FIFA World Cup: Star players, form and group predictions

FIFA ranking: 14

Qualifying: N/A

Coach: Javier Aguirre - 2nd time he’s led Mexico at a World Cup (2002, 2010 - Ro16) Also led Japan to 2015 Asian Cup (lost QF vs UAE)

Stars: Captain Edson Alvarez is on-loan from West Ham at Fenerbache.

Fulham striker Raul Jimenez looks set to lead the line again.

Expectation: Top their group and go deep into the tournament. A potential meeting with England in the Round of 16 at Estadio Azteca would be one of the highlights.

FIFA ranking: 60

Qualifying: Topped Group C in Africa by 1 point from favourites Nigeria to qualify for first tournament since they hosted in 2010.

Coach: Hugo Broos - 73-year-old Belgian has been in charge since 2021. Plans to retire from coaching after the tournament.

Stars: Striker Lyle Foster is one of the only players drawn from outside South Africa - he’s managed 3 goals in his 15 starts for Burnley.

Left-back Samukelo Kabini plays with Molde in Norway.

Expectation: First World Cup since they hosted in 2010 – but in a fairly open group there is a belief they can at least progress to the knockouts.

FIFA ranking: 25

Qualifying: Finished top of Group B ahead of Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine & Kuwait - conceding just 7 goals in their 10 qualifiers and finishing the section unbeaten.

Coach: Hong-Myung-bo - legendary defender who captained the side at the 2002 edition. Replaced Jurgen Klinsmann before the start of qualifying.

Stars: Son Heung-Min is in the midst of his 2nd season in the US with LA FC where he’s managed 14 goals in 27 games to this point.

Lee Kang-in is a semi-regular at PSG and at 24 years of age is the next great hope for Korean football.

Kim Min-Jae has been at Bayern Munich for the past 4 seasons - starting 17 games this campaign for Vincent Kompany.

Expectation: A knockout stage qualification would be par. Anything further a success for a side who carries indifferent form into the tournament.

FIFA ranking: 40

Qualifying: Finished 2nd in their group to Croatia - pushing them through the play-offs.

Coach: Miroslav Koubek was appointed in December after predecessor Ivan Hasek was sacked following a loss to the Faroe Islands in qualifying.

Stars: Captain Ladislav Krejci has been handed the armband at just 26 ahead of players like Tomas Soucek and Patrick Schick and scored a critical extra-time goal against Denmark.

Expectation: A strong thought that their age and reliance on physicality will hinder them in the heat and/or high altitude with the game against Mexico at the Azteca a particular worry. Anything further than the Round of 32 a major success.

FIFA ranking: 30

Qualifying: N/A

Coach: Jesse Marsch was appointed in May - the first American to coach Canada.

Stars: Captain Jonathan David has been a Juventus player for the past 2 seasons. 21-year- old strike partner Tani Oluwaseyi has spent the season at Villarreal where he’s managed 7 goals in 35 appearances.

Ali Ahmed is a teammate of Australia's Mo Toure at Norwich. Liam Millar has been with Hull City since 2024.

Expectation: Exciting at the last World Cup but underwhelming in the 4 years since. The weak group means they should go through and would be favourites if they qualified 2nd and played Czechia or South Korea in the Round of 16.

FIFA ranking: 64

Qualifying: Finished 2nd in Group H behind Austria (by 2 points) sending them into the play-offs.

Coach: Sergej Barbarez - this is his first Head Coaching job after a storied playing career that saw him play more than 400 times in the Bundesliga for Hamburg, Leverkusen, Dortmund & Union Berlin as well as playing 47 times for the National Team.

Stars: Edin Dzeko is the captain & still the biggest name - now 40 years old and plying his trade for Schalke in 2.Bundesliga.

US-born 21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic impressed in the play-offs - he’s just secured a move to PSV Eindhoven from New England Revolution.

Arsenal fans will be familiar with Sead Kolasinac who is now playing with Atalanta.

