World Cup 2026 power rankings: England, Argentina and France make statements after round one
The 2026 World Cup is fully into the swing of things with all teams now having played their opening match of the campaign in North America.
After a build-up that centred around controversy, greed and conflict, fans have been captivated by some enthralling performances during round one of fixtures, with the likes of France and holders Argentina stamping their mark as rightful favourites.
So much can change as the group stage progresses, but here’s how every team stacks up in The Independent’s World Cup 2026 power rankings, delving deeper into the top 10:
1. Argentina 🇦🇷
You could just put Lionel Messi’s name at the top of this list after round one. Argentina have gone into their World Cup defence with a side that threatened to grow stale, with a new generation of players not exactly coming through since the crowing glory of Qatar. But their strategy of four years ago remains effective: pass to Messi and let him work his magic. A scintillating hat-trick against Algeria had tears flowing as the 38-year-old equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record, and with three points immediately on the board, Argentina’s hopes of back-to-back titles already burns bright.
2. France 🇫🇷
From one record to another, Kylian Mbappe stole the show against the Senegal to surpass Pele’s all-time World Cup goal tally. His quest to play in a third World Cup final at just 27 is up and running. Senegal were expected to pose a real challenge to Les Blues – they were of course the reigning Afcon champions, until it was decided weren’t anymore. But after a relatively impotent first half from Didier Deschamps’ side, they became unleashed after the break, their electrifying attack powering them to a devastating victory. Even first real VAR horror show of the tournament, baffling denying Mbappe a stonewall penalty when the score was goalless, couldn’t derail France on their way to the perfect start.
3. England 🏴
Yes, it’s too early to start properly believing that England’s 60-year wait for World Cup glory will come this summer – but Thomas Tuchel’s boys got off to a pretty strong start in the United States. Harry Kane made sure to make his own Golden Boot statement off the back of Messi and Mbappe’s performances, with his brace integral in beating an ever-tricky Croatia side 4-2 in Arlington. Marks have to be taken off for surrendering the lead twice in the first half, something that resulted in Tuchel giving his players a stern team-talk at half-time. But they won relatively comfortably in the end, against the toughest opposition in their group on paper. You can’t ask for much more.
4. Spain 🇪🇸
The near-unanimous favourite among Indy Sport’s writers to lift the World Cup, Spain have gotten off to a pretty rocky start after being held to a 0-0 draw by debutants Cape Verde. This means they miss out on top spot in our power rankings, which would’ve probably been theirs if they had won, though a little bit of leeway can be given due to their lingering injury problems in the opener. Both Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams had to start on the bench, but each man did make a substitute cameo, which hints that they could be ready to play a greater role for the rest of the group stage.
5. Germany 🇩🇪
Seven goals in your World Cup opener, equalling the all-time competition record you set 20 years ago, seems like a sure-fire way of shooting right to the top of these power rankings. Maybe harshly, Germany have to settle for fifth due to the level of opposition; Curacao are smaller than the Isle of Man and their being here is a miracle in itself. The tiny Caribbean island also got one over on the four-time champions, snatching an equaliser on 21 minutes to give Germany a hefty scare – that alone knocks a few power points off. Then six more German goals flooded in as Julian Nagelsmann’s side demonstrated a ruthlessness that they have been lacking since 2014. Emulate this dominance against Ecuador or Ivory Coast and then we’ll start to really take the team formerly known as Die Mannschaft seriously.
6. Portugal 🇵🇹
“Leave the football before the football leaves you.” The immortal words of Jamie Carragher ring pretty true for Portugal’s 40-year-old poster boy, Cristiano Ronaldo, who put in a dismal display up top as Portugal slumped to a very underwhelming 1-1 draw with DR Congo. Portugal have the team to go far this year but with the likes of 2022 breakout star Goncalo Ramos on the bench, you wonder if the insistence to keep Ronaldo at the forefront is harming Roberto Martinez’s side. For now, they enter lower than they should in our power rankings.
7. Brazil 🇧🇷
Another favourite whose ranking has been harmed by a problematic opening performance, Brazil looked wooden against Morocco and could easily have suffered defeat if not for the brilliance of Vinicius Jr. Carlo Ancelotti’s men need to buck their ideas up, because after that display, they are showing signs of becoming this year’s high-profile early exit.
8. Morocco 🇲🇦
Now to the “official” champions of Africa, whose ranking has been benefited giving the team above such trouble. Morocco are by no means an ultimate underdog of this tournament – the 2022 semi-finalists are ranked seventh in the world by Fifa – but by coming out much the better team against the Selecao, the record-winners chasing a sixth star, they have already stamped their mark in the finals.
9. United States 🇺🇸
U-S-A, U-S-A! The hosts are off to flyer and after a stellar opening performance against Paraguay, soccer fever is taking over. Folarin Balogun, a man whose American citizenship came by fluke, was at the heart of an outright domination of the South American side, his brace making up half of the US’ tally in a 4-1 win. Whether they can keep up this intensity against tougher opposition is yet to be seen – but after one very impressive game, non-football-watching Americans will actually be convincing themselves that the US can win the World Cup. So regardless of how misguided they may be, Mauricio Pochettino’s boys have earned their place in our early power rankings.
10. Sweden 🇸🇪
Sweden weren’t expected to be at these finals when they slumped to a dismal last-placed finish in qualifying – in which Kosovo did the double over them. But after gobbling up their lifeline in the play-offs, one they got through the Nations League, the Swede’s are stateside – and going off their first match, they’re on fire. Alexander Isak and Victor Gyokeres both found their shooting boots for the opener, despite their respective struggles last term, which saw Sweden demolish Tunisia with such a verocity that the African side’s manager has now been sacked. Now brilliantly placed to progress, Graham Potter could be about to earn national hero status in Sweden. I wonder if Zara Larsson knows about the face-swap trend.
