Three home teams have a good chance of passing the group stage; France and England are in a difficult group.

The results show a rather contrasting picture: Argentina, Portugal, Brazil fall into a favorable group, while France and England face a big challenge.

Argentina, Portugal, Brazil "breathe easy"

According to the draw results, defending champion Argentina is in Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan - a group that is considered easy, unlikely to put much pressure on coach Lionel Scaloni's team. Similarly, C. Ronaldo's Portugal is in a group that is easy to compete with Uzbekistan, Colombia and the winner of the Intercontinental Play-off Group 1.

Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Scotland and Haiti; while Belgium also benefits from only having to face Egypt, Iran and New Zealand in Group G. Spain is in Group H, which is considered not too difficult when its opponents are Uruguay, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.

France and Britain face big challenges

In contrast to the above group of candidates, France faces a group considered "heavyweight" including Senegal, Norway and the winner of the intercontinental play-off round 2. Senegal created an earthquake when they defeated France at the 2002 World Cup; while Norway is in high form with the explosion of Erling Haaland.

England are also in a tough group with Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Croatia are known for being tough to play against big teams, while Ghana has many players playing in Europe.

Three home teams have a good chance of advancing.

Mexico, Canada and the United States - the three co-hosts - all face opponents that are not too strong. Mexico is in Group D with South Korea, South Africa and the winner of the European Play-offs. Canada faces Qatar, Switzerland and the winner of Group A. The United States is in Group D with Australia, Paraguay and the winner of the European Play-offs.

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup will take place on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium (Mexico), between the host team Mexico and South Africa. The tournament will end on July 19, 2026.

42/48 teams have tickets to the 2026 World Cup

After the qualifying round in November, FIFA determined 42/48 teams to participate. Of which:

· Co-hosts (3): Canada, Mexico, United States.

· Asia (8): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan.

· Africa (9): Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia.

· North - Central America & Caribbean (3): Curaçao, Haiti, Panama.

· South America (6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

· Oceania (1): New Zealand.

· Europe (12): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland.

The remaining six places will be decided through intercontinental play-offs and European play-offs in March 2026.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/ba-doi-chu-nha-rong-cua-vuot-vong-bang-phap-anh-roi-vao-bang-kho-186100.html