by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Here at The Tournament Scout, it's an official policy that we stay off the fence. Think a side is going to come 3rd? We’ll call it as it is.
With so many variables at the 2026 World Cup, mainly caused by there being 48 teams and the challenging climatic conditions we can expect in the hot North American summer, that’s not necessarily easy, and we accept we might end up being wrong here or there.
But that doesn’t deter us from listing all of our predictions to date in a handy table format.
(Predictions as of June 1st 2026):
Group A - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | |
2nd - Qualified | South Korea |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Czechia |
4th - Eliminated | South Africa |
Group B - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Switzerland |
2nd - Qualified | |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Qatar |
4th - Eliminated | Bosnia |
Group C - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Brazil |
2nd - Qualified | Morocco |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Haiti |
4th - Eliminated |
Group D - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Türkiye |
2nd - Qualified | USA |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | |
4th - Eliminated | Australia |
Group E - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Germany |
2nd - Qualified | Ecuador |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ivory Coast |
4th - Eliminated |
Group F - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Netherlands |
2nd - Qualified | Japan |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Sweden |
4th - Eliminated | Tunisia |
Group G - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Egypt |
2nd - Qualified | Belgium |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Iran |
4th - Eliminated | New Zealand |
Group H - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Spain |
2nd - Qualified | Uruguay |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Cape Verde |
4th - Eliminated | Saudi Arabia |
Group I - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | France |
2nd - Qualified | Norway |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Senegal |
4th - Eliminated | Iraq |
Group J - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Argentina |
2nd - Qualified | Austria |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Algeria |
4th - Eliminated | Jordan |
Group K - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Colombia |
2nd - Qualified | Portugal |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | DR Congo |
4th - Eliminated | Uzbekistan |
Group L - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | England |
2nd - Qualified | Croatia |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ghana |
4th - Eliminated | Panama |
That's it for all of our group predictions! We'll come back to mark our work after the conclusion of the group stages, where we'll then launch into another series of predictions for the Round of 32, Round of 16, QF, SF and Final. Stay tuned!
7 min read
Here at The Tournament Scout, it's an official policy that we stay off the fence. Think a side is going to come 3rd? We’ll call it as it is.
With so many variables at the 2026 World Cup, mainly caused by there being 48 teams and the challenging climatic conditions we can expect in the hot North American summer, that’s not necessarily easy, and we accept we might end up being wrong here or there.
But that doesn’t deter us from listing all of our predictions to date in a handy table format.
(Predictions as of June 1st 2026):
Group A - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | |
2nd - Qualified | South Korea |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Czechia |
4th - Eliminated | South Africa |
Group B - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Switzerland |
2nd - Qualified | |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Qatar |
4th - Eliminated | Bosnia |
Group C - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Brazil |
2nd - Qualified | Morocco |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Haiti |
4th - Eliminated |
Group D - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Türkiye |
2nd - Qualified | USA |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | |
4th - Eliminated | Australia |
Group E - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Germany |
2nd - Qualified | Ecuador |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ivory Coast |
4th - Eliminated |
Group F - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Netherlands |
2nd - Qualified | Japan |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Sweden |
4th - Eliminated | Tunisia |
Group G - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Egypt |
2nd - Qualified | Belgium |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Iran |
4th - Eliminated | New Zealand |
Group H - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Spain |
2nd - Qualified | Uruguay |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Cape Verde |
4th - Eliminated | Saudi Arabia |
Group I - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | France |
2nd - Qualified | Norway |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Senegal |
4th - Eliminated | Iraq |
Group J - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Argentina |
2nd - Qualified | Austria |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Algeria |
4th - Eliminated | Jordan |
Group K - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Colombia |
2nd - Qualified | Portugal |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | DR Congo |
4th - Eliminated | Uzbekistan |
Group L - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | England |
2nd - Qualified | Croatia |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ghana |
4th - Eliminated | Panama |
That's it for all of our group predictions! We'll come back to mark our work after the conclusion of the group stages, where we'll then launch into another series of predictions for the Round of 32, Round of 16, QF, SF and Final. Stay tuned!
Scout Shouts: Every group predicted!
Good calls, or a load of old balls?
