The 2026 World Cup is officially into the 32-team bracket — which means just 31 games remain in the World Cup. The Round of 32 got underway on Sunday, June 28, with Canada’s win over South Africa.
After watching the group stage, now is the time to call your shots, make your World Cup bracket predictions, and pick your champion!
Every team in the World Cup bracket is just five wins away from winning the 2026 World Cup, and France, Argentina, Spain, and England top the list as the favorites to win it all. But will one of the powerhouses win it all? Or will a dark horse emerge?
Find the full World Cup Bracket and make your predictions here!
Our soccer staff experts all have Spain and Argentina advancing to the semifinals — and two of them have both sides in the World Cup Final as well.
Below, our experts locked in their World Cup bracket predictions as the knockout stage got underway, including their champion pick and predictions to advance. Find their full bracket predictions below.
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Skyler’s 2026 World Cup Bracket Predictions
World Cup Final Prediction: Spain def. Argentina
Download the World Cup Bracket HERE to fill out for the Knockout Stage!
Already one of the favorites entering the World Cup, Argentina got an extremely favorable draw in their part of the bracket and has a clear shot to advance to the Final for the second straight World Cup, especially with Lionel Messi scoring goals at will.
Argentina’s potential path to the Final includes Cape Verde, Egypt, Colombia, and Brazil. That seems pretty good compared to what France’s path to the World Cup Final could be…
There’s a chance we get plenty of star-studded matchups in the coming rounds of the World Cup, and I am predicting we see Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo against Spain in the Round of 16. Plus, France gets a daunting gauntlet of Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain — with Spain soaring to the Final and winning it all behind a healthy, (soon to be) 19-year-old) Lamine Yamal.
We could also see some upsets, beginning with the Ivory Coast over Norway and Senegal sending Belgium home in the Round of 32.
Vibes are down a bit for Norway after they laid down against France to conclude the group stage, despite having a chance to still win Group I.
As for Belgium, they’ve been underwhelming aside from a 5-1 win over a below-average New Zealand team to finish group play. Maybe it gives them momentum entering the Round of 32, but I’m not high on them moving forward.
Another upset I have is in the Round of 16: co-host Mexico defeating an England side that has looked inconsistent and unable to make noise in the final third. The winner of that game is likely to meet with Brazil or Japan in the quarterfinals.
Read more World Cup Predictions by Skyler Carlin
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Jason’s 2026 World Cup Bracket Predictions
World Cup Final Prediction: France def. Argentina
Coming into the World Cup, I switched my predicted champion from France to Spain. After the group stage, I’m switching back to Les Bleus as my final winner.
France has solved their left-sided defensive worries by moving Kylian Mbappe from left wing to striker. This has freed him to simply attack, and they’ve become a more balanced side with Michael Olise moving centrally.
Spain are still lethal, and should have few problems pushing into the semifinals. They’ll overcome a pesky USMNT side that will make their deepest run in quite some time.
Find the updated 2026 World Cup bracket here + a printable version!
The other side of the bracket sets up well for Argentina, who shouldn’t run into any real threat until they face Colombia in the quarterfinals. I nearly took Colombia to upset them, but I worry about the lack of finishing product from the South American side to this point.
The other quadrant is where I expect the most surprises. First, Japan is being underrated. They’ve played and gotten results against numerous top teams the past few years, play extremely disciplined defensively, and will be a difficult team for anybody to defeat.
But it’s England who I expect to crash and burn the most. Since before the tournament began, I’ve been predicting that Mexico would knock them out in the Round of 16 at the Azteca Stadium. With how England has struggled to pick apart defenses, I feel more confident than ever in that prediction.
France vs. Spain, for me, will decide the World Cup in their potential semifinal match on the left side of the bracket. Argentina will reach the final, but France will sneak past La Roja and get revenge for their defeat in the 2022 World Cup Final vs. Argentina.
Mbappe’s surrounding cast is better than it was four years ago, and in a tournament where attrition is a major factor the French depth will shine through.
