After one round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, the full list of 48 teams has been reordered—highlighting early shocks, stubborn favorites, and a fresh No. 1 as title hopes begin to take shape.
A few weeks in, the 2026 World Cup already feels like a different tournament than the one teams promised themselves they’d play.
With the group stage running through expanded groups of 48 teams. every side has now completed one match—leaving two more games to either confirm what looked inevitable or prove it wrong. After shocks. expected blowouts. and a handful of performances that didn’t produce points. the opening-to-date power rankings have been adjusted.
The favorites still occupy most of the top slots. But the top team has changed—after the previous No. 1 showed “some cracks.” Other squads that began the tournament confident—and sometimes complacent—made real moves toward the knockout stage.
Below are the rankings, tiered from teams simply happy to be here to the true contenders.
World Cup teams that are just happy to be here
48. Tunisia (-9): New rule applied hard—if a team plays so poorly in its first match that it fires its coach, it drops to the bottom of the power rankings. Handsome Hervé Renard is described as the only thing that can save Tunisia.
47. Curacao (+1): Curacao suffered a heavy defeat, as expected, against Germany. Still, the Blue Wave had a goal from Livano Comenencia and leveled the match 1-1 with 17 minutes left.
46. Jordan (+1): Jordan’s World Cup debut brought a decent showing against Austria, with the attack producing more than expected. The outlook darkens as the schedule grows tougher.
45. South Africa (-10): South Africa is called “extremely disappointing” in the opener. The team offered almost nothing and loses a pair of midfielders to red-card suspensions.
44. Iraq (-1): Aymen Hussein scored for Iraq, but Iraq otherwise struggled against Norway and fell 4-1.
43. Panama (-2): Panama let a clean sheet and its first-ever World Cup point slip. It conceded a later winner to Ghana on June 17. The article adds that a healthy Coco Carrasquilla would be welcome.
42. Paraguay (-10): Gustavo Alfaro’s team was expected to be built on a muscular defense, but Paraguay shipped four goals in its first match of the tournament.
41. Qatar (+5): Qatar’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland wasn’t described as impressive in most of the match. The finish was the story: the 2022 hosts secured the point thanks to an own goal in stoppage time.
40. Czechia (=): Czechia let South Korea back into the game, and the test with South Africa is now crucial for deciding who still has a shot at moving on.
39. Haiti (-2): Haiti, under Sebastian Migne, looked like its normal active self but couldn’t find the back of the net against Scotland. Duckens Nazon, the forward who is central to the attacking threat, is nursing a hamstring issue.
38. New Zealand (+6): Chris Wood caused problems for Iran. If the tall forward can repeat that impact again in the group stage, there’s a chance to move on.
37. Cape Verde (+8): Cape Verde earned a stunning scoreless draw with Spain. The piece also points to goalkeeper Vozinha gaining attention on Instagram.
36. Saudi Arabia (=): Saudi Arabia drew Uruguay after previously beating Argentina four years earlier. The question now is whether Saudi Arabia can do enough to get through this time.
35. Algeria (-2): Stopping Lionel Messi and Argentina was always framed as a tough ask. There were some nice moments for Les Fennecs, but advancing from the group is still described as on the table.
34. Uzbekistan (+4): Uzbekistan lost to Colombia 3-1, but went down fighting and still managed to find a debut World Cup goal.
33. Iran (+3): Iran drew New Zealand and didn’t get all three points, but the article says it showed why it’s among the top teams in Asia—even with everything it’s dealing with off the field.
32. Bosnia & Herzegovina (+2): The team’s formula for success isn’t described as pretty, but Bosnia earned an ugly win in terms of results: it opened with a draw with Canada.
31. DR Congo (=): DR Congo earned a very good draw with Portugal. Yoane Wissa responded to Portugal’s early goal, and the defense was characterized as “characteristically stingy.”
30. Scotland (=): Scotland, described as the current Group C leaders, beat Haiti in a cagey affair where each team managed just two shots on goal. More is needed to finish in the top two.
29. Egypt (=): Egypt’s encouraging draw with Belgium is anchored by Mo Salah getting help from forward Omar Marmoush and goal scorer Emam Ashour.
28. Turkey (-5): Turkey’s opener is described as one of those matches that couldn’t have gone much worse. The team needs to create more effective chances instead of settling for hopeless, low-percentage shots.
27. Ghana (-1): Ghana’s late goal rescued three points against Panama, but the team struggled with the ball. It also gave the Central Americans good chances to score.
26. Canada (-5): Canada, one of the hosts, looked tense in its opener and settled for a draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina. The piece calls it Canada’s first-ever World Cup point, but says ambitions are higher.
