Before reading this article, make sure you read part I, which features Groups A-D. Part I can be found here. In part II, we will dive into groups E-H.

To briefly recap part I, the 2026 World Cup expanded this year. Going from 32 teams to 48, which increases the number of matches from 64 to 104. The top three teams from each group advance to the round of 32, with the group winner receiving a favorable matchup in the round of 32. The fourth-place team in each group is eliminated.In part one, I picked Switzerland, Brazil, the United States, Turkey and Morocco as the teams likely to succeed.

Group E features Germany, Curaçao, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador

1. Germany

This group is actually a sneaky, competitive group, as Germany is a powerhouse team, but the Ivory Coast and Ecuador are pretty solid as well.

Germany features 24 players who play in the best five countries of European football (England, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany). While most of them are good players, the best include Florian Wirtz, attacking midfielder for Liverpool F.C. (English Premier League), Joshua Kimmich, defensive midfielder for Bayern Munich F.C. (German Bundesliga), and Nick Woltemade, center-forward for Newcastle United F.C. (English Premier League).

Wirtz is an immaculate talent, displaying incredible technical skills, but has been far from it this season. Following his €125M transfer to Liverpool, Wirtz has only scored four goals for Liverpool in the Premier League. Perhaps he will have a better World Cup this summer, because he was incredible at Bayer 04 Leverkusen when they won the Bundesliga title in 2024.

Kimmich serves as the captain, due to his experience, but he is also one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Wolemade is a solid center-forward who has scored seven goals for an underperforming Newcastle United Squad.

However, a player that the team dearly misses is Jamal Musiala, a star attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich F.C. Musiala suffered a broken leg last summer during a match against Paris Saint-Germain (French Ligue 1) at the FIFA Club World Cup (This competition features the best clubs in each continent’s continental competition). Musiala returned in January 2026 but has been limited, which will likely put his World Cup status in the air. Regardless of Musiala’s status, Germany should comfortably win this group, unless something extraordinary happens.

2. Ivory Coast

Featuring 12 players from the big five leagues of Europe, the Ivory Coast is one of the better teams in Africa, behind only Morocco and Egypt in the FIFA World Ranking (34th in the world). However, in my opinion, the Ivory Coast has better overall talent than Egypt, which will be discussed in Group G.

The team features two excellent center backs: Ousmane Diomande of Sporting Club Lisbon (Liga Portugal) and Evan Ndicka of Associazione Sportiva Roma (Italia Serie A). In attack stands Amad Diallo of Manchester United F.C. (English Premier League), a young but promising right winger with an explosive pace and strong technical ability. Ivory Coast could push Germany to the limits, and is a lock for round 32.

3. Ecuador 

From a talent perspective, Ecuador has three outstanding players: Moisés Caicedo, defensive midfielder for Chelsea F.C. (English Premier League), Willian Pacho, center back for Paris Saint-Germain, and Piero Hincapié, center back/left back for Arsenal F.C. (English Premier League).

However, outside of those three, there isn’t a ton of high-end talent, as it features two additional players in the big five European leagues. Joel Ordóñez, center back for Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging (Belgian Jupiler Pro League), is a good, but young, player, so his inexperience might keep him out of the starting XI.

Another reason Ecuador is in the third slot is that the team lacks a high-end striker or even a high-end attacking player, as the best players are all defenders or midfielders. And when the game is on the line, and you need a goal, the other team isn’t going to be threatened by them, which is not nothing.

4. Curaçao

Curaçao is the odd man out in the group, featuring no players from the top five European leagues. Their best player is either Tahith Chong, attacking midfielder for Sheffield United F.C. (English Football League Championship second-tier division), or Armando Obispo, center back for Philips Sport Vereniging Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie).

To be honest, the talent pool of those two leagues is about the same, but PSV Eindhoven is a quality European team, so he isn’t a slouch. Regardless, I don’t see Curaçao leaving the group.

