Arsenal legend Ian Wright predicted the Golden Boot winner and dark horses for the tournament, among others, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway at Mexico City tonight (June 10), with co-hosts Mexico playing South Africa.
A total of 1248 players across 48 teams is set to feature in the month-long spectacle across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Nearly 72% (891) of those players are at the World Cup for the very first time, while four teams - Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan - are making their tournament debut.
Defending champions Argentina are expected to be among the top contenders, which also includes the likes of reigning European champions Spain, 2018 champions France and 1966 winners England.
With the World Cup set to kick off in a few hours, Wright provided his take on the Golden Boot and Golden Glove winners, dark horses and underachievers at the tournament and the two likely finalists. Here's what he said on ITV Football:
"Underachiever: If Neymar's there, and he's probably not ready for it, I'm going to go with Brazil. "
"Who makes the final: France have been there two consecutive times. I'm going to go with England and France."
Kane is coming off a superb 61-goal season with Bayern Munich and is England's all-time top scorer with 79 goals in 116 games. Eight of those strikes have come in two editions of the FIFA World Cup, including two at Qatar 2022.
Meanwhile, Raya won a third consecutive Gloden Glove award for Premier League winners Arsenal, keeping 19 clean sheets, and is a part of FIFA World Cup contenders Spain's squad.
"They are one of the favourites" - England boss on Portugal's 2026 FIFA World Cup title credentials
England MD-1 Training and Press Conference - Source: Getty
England MD-1 Training and Press Conference - Source: Getty
England head coach Thomas Tuchel reckons Portugal - led by the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo - are among the favourites to go all the way at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Three Lions themselves are among the contenders after a flawless qualifying campaign where they didn't concede any goal. Ahead of the 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica on Wednesday (June 11), Tuchel said about the Selecao (as per the BBC):
"After their success in the Nations League and the involvement of the Portuguese players in Paris St-Germain's Champions League win, they are one of the favourites. They have a strong football team. A strong coach and strong players."
As per Opta, England (11.2%) have the third-best probability to win the FIFA World Cup, ahead of holders Argentina (10.4%) and Portugal (7%), who are yet to lay their hands on the trophy. Spain (16.1%) and France (13%) top the list.