25. Sweden (+3): Sweden’s attack delivered on promise in a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia. The question becomes whether it can do that against a team at a higher level.
24. Australia (+3): Australia executed Tony Popovic’s game plan brilliantly in a 2-0 win over Turkey—getting forward quickly on the counter-attack and defending in a disciplined way.
23. Uruguay (-3): The piece says Uruguay better hope its travel issues contributed to how lethargic it looked in a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia. Otherwise, Marcelo Bielsa’s side is soon headed home.
22. Switzerland (-4): Switzerland suffers a gut-punch of a late goal from Qatar. What looked like a clear path to a group win is described as now “much more muddled.”
21. Austria (+3): Austria is portrayed as faithful to its style—buzzing around in a 3-1 win over Jordan. The next challenge is harder: doing it against Argentina.
20. South Korea (+5): A huge question had been whether anyone would step up to help Son Heung-min with chance creation and other attacking duties. After Hwang In-beom delivered a MOTM performance in a 2-1 win over Czechia, the answer is said to be clearer.
19. Croatia (-2): Croatia played a good first half against England, but the 4-2 loss doesn’t ease fans’ fear that the team is too old to compete with the best.
World Cup dark horses
18. Ecuador (-8): Ecuador was unlucky to lose against Ivory Coast, and an eight-place drop is called “pretty harsh.” The piece argues that a finish from Enner Valencia—or anyone else—could have avoided putting La Tri in a tough situation.
17. Ivory Coast (+5): Les Elephants “hung around” and earned a breakthrough from breakout star Yan Diomande.
16. Colombia (=): Colombia’s 3-1 win over Uzbekistan was described as a lot of fun. It also shows what was expected for Los Cafeteros: good individual talents and glaring problem areas.
15. Japan (=): Japan drew the Netherlands 2-2 in a relatively balanced game, showing it can come out of its shell and fight for a result.
14. Morocco (+5): Achraf Hakimi has a clean bill of health and contributed often in a 1-1 draw with Brazil. Brahim Diaz connected with Ismael Saibari on the goal, framed as positive signs.
13. Belgium (-2): Rudi Garcia didn’t set up his team quite right in a 1-1 draw with Egypt. Instead of showcasing Jérémy Doku and other rising stars, it shifted into concern about whether veteran players can still hang.
12. Senegal (-3): Senegal is dropped too far, the piece suggests, after a loss to France. Still, Les Bleus was said to have struggled—Senegal hung tough for more than an hour.
11. Mexico (+1): Mexico could have won its opener by more. Still, a 2-0 win against South Africa sets the tone for a tournament where El Tri is hoping to keep delighting home fans.
10. Portugal (-2): The path back to the contenders tier is described as relatively clear: Portugal must find a way to reduce Cristiano Ronaldo’s role. The piece points to him holding the team back in a 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
9. Norway (+5): The dark horse becomes a horse when? Erling Haaland is described as relentless in his World Cup debut. The defense regrouped after conceding, and Norway won 4-1 over Iraq.
8. United States (+5): The question for the United States is whether Americans can start dreaming of a quarterfinal finish. The article says it’s within reach, citing a 4-1 romp over Paraguay, while emphasizing tougher opponents are coming.
World Cup contenders
7. Brazil (=): Brazil could have done better in its draw with Morocco to open the World Cup. It keeps its spot because it rallied to earn a point and has clear areas for quick improvement.
6. Netherlands (-1): Depth may not be there for Ronald Koeman’s team. The piece says it was known about the attack, but it’s a major concern to see the defense make errors in a 2-2 draw with Japan.
5. Germany (+1): Germany’s win over Curacao didn’t produce fireworks, but Julian Nagelsmann’s squad took care of business in match one.
4. Spain (-3): Spain remains in the contenders tier because the group calculations didn’t change with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. Lamine Yamal is still working back to fitness, but a point against a small debutant is said not to meet the standard for Spain, especially as the former No. 1.
3. England (+1): England’s start is described as great. Harry Kane scored twice and the squad produced a superb second half in a 4-2 win over Croatia.
2. Argentina (+1): Lionel Messi is fit and fantastic. The defending champions made a statement with a 3-0 win over Algeria and kept a clean sheet, but even then, there are defensive questions. Austria is next and is framed as a good test.
1. France (+1): France takes the top spot. It took more than an hour for the goal to come, but once France clicked, it put three past a good Senegal defense. The final 3-1 score is described as enough to move into the top of the rankings.
With two more games still waiting for every team, the rankings read like a snapshot of momentum—and a reminder that early answers don’t last long in a tournament built for sudden reversals.
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