 Group F features the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia

1. Netherlands

The Netherlands is an incredibly deep team, featuring 20 players from the top five European leagues (18 if you exclude players from Tottenham Hotspur F.C., which is almost certainly going to be relegated to the EFL Championship, which is hilarious). Some of the more notable names include Ryan Gravenberch, defensive midfielder of Liverpool F.C., Cody Gakpo, left winger of Liverpool F.C., Denzel Dumfries, right back for Football Club Internazionale Milano (Italian Serie A), and Virgil Van Dijk, center back for Liverpool F.C.

While Van Dijk looks a bit past his prime at age 34, he is still incredibly formidable at the International level, and one of the taller center backs at 6 ‘5″. Outside of those players, there are some talented players on the roster, which makes the Netherlands a strong team and dare I say a potential contender for the cup.

2. Sweden

Despite only recently qualifying for the World Cup, Sweden has some excellent players. Viktor Gyökeres, striker for Arsenal F.C., Anthony Elanga, right winger for Newcastle United F.C, and Hugo Larsson, central midfielder for Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. (German Bundesliga).

Gyökeres is a clinical striker who scored the game-winning goal to send Sweden to the World Cup, while Elanga is a solid winger on the right flank, capable of cutting in and out of the opponent’s box with precision. Sweden should be able to compete for the second spot in the group and shouldn’t be in any real danger of not making the round of 32.

3. Japan

I might be in the minority, but I think Japan is in a better spot in the World Cup than South Korea, which hasn’t been historically true for the vast majority of the rivalry, as South Korea has won 32 and drawn 11 of their last 50 head-to-head matchups.

In 2026, Japan will have a very balanced squad, featuring 10 players in the big five European football leagues. The best of the bunch include Kaoru Mitoma, left winger for Brighton & Hove Albion F. C (English Premier League), Kyushu Sano, defensive midfielder for 1. Football and Sports Club Mainz 05 (German Bundesliga), and Ritsu Doan, right winger for Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. Mitoma is the strongest player.

Overall, the squad features a solid starting XI, which should get Japan into the round of 32 and perhaps further, depending on their drawn opponent.

4. Tunisia

Tunisia isn’t one of the more talented teams, featuring only four players from the best five European leagues. However, I am intrigued by their younger, talented players: Louey Ben Farhat, a 19-year-old striker for Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V. (German 2. Bundesliga), Sebastian Tounekti, 23-year-old left winger for Celtic F.C. (Scottish Premiership), and Ismaël Gharbi, 22-year-old left winger for F.C. Augsburg (German Bundesliga).

While Tunisia might not be competitive in this current World Cup, I would definitely bookmark them as a potential strong team in the future if those three develop.

Group G features Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand

1. Belgium

Belgium is another strong team featuring 16 players from the best five European leagues. This team is about on par with the Netherlands in talent, maybe a tad less.
Belgium features a strong trio of English Premier League players: Jérémy Doku, left winger for Manchester City F.C., Amadou Onana, defensive midfielder for Aston Villa F.C. and Youri Tielemans, central midfielder for Aston Villa F.C.

Belgium should win the group with extreme ease, as this group is rather top heavy. While Egypt is a weaker squad, outside of two players, New Zealand and Iran are not in the same stratosphere as Belgium or even Egypt for that matter.

2. Egypt

If this were four years ago, I think Egypt might be more competitive against Belgium. However, in 2026, Mohamed Salah, right winger for Liverpool F.C. (until the end of the season), is significantly over the hill, having been dropped to the bench this season on multiple occasions. Outside of Salah, Omar Marmoush, center-forward for Manchester City F.C., is the only notable player, as the rest are either strong players in the Egyptian Premier League or borderline squad players in Europe. However, they are still more talented than the teams left in the group, so they will make it to the round of 32 and are likely to lose.

3. New Zealand

New Zealand and Iran are probably a coin flip, as neither team features any players in the big five European Football Leagues. Technically, Iran has a higher squad valuation on Transfermarkt, at €36.78m vs €22.20m, but New Zealand is a bit younger, with an average age of 27.5 years, while Iran is an older squad, with an average age of 29.3. 

