2026 World Cup Group of Death: Teams to Watch

Melody Zekey Pande

The much-awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup draw was conducted producing some interesting groups and potentially classical fixtures.
For the first time, there are going to be 48 national teams at the tournament, an upgrade from the previous 32, competing from June 11 2026 to the final on 19 July 2026 in USA, Mexico and Canada.

The extended format will see more teams, more games and more extra knockout rounds. From the 48 teams that qualified, 32 will move on to the first knockout round and 16 will go home early. The top 2 teams from the 12 groups will progress, a total of 24 will progress and will be joined by 8 third placed teams with the best records in the group stage.
As soon as the final groups were announced, fans and analysts began to check for the potential GROUP OF DEATH. In every tournament in football, there has always been a group that is fiercely contested with no obvious winner. Going back to the previous tournament in 2022, Group E became the Group of Death as it consisted of two former champions Spain and Germany with two seemingly underdogs Japan and Costa Rica. However, it surprised many as Japan beat both Spain and Germany, and ending top of group. Spain finished second and Germany 3rd and eliminated.
Come 2026, Group E still consists Germany but this time with newcomers Curacao, African giants Ivory Coast and South American side Ecuador, easy for Germany on paper.
On the assumption that Iraq and Ukraine win their respective play-offs, then groups I and F look to be the two that contain the most threatening teams on average. A group with France, Senegal, Norway and Iraq edges it as the strongest nations statistically, with plenty of narrative to unpack. France against Senegal, a contest with an interesting history given the African country famously beat the European powerhouse at the 2002 World Cup.
Even though France will be the favorites, while it is the first time that Norway have qualified for the tournament in 27 years, do not underestimate their strength. Any team containing the creative prowess of Martin Odegaard and the brute force of Erling Haaland should be taken seriously, and Stale Solbakken’s side are building a head of steam. No nation has shown a bigger rise in its FIFA rating than Norway since this time last year.
There will also be other matches that will likely draw attention, including Portugal with aging star Cristiano Ronaldo set to face off against Colombia, the finalist at the regional Copa America last year.
Another potential one is the group made up Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and whoever emerges from a playoff involving Ukraine, Poland, Albania, or Sweden. As the tournament draws closer, we will continue to break down the teams and expectations.