Original article:
Last updated:
Here at The Tournament Scout, it's an official policy that we stay off the fence. Think a side is going to come 3rd? We’ll call it as it is.
With so many variables at the 2026 World Cup, mainly caused by there being 48 teams and the challenging climatic conditions we can expect in the hot North American summer, that’s not necessarily easy, and we accept we might end up being wrong here or there.
But that doesn’t deter us from listing all of our predictions to date in a handy table format.
(Predictions as of June 1st 2026):
Group A - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | |
2nd - Qualified | South Korea |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Czechia |
4th - Eliminated | South Africa |
Group B - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Switzerland |
2nd - Qualified | |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Qatar |
4th - Eliminated | Bosnia |
Group C - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Brazil |
2nd - Qualified | Morocco |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Haiti |
4th - Eliminated |
Group D - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Türkiye |
2nd - Qualified | USA |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | |
4th - Eliminated | Australia |
Group E - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Germany |
2nd - Qualified | Ecuador |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ivory Coast |
4th - Eliminated |
Group F - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Netherlands |
2nd - Qualified | Japan |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Sweden |
4th - Eliminated | Tunisia |
Group G - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Egypt |
2nd - Qualified | Belgium |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Iran |
4th - Eliminated | New Zealand |
Group H - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Spain |
2nd - Qualified | Uruguay |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Cape Verde |
4th - Eliminated | Saudi Arabia |
Group I - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | France |
2nd - Qualified | Norway |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Senegal |
4th - Eliminated | Iraq |
Group J - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Argentina |
2nd - Qualified | Austria |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Algeria |
4th - Eliminated | Jordan |
Group K - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Colombia |
2nd - Qualified | Portugal |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | DR Congo |
4th - Eliminated | Uzbekistan |
Group L - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | England |
2nd - Qualified | Croatia |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ghana |
4th - Eliminated | Panama |
That's it for all of our group predictions! We'll come back to mark our work after the conclusion of the group stages, where we'll then launch into another series of predictions for the Round of 32, Round of 16, QF, SF and Final. Stay tuned!
7 min read
Scout Shouts: Every group predicted!
Good calls, or a load of old balls?
Here at The Tournament Scout, it's an official policy that we stay off the fence. Think a side is going to come 3rd? We’ll call it as it is.
With so many variables at the 2026 World Cup, mainly caused by there being 48 teams and the challenging climatic conditions we can expect in the hot North American summer, that’s not necessarily easy, and we accept we might end up being wrong here or there.
But that doesn’t deter us from listing all of our predictions to date in a handy table format.
(Predictions as of June 1st 2026):
Group A - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | |
2nd - Qualified | South Korea |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Czechia |
4th - Eliminated | South Africa |
Group B - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Switzerland |
2nd - Qualified | |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Qatar |
4th - Eliminated | Bosnia |
Group C - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Brazil |
2nd - Qualified | Morocco |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Haiti |
4th - Eliminated |
Group D - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Türkiye |
2nd - Qualified | USA |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | |
4th - Eliminated | Australia |
Group E - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Germany |
2nd - Qualified | Ecuador |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ivory Coast |
4th - Eliminated |
Group F - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Netherlands |
2nd - Qualified | Japan |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Sweden |
4th - Eliminated | Tunisia |
Group G - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Egypt |
2nd - Qualified | Belgium |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Iran |
4th - Eliminated | New Zealand |
Group H - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Spain |
2nd - Qualified | Uruguay |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Cape Verde |
4th - Eliminated | Saudi Arabia |
Group I - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | France |
2nd - Qualified | Norway |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Senegal |
4th - Eliminated | Iraq |
Group J - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Argentina |
2nd - Qualified | Austria |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Algeria |
4th - Eliminated | Jordan |
Group K - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | Colombia |
2nd - Qualified | Portugal |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | DR Congo |
4th - Eliminated | Uzbekistan |
Group L - Read the full preview
1st - Group Winners | England |
2nd - Qualified | Croatia |
3rd - Must finish as one of top 8 3rd teams | Ghana |
4th - Eliminated | Panama |
That's it for all of our group predictions! We'll come back to mark our work after the conclusion of the group stages, where we'll then launch into another series of predictions for the Round of 32, Round of 16, QF, SF and Final. Stay tuned!
7 min read