Read more World Cup Predictions by Jason Ence
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Christian’s 2026 World Cup Bracket Predictions
World Cup Final Prediction: Spain def. Argentina
The most surprising part of my bracket — and the one I’ll almost certainly be on an island on — is Morocco advancing not just past the Netherlands, but all the way to the semifinal, defeating France along the way.
Download the World Cup Bracket HERE to fill out for the Knockout Stage!
France very well might be the best team in the tournament, and Jason (above) is absolutely correct when he says this French side has stronger pieces around Mbappe (particularly in the attack) then in 2022.
But let’s not pretend that their group stage wins were wildly impressive in terms of competition. They took down Senegal, 3-1, but that was vs. a Senegal side that was clearly looking for a draw, and didn’t press forward, with only 12 touches in the box despite 47% possession on the ball.
They ran a Norway side that played their backups, but also conceded 1.7 xG (France had 1. xG), including a first-half goal. And Iraq was one of the worst teams in the competition.
So, I’m taking Morocco in a game where Ayyoub Bouaddi, Bilal Khannouss, and Bahim Díaz will be the difference makers in the midfield. Add that to Achraf Hakimi keeping either Désiré Doué or Bradley Barcola in check and pressing up the right side and winning vs. Theo Hernández, who is the weak link of this France back four.
If Morocco scores one, they can keep France in check, winning either in extras or in pens. The funny thing is, if Netherlands ends up advancing out of the Round of 16, I also think they have a great shot to upset France as well though that game may play out differently.
Very quickly, on that Netherlands vs. Morocco game: Morocco is objectively a more dangerous side than a shifty, well-structured Japan side that needed a late goal to draw the Dutch in the group stage. This 2026 Morocco team is also more multi-faceted than the last two Morocco teams that went to back-to-back World Cup semifinals, as they have more controlled build-up and impressive speed in the midfield; this could be their year.
Elsewhere, USA’s run will end vs. a Spain side that will get two relatively easy games vs. Croatia (or a struggling Portugal team) and Austria. Those will be two opportunities to get Lamine Yamal into full game shape and in coherence with the attack.
Once they have Yamal in full form, the world is going to find out just how good this Spain side is, because we’ve only seen small glimpses of it so far.
On the other side of the bracket, following my co-workers, I’m taking Mexico to win their two remaining games at Azteca, both by 1-0 finishes in regulation, vs. Ecuador, then England.
Not only is it so rare for them to lose at the Azteca, but Ecuador has struggled to finish opportunities, and I don’t expect many of them vs. a strong Mexico defense that ranks second in xG conceded (1.5) and has three clean sheets in three games.
As for England, the defense has been solid, especially in the midfield, but offensively they are struggling to break opposing defenses down in the final third. Even if Ecuador does defeat Mexico, England is going home in the Round of 16.
Unless Brazil replaces Casemiro, the middle of their defense is going to be a concern vs. any quality team in this World Cup. That may rear its head vs. Japan, or even if Norway advances. But it’ll be incredibly obvious vs. Argentina, who can create chances in the middle of the field with Messi (6 chances created so far in World Cup play), Enzo Fernández (2), and Lo Celso.
Finally, we will get the reigning GOAT vs. the up-and-coming prodigy in Messi vs. Yamal. Mbappe already got his glory; and he got another chance at it too in 2022.
This matchup is written in the stars. Yamal is the perfect kind of player that can give this Argentina defensive midfield fits, especially since he’ll be in form by July 19; and if they give too much help (which they will), there is still Rodri and Pedri on the left side to create more chances, and Mikey Oyazarbal to punish in the middle. Of course, Messi plays on the other side, so Argentina will never be ruled out of this Final until the final whistle.
Last note: Argentina and Spain are the top two ranked teams in the World Football Elo Ratings.
Read more World Cup Predictions by Christian Hardy here
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The final World Cup bracket is set, and teams are now just five wins away from winning the World Cup. Who will emerge as the champions?
Our experts’ favorite bracket predictions to win it all are Spain, Argentina, and France, but anything can happen in a single game. Make your bracket predictions now and see if you can nail every pick — including the champion!
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