The 2026 World Cup in North America is two games in for every team, and we already know a few things for sure. Lionel Messi is absurd. Kylian Mbappe is relentless. And England might have some real trouble on their hands.
Messi turned 39 this week and decided to celebrate by scoring five goals in two games, including a hat trick against Algeria and a brace against Austria. That moved him past Miroslav Klose for the all-time World Cup scoring lead with 18 goals. The guy is ancient by soccer standards and he’s still the best player in the tournament. But here’s the thing — Argentina looks a little too dependent on him. The defense has been solid, two clean sheets, but the team is built entirely around feeding Messi the ball. That worked in 2022. It might work again. But if he gets hurt or has an off night, the whole thing falls apart.
France is the other obvious favorite, and they look terrifying. Kylian Mbappe also passed Klose, scoring twice against Senegal and twice against Iraq. The first half against Senegal was a slog, but once they woke up, it was a demolition. The depth of their attack is stupid. You can double-team Mbappe and then someone else just scores instead. Nobody wants to play them right now.
Spain had a rough start, drawing 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opener. That raised some eyebrows. Then they went out and thumped Saudi Arabia 4-0, with Lamine Yamal scoring 10 minutes into his first World Cup start. Mikel Oyarzabal added two more. The 2010 Spain team lost their first game to Switzerland and then won the whole thing, so nobody is panicking yet. But they need to keep the momentum going.
England is where it gets interesting. They beat Croatia in their opener, which looked great. Then they played Ghana and produced an absolutely lifeless 0-0 draw. Ghana is not a great team. They’re organized, sure, but they’re not the 2010 squad that nearly made the semis. And England couldn’t break them down at all. Harry Kane scored twice against Croatia but disappeared against Ghana. The defense still looks shaky. They need a win against Panama to get back on track, but the bigger tests are coming.
Germany has won both games so far, beating Ivory Coast and Curacao, but they’re not convincing anyone. They struggled to finish chances against the Ivory Coast until Deniz Undav came off the bench and bailed them out. That’s a pattern — slow starts, then a sub saves them. Squad depth in attack is worrying for Julian Nagelsmann.
Brazil looked flat against Morocco, drawing 1-1, then bounced back by destroying Haiti. Matheus Cunha and Vinicius Jr. looked dangerous, and Carlo Ancelotti has them moving in the right direction. But the defense is still a question mark, and Raphinha’s injury is a real concern.
Portugal is weird. They hammered Uzbekistan, and Cristiano Ronaldo was shouting at the camera after scoring. But the opposition was terrible. Ronaldo still looks like he’ll struggle against any defense with actual structure. The supporting cast is deep, but the main guy might not be able to carry them through knockout rounds.
The USMNT is the host and they’ve been impressive, beating Paraguay comfortably and riding the home crowd energy. Mauricio Pochettino has them organized and confident. The draw has been favorable, but if they keep playing like this, a deep run is not crazy talk.
Morocco backed up their 2022 semifinal run by drawing Brazil and beating Scotland. Ismael Saibari scored 70 seconds into that Scotland game. They look legit. Netherlands fixed their attacking problems by feeding Brian Brobbey, who scored twice against Sweden. The Dutch defense was never the issue. If the offense clicks, they’re dangerous.
The rest of the field is a mix of solid teams and obvious disappointments. Japan, Croatia, Mexico, and Colombia are all in the mix. Belgium is way down at 29, which feels about right — they’re just not the same team anymore. Cape Verde sits at 32 but they earned that draw against Spain. Panama and Haiti are already eliminated.
So the storylines are clear: Messi vs. Mbappe for the crown. England trying to figure out how to score against a parked bus. Spain hoping their slow start was a fluke. And a handful of dark horses who could spoil everything. The next round of games will sort a lot of this out.
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