Published on 6/19/2026
With the end of the first round of the 2026 World Cup, the features of the tournament began to become clearer, as the round witnessed sharp discrepancies between teams that confirmed their claim to the title, and others that revealed early cracks. Despite the fact that the expanded tournament system gives ample opportunities to third-place finishers, the race towards the round of 32 is still open to all possibilities.
The USA Today website published a classification of five categories, which it distributed as follows: candidates for the title, dark horse, golden square, third-place finishers, and attendance without results.
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France is in the lead
At the level of the elite and the candidates for the title, the French team succeeded in topping the most nominated teams thanks to a progressive performance that culminated in a well-deserved 3-1 victory over Senegal, thus demonstrating its superiority over its Argentine counterpart, who came in second despite its clear 3-0 victory over Algeria, amid technical questions regarding the defensive balance of the Tango.
In third place, the England team secured its place after an offensive display led by Harry Kane that resulted in a 4-2 victory against Croatia, while Spain came in fourth place after a disappointing goalless draw against Cape Verde that raised question marks about the accuracy of the Spanish performance.
Germany came fifth with a landslide victory over Curacao, followed by the Netherlands in sixth place after a disturbing draw with Japan, while Brazil settled in seventh place after a draw with Morocco.
Vikings and Yankees
In the “dark horse” category, Norway emerged in ninth place thanks to the brilliance of top scorer Erling Haaland in the team’s four-pointer against Iraq, while the United States caught the attention by climbing to eighth place after sweeping Paraguay 4-1. In the same vein, Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire showed a strong personality in front of the adults, which placed them in advanced positions (14th and 17th, respectively), while Ecuador and Belgium suffered a sharp decline in evaluation.
In the middle of the standings and the possible knockout rounds, fortunes varied; While Australia and South Korea presented a remarkable tactical performance, Canada – one of the host countries – appeared nervous in its start. As for Cape Verde, it recorded the most notable jump in the tournament (+8 places) after its historic steadfastness against the Spaniards.
What is the situation of the Arabs?
The Saudi “Green” team succeeded in extracting a valuable draw from Uruguay, recalling memories of the historic victory over Argentina four years ago, to occupy 36th place and maintain its chances in the group. Meanwhile, the Egyptian national team proved its presence during a strong confrontation against Belgium, which placed it in 29th place.
Despite the loss to Argentina, the “Desert Warriors” presented distinguished technical moments, causing Algeria to occupy 35th place, with the hope of qualifying remaining in their hands.
In its first World Cup participation, the Qatar national team succeeded in gaining a valuable point against Switzerland to reach 41st place, and “Al-Nashama” performed well offensively despite the loss to Austria, making Jordan occupy 46th place.
At the bottom of the standings was the Tunisian team, which came in 48th place after a heavy defeat against Sweden and the ouster of the technical staff.
