The 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally here.
The tournament kicks off on June 11 at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, where host nation Mexico will face South Africa in the opening match of what'll be the biggest World Cup ever.
We asked our staff to make the toughest prediction of all: who will be lifting the trophy on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey?
For context, these are not necessarily bets our experts are making at their current market prices. These are straight-up selections based on who our experts believe is most likely to win, regardless of the actual betting value.
Here are our 2026 World Cup champion picks.
World Cup Predictions
With 48 teams in the tournament, three host nations, an expanded knockout stage, and enough soccer to fill an entire summer, you'd think our staff would be all over the place when predicting the 2026 World Cup winner.
Not exactly.
Every single pick focused on either France or Spain.
Five experts backed the reigning European champions, while the other five sided with a French squad that somehow keeps producing world-class talent.
To be fair, it's hard to argue with either choice. Spain arrives with one of the most exciting young cores in world football, while France continues to operate like a football factory that accidentally assembled another super team.
What is surprising is that nobody picked Brazil, nobody picked Argentina, nobody picked England, and nobody decided to get weird and talk themselves into a dark horse!
