Lionel Scaloni: Argentina Coach Names France, Portugal Among Favourites to Win 2026 World Cup
- Lionel Scaloni has outlined the list of countries he considers as favourites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
- The Argentina head coach named 10 countries, including his team, France and Portugal among the favourites
- La Albiceleste enters the tournament as defending champions after winning the 2022 edition against France
Argentina national team head coach Lionel Scaloni has announced the list of countries he considers as favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 edition of the global showpiece will be played in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Source: Getty Images
The event will be the first edition of the expanded 48-nation tournament, and the first to be co-hosted by three countries in the history of the competition.
Argentina enters the tournament as defending champions after winning the 2022 edition in Qatar, giving Lionel Messi his only elusive trophy.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner enters what would be his final World Cup this year as Argentina aims to make it back-to-back as a farewell to their captain.
Scaloni names favourite to win World Cup
Lionel Scaloni, who has transformed the Argentina national team since he took over in 2018 and has won three consecutive major tournaments, has named his favourites.
Scaloni, during an interview with Argentine website Diario Ole, named 10 countries, including Argentina, he considers as favourites, reiterating that no nation is distinctly clear.
“Ten? I don't know if I underestimated them. Yes, because in a World Cup, of course, Argentina will be there. I don't know if they'll win, but those ten or twelve will fight and try to reach the final,” he said.
"Spain, France, Portugal, England, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, too, Argentina, Morocco... I don't even know how many I've named; I'm already forgetting some. Croatia, I forgot about Croatia!”
Argentina, Spain, France, England, Brazil and Uruguay have won the World Cup in the past, while others will be first-time winners if Scaloni’s prediction is correct.
The two-time Copa America winner is worthy of advising on how to win the World Cup, and rightly so, he explained that performance is not enough.
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“In the end, what can I tell you about the World Cup? It's not enough to just play well, to be a contender, to be a big team; a whole host of factors have to fall into place for things to go smoothly,” he added.
As noted by FIFA, Argentina are drawn in Group J alongside Algeria, Austria and Jordan, which should be an easy group for the defending champions.
The three-time champions will begin the defence of their title against the North Africans on June 17, before facing Austria and Jordan on June 22 and 28, respectively.
Supercomputer predicts World Cup winner
Legit.ng previously reported that Opta’s supercomputer predicted the top five favourite countries to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Spain is the leading favourite while France, England, Argentina and Portugal make up the rest of the top five ahead of the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Source: Legit.ng