Expectation: Ageing and rode their luck through the play-offs to defeat Wales & Italy on penalties. Need their youngsters to perform in their first major tournament to make it beyond the Round of 32 – but the presence of Qatar in the group means they should at least make it through as a best 3rd placed side.

FIFA ranking: 56

Qualifying: Finished 4th in their qualifying group behind Iran, Uzbekistan & UAE winning just 4 of their 10 games.

Coach: Julen Lopetegui continued the Spanish influence in the gulf nation after being appointed in May last year replacing Luis Garcia.

Stars: Akram Afif is still the standout attacking talent and the majority of the team have experience from 4-years ago on home soil.

Expectation: Have consistently shown an inability to perform outside the middle east – winning the last 2 Asian Cups at home and in the neighbouring UAE. A first win at the World Cup finals would be a major success.

FIFA ranking: 19

Qualifying: Finished top of Group B ahead of Kosovo, Slovenia & Sweden, scoring 14 goals and conceding just 2 in their 6 games.

Coach: Murat Yakin takes the Swiss to his 2nd World Cup. He has been in charge and led them to the Quarter-Finals of Euro 2024 were they were eliminated on penalties by England.

Stars: The Swiss again will rely on their disciplined defence - led by Inter defender Manuel Akanji, with Bologna’s Reno Freuler critical in screening the back 3.

Breel Embolo heading to his 3rd World Cup will lead the line again - he’s managed 10 goals in 31 games for Rennes this season in Ligue 1.

Expectation: A remarkably experienced squad in an otherwise unremarkable group. Have knocked the likes of France out of recent major tournaments and made the Quarter-Finals of the 2024 Euros. Should top the group comfortably and may cause a shock or two from there.

FIFA ranking: 6

Qualifying: A real scrap – lost 5 of 6 early in the campaign before an 89th minute winner in Chile in October 2024 turned their fortunes around.

Coach: Carlo Ancelotti was appointed coach in May last year after their loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires, and before Real Madrid had confirmed he was leaving the club – he’s the first foreigner to coach the Selecao. Son Davide is deputising as one of his assistants.

Stars: Call-ups of players from ‘middling’ Premier League clubs & the Middle East have caused controversy in Brazil with some former internationals & pundits viewing selections of players like Igor Thiago (Brentford), Rayan (Bournemouth) and Roger Ibanez (Ah Ahli) as devaluing the National Team shirt (even despite Tiago scoring against Croatia in his 2nd appearance in Brazil colours).

The recall of Neymar is intriguing with the nation's all-time leading scorer likely to come off the bench (if he's fit enough).

Vinicius Jr will most likely start up front with Raphinha, Matheus Cunha, Igor Thiago & Zenit’s Luiz Henrique all rotating in the last international window.

Casemiro at 34 is still the team’s central figure & Ancelotti will be sweating on the fitness of Bruno Guimaraes to partner him in midfield. PSG’s skipper Marquinhos & Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhães will likely be the centre-halves pairing.

Expectation: It’s Brazil – anything less than winning the whole thing is underwhelming. They haven’t managed to do that since 2002 though.

FIFA ranking: 83

Qualifying: Qualified 2 points clear of Honduras & a further two clear of Costa Rica playing all their home games in Curacao due to security concerns in Haiti.

Coach: 52-year-old Sebastien Migne was appointed in March 2024 ahead of the beginning of the campaign with the nation having not qualified since 1974. He is still yet to step foot in Haiti because of the security concerns that have prevented the team from playing there.

Stars: Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor is the star and the key to the team’s attack – like most of the side he’s been naturalised from France.

Fellow French-born striker Duckens Nazon was the team’s top scorer in qualifying with 6 goals – he currently plies his trade for Iranian giants Esteghlal where he has managed just 2 goals in 18 games this season.

Expectation: In their first World Cup since 1974 a win would be remarkable. Have shown promise in the lead-up to friendlies though.

