could top Group A if they buck up their ideas as this is one of the most open groups but you never know with this team at a major tournament.

Australia - I have a feeling that they will finish bottom of Group D.

Paraguay - In the same group as aforementioned Australia, I think they'll finish above them and will also finish above the hosts USA. The match between them and Turkey could decide the winners of Group D.

Canada - Even though they are in a favourable group I still think they might fall short of being in the top 2 and may have to rely on how other 3rd placed teams get on to make it to the next round.

Ghana - They should have 3rd place on lock in Group L and should aim to rack up the goals in their match against Panama in particular to boost their goal difference to be one of the highest 3rd placed teams.

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

33) Tunisia

32) Panama

31) Uzbekistan

30) Congo DR

29) Egypt

28) Iran

27) South Korea

26) Australia

This leaves just Japan left for my Asian ranking. I think South Korea hasn't been showing good quality at all of late, but they've been known to show up in the big tournaments, so we'll see. I would've said the same thing about Australia recently and had them ranked a bit lower but something feels a little different going into the main stage here. I also think they can compete in Group D.

27. Austria

Group J

UEFA (13/16)

World Ranking: 24

Best Result: Third-Place (1954)

Fixtures:

Jordan (17th June, 5AM)

Argentina (22nd June, 6PM)

Algeria (28th June, 3AM)

Qualifying for their first time since 1998, Austria were a Pot 1 side in qualifying and took full advantage by securing their place with a 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina in their final match. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing with a defeat against Romania making it nervy. Their one of the more interesting teams to watch at the moment. They try to play on the front foot and, when it’s working, it’s spectacular. In Euro 2024, they topped their group after impressively beating Poland and Netherlands and became everyone’s underdogs for the tournament. However, they were then beaten comfortably by Turkey in the Last 16. Inconsistency is why I can’t rank them any higher but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them have some great games.

The Manager: Ralf Rangnick

He had a very unnotable playing career which included a spell in non-league English football with Southwick but Rangnick has since become one of the most distinguished football coaches of the 21st century. He’s been in roles since 1983 but it wasn’t until 1999 when he joined Stuttgart and had a spell of German jobs that he really made his name (Hannover, Schalke, Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig). He had two spells at Leipzig as well as being director of football at Red Bull and was a key proponent of the influential Red Bull gegenpressing way of playing. He’s well loved in Austria for turning their fortunes around and changing them from a pragmatic side to an exciting watch and earned extra credit by turning down an approach from Bayern Munich a couple of years ago. But what he will ultimately be remembered for in the UK is his infamous interim role as Manchester United manager where he clashed with the board and fans and didn’t pick up many positive results.

Key Player: Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund)

David Alaba is the best Austrian player but hasn’t had a consistent spell of being fully fit for years and I’m not confident he will end up playing much at the tournament. Sabitzer is also the wrong side of 30 and isn’t currently having the best season of his career at Dortmund but he always performs for the national side and is probably their most naturally gifted player. Capable of playing anywhere across the midfield or attack, his best work has come as an attacking midfielder where his shooting ability and tiki taka passes can create chances out of nothing. Being an RB Leipzig legend, he also has a lot of experience playing for the manager.

Why they're actually going to win it: When they’re fully on it and Ragnick’s tactics are working, they can dismantle anyone so if they turn up at the right times, they could just do it.

Austria have had fairly decent performances at the last few Euros so let's see if they can translate that to the World Cup!

Ghana often punch above their weight at the World Cup so could easily happen for them again.

26. Algeria

Group J

CAF (5/10)

World Ranking: 28

Best Result: Last-16 (2014)

Fixtures:

Algeria (17th June, 2AM)

Jordan (23rd June, 4AM)

Austria (28th June, 3AM)

Algeria have missed out on two World Cups in a row since they reached the knock-outs for the only time 2014. Going into that tournament, Riyad Mahrez only had two caps for the country, since then he’s won the league title with Leicester, won four more at Man City as well as a Champions League and captained Algeria to an AFCON victory in 2019. They have constantly had one of the stronger sides in Africa so missing out on both World Cups of Mahrez’s prime will be a massive disappointment. At the recent AFCON, they showed their strength in the groups stage but were toothless in the Quarter-Final against Nigeria, not even managing a shot-on-target in the whole 90. They will be desperate to put that right this summer.

The Manager: Vladimir Petković

The Switzerland manager for seven-years, Petković oversaw the them become one of the most-consistent countries in world football, overperforming their reputation to reach the knock-outs of all four tournaments he led. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petković had a distinguished playing career in Yugoslavia and Switzerland before managing Lazio and Bordeaux at club level. His spell as Switzerland boss has proved him to be a very reliable coach who knows how to get the best out of his players.

Key Player: Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli)

He might be 35-now and playing in the Saudi league but Mahrez is still a vital part of this Algerian side. He proved this at the recent AFCON where he scored within 2-minutes in their opening match. He might not have the same pace anymore but his left-foot is still a huge asset and is still capable of firing them in from anywhere if defenders let him cut inside.

Why they're actually going to win it: They were the team that were eliminated after the Disgrace of Gijón where Germany ‘beat’ Austria 1-0 so both teams safely qualified and a re-match against Austria should be spicy.

25. Egypt

Group G

CAF (4/10)

World Ranking: 29

Best Result: Last 16 (1934)

Fixtures:

Belgium (15th June, 8PM)

New Zealand (22nd June, 2AM)

Iran (27th June, 4AM)

The traditional giants of Africa, Egypt have 7 AFCON titles in their trophy cabinet but have only ever made three World Cups and while their best result section above may say ‘Last 16’, there was only 16 teams involved in the 1934 World Cup. Yet to win a game on the biggest stage, their 2018 campaign was famously hit by an injury Salah received in that year’s Champions League final which meant that he looked like a shell of himself during the actual tournament. He did manage to score in their final game, a 2-1 defeat by a Saudi Arabia side who had lost 5-0 in the opening game against hosts Russia. They will expect to put that to right this year but there’s similar questions around Salah going into it again. One thing you can always say about Egypt though is that they know how to defend. Expect them to try to frustrate Belgium and Iran and try to hit on the counter.

