Now that we know which teams who will play one another in the 2026 World Cup group stage, it’s time to predict who will make it through to the knockout rounds.

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Of course, it’s still very early and we still don’t know the final six teams who will qualify via the playoff routes, but we have a pretty good idea of who will be the favorites and underdogs in each group.

Remember: due to the expanded format of this World Cup the top two nations from all 12 groups will automatically qualify for the Round of 32 in the knockout rounds. The eight third-place teams with the best record will join them in the last 32.

Based on that, here’s our 2026 World Cup group stage predictions below.

2026 World Cup predictions for the Group

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