FIFA ranking: 7

Qualifying: Finished top of Group E with a perfect record winning 8 games from 8 and conceding just 2 goals in a group with Niger, Tanzania, Zambia & Congo.

Coach: Mohamed Ouahbi was appointed Head Coach after the AFCON, replacing Walid Regragui who had come under increasing criticism for his negative style of play.

Stars: PSG’s right-back Achraf Hakimi is still the team’s star – ably assisted by Brahim Diaz who has returned to form at Real Madrid after his dramatic penalty miss in the AFCON Final against Senegal.

Star of the 2022 World Cup Sofyan Amrabat has fallen out of favour – with Roma midfielder Neil El Aynaoui one of the young stars to watch in the heart of midfield. He is the son of former tennis pro Younes El Aynaoui.

Expectation: Internally – some more entertaining football – they’ve been rugged and successful but at times a bit of a bore. Externally – that boring football has taken them to a Continental Titl^ & a World Cup Semi-Final in the past 4 years. If they deviate too far from that – disappointment beckons. Will qualify from the group – anyone’s guess from there.

FIFA ranking: 42

Qualifying: Despite criticism throughout the campaign a tight-knit squad managed to top their group ahead of Denmark – winning their final game 4-2 against the Danes at Hampden Park – seeing them through to their first World Cup since 1998 and 3rd major tournament under Steve Clarke.

Coach: Steve Clarke is now Scotland’s longest serving manager (in terms of games played) and has confirmed he’ll leave the role after the World Cup after 7 years in charge.

Stars: Clarke’s stand-out midfield gives them a chance against most oppositions – Scott McTominay has become a star since moving to Napoli – Aston Villa’s John McGinn and Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie along with Bologna’s Lewis Ferguson are formidable.

Liverpool’s Andy Robertson will captain the team from left-back.

The search for a consistent centre-forward and goalkeeper continues with Torino’s Che Adams set to lead the line ahead of Charlton's Lyndon Dykes.

Expectation: Their supporters will be fun – and their team are good enough to win a game or two – despite the English seeing them as some sort of fun sideshow.

FIFA ranking: 27

Qualifying: After failing to win their first two games and changing manager, Tony Popovic oversaw 8 unbeaten games to see the Socceroos safely through behind Japan in Group C ahead of Saudi Arabia & Indonesia.

Coach: Tony Popovic led the Western Sydney Wanderers to ACL glory in 2015 and didn’t suffer his first loss with the Socceroos until more than a year after taking the job – a 2-1 friendly defeat to the USA in October.

Stars: Exciting strike duo Mo Toure and Nestory Irankunda are expected to shoulder most of the attacking burden.

Goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan will be appearing at his 4th World Cup, as will veteran Mathew Leckie.

Expectation: There’s a lot of promise and there would be nothing better than beating the US – but the Socceroos will go into all 3 games as underdogs with a less experienced team than went to Qatar 4 years ago.

FIFA ranking: 41

Qualifying: Defensively solid doesn’t begin to do the Paraguayans justice – 10 goals conceded in the 18-games of qualifying was as good as Argentina and only bettered by Ecuador. Wins over the reigning World Champions in November 2024 & Brazil in September that year were the highlights of the campaign – where they lost just 4 times (3 of those away from home).

Coach: Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro was appointed in August 2024 taking over from countryman Daniel Garnero after a disappointing Copa America campaign where they exited from a group featuring Colombia, Brazil & Costa Rica without registering a point.

Stars: Brighton midfielder Diego Gomez is in the squad after recovering from a knee injury, while former Newcastle attacker Miguel Almiron is still a regular starter.

Cremonese striker Antonio Sanabria was the top scorer in qualifying but has struggled for form in Serie A this season – scoring just once in 23 appearances.

Sunderland centre-back Omar Alderete anchors the backline.

Expectation: Will be the most physical team at the tournament – knocked off Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia in qualifying and are greater than the sum of their parts.

