World Cup fever kicks in and there’s no clear winner in the MaltaToday newsroom

Host nation Mexico and South Africa will kick off the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament on Thursday at the Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City.

The game will be played at 1pm local time (9pm in Malta) and it will be the first of 104 games to be played across 16 host cities in three countries—Canada, Mexico and the United States. This year’s tournament will feature 48 teams, making it the biggest ever. It is also the first to be hosted jointly by three countries.

MaltaToday will be providing real-time results, tables and match information for the duration of the tournament.

And as World Cup fever kicks in, there’s no clear winner in the MaltaToday newsroom. A quick poll among newsroom members produced a tight result. With two votes each, Spain, France and Brazil topped the list of countries the newsroom expects to lift the coveted trophy at the end of the month-long football tournament. In second place, with a single vote each came England, Morocco and Canada. It’s not hard to discern that the person who mentioned Canada has absolutely no understanding of football.

But the newsroom’s inability to coalesce in a major way around one outstanding nation is pretty much in line with the close odds being offered by betting companies. Spain is considered favourite, closely followed by France, England, Brazil and Argentina with each of these teams having a good chance of winning the tournament.

The World Cup is undoubtedly the sporting event of the year, coming also at a politically turbulent time. With the US having gone to war with Iran, the two teams could eventually meet in the knockout stage, adding to the intrigue. Iran have had to shift their team base to Mexico even though they play their group stage matches in the US.

Football fans around the globe will be glued to their TV screens watching the GOATs of football—Argentine Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo—take part in what is ostensibly their last World Cup appearance. Messi would like to lift the trophy for the second consecutive time, while Ronaldo would like to do so for the very first time.

World Cup newbies

However, adding to the colour this year is the fact that four teams will be playing for the first time in the finals—Curacao, Cabo Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

The tiny Caribbean island of Curacao, with a population of around 156,000, became the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup. With Curacao having a FIFA World Ranking of 82, from the teams that have so far qualified to the World Cup, only Haiti and New Zealand are worse off, ranked 83 and 85 respectively.

Meanwhile, just across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabo Verde, an archipelago off the coast of west Africa, with a population of 525,000, will be the other minnow nation to compete in the 2026 World Cup. Making their debut in the tournament, Cabo Verde is ranked 67.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan and Jordan, the other tournament first-timers, are ranked 50 and 63 respectively.

Gang-ravaged Haiti qualified for the World Cup for the first time since their debut in 1974, while Norway, Scotland and Austria will mark a return to the World Cup after a 28-year lapse. Iraq last played in the World Cup in 1986 when it was hosted by Mexico.

The final will be held on Sunday 19 July at the New Jersey Stadium in New York.

FUN FACTS

MaltaToday newsroom winner predictions

Spain, France, Brazil: 2 votes each

England, Morocco, Canada: 1 vote each

Historical

World Cup tournaments: 22 editions

Last World Cup: 2022 in Qatar

Different winners: 8 nations

Most successful: Brazil with 5 titles

Current champions: Argentina

World Cup 2026

Host nations: Canada, Mexico, USA

Host cities: 16 (2 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, 11 in US)

Participating nations: 48

Opening game: Mexico City Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico

Final game: New York/New Jersey Stadium, New York, USA