The Manager: Hossam Hassan

The man who was considered Egypt’s greatest until Salah, Hassan remains the country top-ever goalscorer with 69 goals in 177 caps. He had two years in Europe with PAOK of Greece and Neuchâtel Xamax of Switzerland in the middle of 16-years with Al Ahly where he won 11 league titles. In his time in Switzerland, he made headlines in the UK for scoring 4-goals in a UEFA Cup match versus Celtic. Playing well into his 40s, he then also played for another 5 Egyptian sides adding more league titles to his collection. To show how epic his international playing career was, he won his first AFCON title with Egypt in 1986 and his third title twenty-years later in 2006. As a manager, he’s taken charge of numerous Egyptian sides but his only other international experience was with Jordan in 2013-2014 where he took them to the Intercontinental Play-Offs for the World Cup before a 5-0 aggregate defeat to Uruguay.

Key Player: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Who else? Salah is probably the best African footballer of all-time and will be devastated at how his World Cup career has gone (or more accurately not gone) so far. At 33, this is likely his last shot and, had this tournament been last year, everyone would have him as a potential Player of the Tournament. However, this season has been the most difficult of his Liverpool career with him being dropped for a fallout with the manager and his struggle to find form when he has been on the pitch. With 193 Premier League goals in his back-pocket, the most of any non-English player, you just can’t rule him out doing some spectacular this summer. If he can get 3-goals, he overtakes his manager to be Egypt’s top-ever goalscorer.

Why they're actually going to win it: Their AFCON history shows that they’re very capable of turning up for big tournaments and they owe themselves a good run after their dismal history in the competition.

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

33) Tunisia

32) Panama

31) Uzbekistan

30) Congo DR

29) Egypt

28) Iran

27) South Korea

26) Australia

25) Canada

24) Algeria

Here's where I have the first host to show up in my rankings. There was definitely a time when I would have them ranked higher than Mexico and the United States, but I think that time is passing. They have injury questions, but if they have the full core of the 'golden age' healthy they might be able to advance to their first knockout stage. They have a weak enough group to do so, but until they prove themselves in big matches, I can't have them ranked as high, since both Mexico and USA have proven they can beat countries ranked higher than this and Canada hasn't.

Algeria were really fun to watch in 2014, glad to have them back. Their attack power has some questions marks this time without some names of the past like Slimani or Soudani, but they've been pretty consistent in recent years re-establishing themselves as an African power. The match with Austria will be a true banger, I think and could decide 2nd place.

Edited Monday at 12:483 days by DJHazey

Yeah Egypt always seem to be more highly ranked than their World Cup performances would suggest! Let's see if they can make it good this time round.

I can't think of Algeria at the World Cup and not think of that 2010 group game which was the worst football match I've ever watched.

24. South Korea

Group A

AFC (2/9)

World Ranking: 25

Best Result: Semi-Final (2002)

Fixtures:

Czech Republic (12th June, 3AM)

Mexico (19th June, 2AM)

South Africa (25th June, 2AM)

South Korea are at their eleventh consecutive World Cup and are still chasing the highs of their run to the Semi-Final in their co-hosted 2002 tournament. They had provided us with massive drama in the final group game of their last two tournaments. In 2018, they scored twice in added time in an ultimately futile 2-0 win over Germany that did mean the European side finished bottom of a World Cup group for the first time with Korea ending third. And in 2022, they again scored in added time. This time to beat Portugal and book their place in the knockouts at Uruguay’s expense. They’re always a hard-working side but the question surrounding them is always whether they can create enough going forward. Questions are especially being raised after two defeats in their March friendlies: 4-0 against Ivory Coast and 1-0 against Austria.

The Manager: Hong Myung-bo

An icon of Asian football, Hong was the first player from the continent to play in four World Cups with his final tournament in 2002 seeing him earn the Bronze Ball; again making him the first Asian player to receive a World Cup award. A centre-back by trade, he spent the majority of his career in his native Korea but did make one international move, concluding his playing time with LA Galaxy. After retirement, he went straight into being the assistant manager to (recently reappointed Curaçao manager) Dick Advocaat with the Korean national side. He then worked his way up to the main job in 2014 by managing the under 20s and under 23 side. However, a winless World Cup saw his first spell as Korea manager come to a brief end. He’d earned another shot after leading Ulsan HD to consecutive league titles with efficient, if not spectacular, style of play.

Key Player: Son Heung-min (Los Angeles)

Just like with Salah yesterday, there’s no doubt who Korea’s poster-boy is. Son is probably the best Asian footballer of all-time. He’s the only Asian player to score 100+ goals in the Premier League, he has more Champions League goals than anyone else on the continent and has won the ‘Best Football in Asia’ award ten times, with 2016 and 2024 the only years he hasn’t won it since his first. His 10 years at Tottenham saw him become a Premier League legend and eventually the club captain, as well as seeing him win the Puskás Award for his goal against Burnley that saw him run the whole length of the pitch. He’s now made a tactic move to the US, getting used to the country where he will play in the Summer and has been showing great form. However, his last season with Tottenham was poor and he looked like he’d lost a yard of pace so it might just be the lower standard of the league that’s making him still look good.

Why they're actually going to win it: They were the only unbeaten side in Asian qualifying and Son has been studying the land for a year already.

An fantastic contribution this is @LewisGT