The 2026 World Cup is fully into the swing of things with all teams now having played their opening match of the campaign in North America.
After a build-up that centred around controversy, greed and conflict, fans have been captivated by some enthralling performances during round one of fixtures, with the likes of France and holders Argentina stamping their mark as rightful favourites.
So much can change as the group stage progresses, but here’s which nations make up the top 10 of The Independent’s World Cup 2026 power rankings:
You could just put Lionel Messi’s name at the top of this list after round one. Argentina have gone into their World Cup defence with a side that threatened to grow stale, with a new generation of players not exactly coming through since the crowing glory of Qatar. But their strategy of four years ago remains effective: pass to Messi and let him work his magic. A scintillating hat-trick against Algeria had tears flowing as the 38-year-old equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record, and with three points immediately on the board, Argentina’s hopes of back-to-back **** les already burns bright.
From one record to another, Kylian Mbappe stole the show against the Senegal to surpass Pele’s all-time World Cup goal tally. His quest to play in a third World Cup final at just 27 is up and running. Senegal were expected to pose a real challenge to Les Blues - they were of course the reigning Afcon champions, until it was decided weren’t anymore. But after a relatively impotent first half from Didier Deschamps’ side, they became unleashed after the break, their electrifying attack powering them to a devastating victory. Even first real VAR horror show of the tournament, baffling denying Mbappe a stonewall penalty when the score was goalless, couldn’t derail France on their way to the perfect start.
After a build-up that centred around controversy, greed and conflict, fans have been captivated by some enthralling performances during round one of fixtures, with the likes of France and holders Argentina stamping their mark as rightful favourites.
So much can change as the group stage progresses, but here’s which nations make up the top 10 of The Independent’s World Cup 2026 power rankings:
You could just put Lionel Messi’s name at the top of this list after round one. Argentina have gone into their World Cup defence with a side that threatened to grow stale, with a new generation of players not exactly coming through since the crowing glory of Qatar. But their strategy of four years ago remains effective: pass to Messi and let him work his magic. A scintillating hat-trick against Algeria had tears flowing as the 38-year-old equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record, and with three points immediately on the board, Argentina’s hopes of back-to-back **** les already burns bright.
From one record to another, Kylian Mbappe stole the show against the Senegal to surpass Pele’s all-time World Cup goal tally. His quest to play in a third World Cup final at just 27 is up and running. Senegal were expected to pose a real challenge to Les Blues - they were of course the reigning Afcon champions, until it was decided weren’t anymore. But after a relatively impotent first half from Didier Deschamps’ side, they became unleashed after the break, their electrifying attack powering them to a devastating victory. Even first real VAR horror show of the tournament, baffling denying Mbappe a stonewall penalty when the score was goalless, couldn’t derail France on their way to the perfect start.
4 months ago