FIFA ranking: 22

Qualifying: Finished 2nd in their qualification group behind Spain managing a 2-2 draw in Seville but being belted at home 6-0 in September.

Coach: Dashing Italian Gustavo Montella led the side to their first World Cup since their 3rd place finish in 2002 after taking over in 2023 following a friendly loss to Japan.

Stars: Arda Güler is fit after sustaining a hamstring injury after winning Real Madrid’s player of the month award for April.

Hakan Calhanoglu captains the team from midfield – hoping this tournament will be the culmination of an outstanding career in Europe at the age of 32.

Expectation: Undoubtedly the most talented team in Group D but have consistently underperformed at major tournaments in the last decade.

FIFA ranking: 16

Qualifying: N/A

Coach: Mauricio Pochettino was appointed with a view to going deep in this World Cup and although the tenure started promisingly – results have tailed off slightly as Pochettino has experimented in the past couple of windows.

Stars: Unlike US teams of years past – this iteration is stacked with high-level European talent.

Christian Pulisic is still the leader and has had a solid season with AC Milan, Weston McKennie is a regular at Juventus, Tim Weah (son of George) at Marseille, Chris Richards at Crystal Palace & Auston Trusty at Celtic.

Expectation: Some of their more outspoken pundits seem to think this is some sort of Golden Generation – in reality internal politicking is playing far more of a factor than the coach would like and the pressure of playing at home could wreak havoc.

FIFA ranking: 10

Qualifying: After a shock loss to Slovakia in their opening game – the Germans won the remaining 5 conceding just once more as they breezed through ahead of Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.

Coach: Julian Nagelsmann – led Germany through an impressive group stage at their home Euros 2 years ago – before being beaten by eventual champions Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

Stars: Whilst still strong there are questions around the make-up of the team with Nagelsmann having to send an SOS to 40-year-old keeper Manuel Neuer.

Despite his indifferent form with Liverpool, Florian Wirtz has been one of the key players since Nagelsmann’s takeover and Kai Havertz is expected to lead the line ahead of Nick Woltemade.

Josh Kimmich has been used almost exclusively as a right-back under Nagelsmann and will captain the team.

Expectation: Surprisingly low for the 4-time World Champions who haven’t really figured out their best starting XI and face a dreadfully difficult run to the latter stages if they top their group (which they should fairly comfortably.)

FIFA ranking: 33

Qualifying: Despite not losing a game in qualifying they qualified by just 1 point ahead of Gabon from Group F – and didn’t concede a single goal in their 10 qualifying games.

Coach: Emerse Fae the former Nates, Nice and Reading player – is the 42 year-old Head Coach – in his first senior head coaching role after previously taking charge of Clermont’s reserves and the National Olympic Team (who failed to qualify for Paris).

Stars: This is thought to be the Ivorians best group of players since the ‘Golden Generation’ of the mid-2000s – Manchester United’s Amad Diallo was the star of the AFCON campaign, Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare is the team’s heartbeat though – screening in front of a stingy defence.

Atalanta’s Odilon Kossounou is one who could score a big move with strong performances at this tournament.

The captain Franck Kessie recently won the Asian Champions League with Ah Ahli.

Expectation: Slowly building off the back of some strong friendly performances including a win over France. Lack the star power of some other African Nations but are more disciplined which could be key in this tournament.

FIFA ranking: 23

Qualifying: A best-ever campaign for the Ecuadorians who managed to go through the arduous 18-game campaign conceding just 5 goals – they had 8 nil-nil draws over that stretch. Finishing 2nd only to Argentina.

Coach: Sebastián Beccacece is the Argentinian Head Coach who’s held the role since 2024 replacing Felix Sanchez after their Quarter-Final defeat by Argentina in Copa America.

Stars: Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo is the team’s star player and heartbeat while long-time striker and all-time leading scorer Enner Valencia is still leading the line – now plying his trade at Pachuca in Liga MX.

PSG’s Willian Pacho has been critical in the run to the Champions League Final – and Pervis Estupiñan is playing well for AC Milan.

