The list of favourites at this year’s World Cup won’t surprise anyone: Spain, France, England, Brazil, Argentina. And it’s been decades since there was a surprise winner. But could there be a few upsets? In 2022, not many pundits have Morocco down as semi-finalists. Who could spring a similar surprise in 2026?
Morocco
Despite Morocco reaching that stage four years ago, the bookmakers still consider them minnows compared to teams like Belgium, Netherlands, and Uruguay. Their chances of winning the World Cup are rated around the same as Norway’s (150-1). But Morocco still have a team full of talent: Achraf Hakimi has showed his quality again for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, pulling a muscle after an entire game of seemingly playing two positions at once; Brahim Diaz is regularly picked for Real Madrid despite their packed squad; and Abde Ezzalzouli has been one of Real Betis’s best players.
Morocco are in Group C with Brazil, Haiti, and Scotland. Mohamed Ouahbi had big boots to fill after replacing Walid Regragui, but led the side to victory at AFCON 2025 (albeit after an appeal, with Senegal’s players forfeiting the game by the rulebook, having walked off in protest of a refereeing decision).
South Africa
South Africa are in Group A with Czech Republic, South Korea (led by most-capped Korean player in history, Son Heung-min), and co-hosts Mexico. Bofana Bofana are huge underdogs to progress far into the tournament (available at around 1000-1 to win the whole thing), but they have a reliable keeper (Ronwen Williams, another most-capped player), a tight-knit group, and a canny manager in Hugo Broos.
Broos will retire after the World Cup after almost 40 years in management. Like many managers, Broos has been hopping between jobs at least every few years since making it in the big time. He started in his native Belgium and led Anderlecht to Champions League qualification in the early 2000s. Fans who check betting apps in South Africa will have seen that Paris Saint-Germain were favourites ahead of this year’s Champions League final, despite Arsenal having their best season in decades.
Ecuador
Ecuador aren’t always the prettiest team to watch, but they get results. Sebastian Beccacece’s side finished second in South American qualifying, despite starting on -3 points after using falsified player documents. They arguably rely too much on striker Enner Valencia (previously of Everton and West Ham), but have talent elsewhere, particularly in midfield with Moises Caicedo. His likely partner in the middle is Pedro Vite, a more attacking player. Getting that balance may be key in Beccacece’s 3-4-3. That’s unlikely to be a concern against Curacao in Group E but may be tested by Germany and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Kendry Paez will be hoping to add to his 20-plus caps already collected before he turns 20. The Chelsea starlet (loaned to Strasbourg and River Plate) is on track to break the country’s appearance record, and perhaps that of international football as a whole (currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo, with 226 before the summer friendlies).
Norway
Norway doesn’t have the easiest group (Group I), with France, Senegal, and Iraq. But they do have Erling Haaland, set to play his first World Cup. The Manchester City striker scored more than anybody else in qualifying, and would surpass his father Alf-Inge’s achievements with the national team if he made the knockouts. Haaland will likely be the sole striker in a 4-3-3, supported by Alexander Sorloth and Antonio Nusa. That attack will be frightening to any side if it clicks. Martin Odegaard’s creativity in midfield could be key and he might have hit form for Arsenal at just the right time.
Stale Solbakken took most of the blame for the previous qualifying failure, but has held his position for six years. He featured as a player for his country at World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000.
Colombia
The 34-year-old James Rodriguez might not have had quite the Real Madrid career some predicted, but he’s still picked for his country for a reason: Rodriguez led the assists table with seven in qualifying. He won the Copa America Golden Ball in 2024, and has plenty of attacking talent to supply – not least Luis Diaz. The former Liverpool man has slotted in seamlessly for Bayern Munich and his two goals against Brazil, just days after his father had been freed from a kidnapping, were the highlights of qualifying.
But Colombia do have notable weaknesses, arguably most prevalent at right-back and in goal, where Crystal Palace Daniel Munoz’s fitness is often questionable and the likely first choice in net is Camilo Vargas, 37 years old. Despite that, the national side have looked inspired since failing to qualify for the 2022 tournament. They’ll aim to upset Portugal in Group K. Uzbekistan and DR Congo may be more straightforward opponents.
