Argentina the team to beat at 2026 WC

The 2026 World Cup in North America will be the first to feature 48 teams but an expanded tournament does not necessarily mean a wider field of genuine contenders to succeed Lionel Messi’s Argentina as champions.

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Only eight countries have won the World Cup in 22 editions up to the most recent tournament in Qatar, when Argentina defeated France on penalties in an epic final.

That was their third title, a tally bettered only by Brazil with their record five crowns, and Germany and Italy on four each.

With a year still to go until kick-off in the United States, Canada and Mexico, there remain plenty of unknowns, not least with European qualifying barely having begun.

Of the eight previous World Cups held on the American continent, seven have been won by a South American team.

There was a European winner in Brazil in 2014, when Germany edged Argentina in the final.

However Argentina, who top the Fifa world rankings, will be the team to beat in 2026, even if no country has retained the trophy since Brazil in 1962.

As well as being the champions, they have won the last two editions of the Copa America, including last year in the USA. In March they became the first South American team to secure qualification.

Most of the 2022 team remains under coach Lionel Scaloni, and it looks like Messi — who will turn 39 during the competition — will have a role to play.

"He is keen to play at the World Cup and everyone is keen to see him play," Scaloni said recently.