Expectation: As high as they’ve been in Ecuador’s history – a pair of Round of 16 appearances in 2002 & 2006 their best so far.

Qualifying: Topped their group ahead of Haiti winning 4 from 4 qualifiers against the likes of St Lucia, Aruba & Barbados.

Coach: The Federation were forced to replace Dick Advocaat due to personal reasons after their qualification earlier this year and appointed former PSV Head Coach Fred Rutten.

Stars: Former Aston Villa, Cardiff and Reading player Leandro Bacuna is the team’s best known player – now plying his trade in Turkey.

Expectation: Weak to begin with and in turmoil since they’ve qualified with Advocaat leaving and returning. My tip to finish last of the 48 teams given the tough group.

FIFA ranking: 18

Qualifying: Topped the Socceroos group comfortably losing just the single game to the ‘Roos in Perth having already qualified as Group winners.

Coach: Hajime Moriyasu has held the position since 2018 and rode out a wave of negativity ahead of 2022 to cement his position.

Stars: The team is full of high level talent including Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada, Celtic's Daizen Maeda, Bayern Munich’s Hiroki Ito and Feyernoord pair Ayase Ueda & Tsuyoshi Watanabe.

Expectation: High – really high. The only thing is a tough run once they’re out of the group whether they beat Netherlands to top spot or finish 2nd.

FIFA ranking: 8

Qualifying: Topped their group ahead of Poland, Finland, Malta & Lithuania with the only 2 draws coming against the 2nd placed Poles home-and-away.

Coach: Ronald Koeman has held the role since 2023 guiding the side to the Semi-Final of the 2024 Euros where they were beaten 2-1 by England.

Stars: A solid group of seasoned individuals under a strong coach – the defence is the strength with Virgil van Dijk, Jean-Paul van Hecke & Micky van de Ven all playing at Premier League level and all being fitted into the backline.

Liverpool duo Ryan Gravenberch & Cody Gakpo are both expected to play key roles. The lack of an in-form striker is a glaring issue though with Donyell Malen, Wout Weghorst & Noa Lang currently competing for the role.

Expectation: Another nation with fun fans, an underwhelming team and an underwhelming manager. Lots of top-quality talent and some decent leadup results have restored faith but there are 10 teams here comfortably stronger. Quarter-Final seems about par.

FIFA ranking: 38

Qualifying: The most bizarre of any side’s qualification campaigns – failing to win any of their 6-group stage matches against Switzerland, Kosovo or Slovenia.

Coach: Graham Potter took over from Jon-Dahl Tomasson after the disappointing initial qualification stage – his contract stretches all the way until the end of the 2030 World Cup.

Stars: Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres leads the line and can credit his time with Sweden for returning him to form at his club side. He’s found an able partner in Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga and young Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren while Liverpool's Alexander Isak is ready to go after recovering from an injury-interrupted season.

Aston Villa centre-back Victor Lindelöf captains the team from one of the 3 central defensive positions.

Expectation: None – saved by an unfair qualifying system that rewarded their mediocrity. Need Isak or Gyokores to find some form – if they do – a knock-out place is within reach – if they don’t, they’ll go out in the group stage.

FIFA ranking: 45

Qualifying: Won their qualifying group without losing a match – and, like the Ivorians – not conceding a single goal over the 10-matches.

Coach: Sabri Lamouchi has replaced Sami Trabelsi after a disappointing AFCON campaign that ended in the Round of 16 – defeated by an inferior Mali team on penalties.

Stars: Hannibal Mejbri is the team’s lone creative influence – with the team set up to be disciplined and defend strongly.

Long-time Bundesliga midfielder Ellyes Skhiri will captain the team from midfield while 18-year-old Rayan Elloumi can provide the goals the team needs to progress.

Expectation: At the mercy of which Sweden turns up. If they beat them they could sneak through as a best 3rd placed team but look no chance of beating the Netherlands or Japan.