I think youth ultimately matters more in a sport like New Zealand, and I feel the need to pick an Oceanic Football Confederation, since I didn’t pick Australia to get to the round of 32. Therefore, New Zealand takes third place by the smallest of margins. 

4. Iran

Iran holds the fourth spot in Group G, partially because of a talent disparity, but also because the team is attempting to have its matches moved out of the United States. That sounds like a team focused on matters unrelated to football, which impacts a team’s play on the field. As Detective Lester Freamon in the HBO Series The Wire says: “All the pieces matter.” 

Group H features Spain, the Republic of Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay

1. Spain

Lamine Yamal, right winger for Futbol Club Barcelona (Spanish La Liga), is one of the best talents in all of Europe and has the potential to break out at his first World Cup. At 18, Yamal has scored 37 goals and assists in the La Liga and Union of European Football Associations Champions League competitions this season. Depending on his performance in the World Cup, he has a serious chance at contending for the Ballon d’Or trophy, which is awarded to the best player in the previous season.

Outside of Yamal, Spain features a warchest of world-class players, which include Pedri López, central midfielder for F.C. Barcelona, Martín Zubimendi, defensive midfielder for Arsenal F.C., and Rodri Cascante, defensive midfielder for Manchester City F.C. Those players are all arguably in the top 10% of their positions, and make a massive difference in the latter stages of the competition, where I expect Spain to be.

Spain is currently the favorite to win the World Cup, at +440 (for non-bettors, a winning $100 bet would payout $440) or an implied probability of 17%, and for good reason. If you are over 21, this is a good value proposition, although with apps such as Kalshi, one could also trade a Spain World Cup future, which is basically like gambling(For the record, I do not endorse Kalshi).

2. Uruguay 

Federico Valverde, central midfielder for Real Madrid C.F. (Spanish La Liga), headlines Uruguay, as he is one of the best creative midfielders in the world. However, his supporting cast lags a bit behind, featuring players such as Manuel Ugarte, defensive midfielder for Manchester United F.C. (English Premier League), Ronald Araújo, center back for F.C. Barcelona, and Darwin Núñez, center-forward for Al-Hilal Saudi F.C. (Saudi Arabian Pro League).

Araujo is a fine player for Barcelona, but Ugarte is loathed by the Manchester United fanbase. However, Ugarte was good at Paris Saint-Germaine, and showed enough promise for the Red Devils to spend €50.00m on him.

Núñez was an absolute flop at Liverpool, almost immediately being sold at a €32m loss to Al-Hilal. With that being said, the team features players who are better than most in the tournament, which should propel the squad into the round of 32. Spain should have a chance of winning if they draw a favorable matchup.

3. The Republic of Cabo Verde

Despite being ranked #69 in the FIFA World Ranking, I think the Republic of Cabo Verde is undervalued. As Transfermarkt shows, the team has a valuation of €44.85m, which is significantly higher than that of Saudi Arabia.

The Team features several young players, the best of which is Wagner Pina, right back for Trabzonspor Kulübü of the Turkish Süper Lig. Pina is an attacking-minded right back with solid stamina and good dribbling skills.

Cabo Verde will likely make it to the round of 32, where they will likely lose, but one never knows. A Cinderella team might be at play with Cabo Verde.

4. Saudi Arabia

With all of the investment and spending on the Saudi Pro League transfers (which is well over €2 billion since 2023, according to Transfermarkt.com), one would think that perhaps the resources would be better served in developing the youth football program.

Considering that most of the players on the Saudi Arabian national team play in the Saudi Pro League, the youth development is a bit of an issue. This is because the goal of every young footballer is to make it to Europe to play against the best. If the Saudi Arabian government spent part of its healthy petrol revenues on developing the youth football program, maybe Saudi Arabia would become an up-and-coming football nation in one of the biggest sporting competitions.

Regardless of the football economics, I don’t see Saudi Arabia getting out of the group stage, because they have no good players with European experience.

FIFA World Cup Contenders include Germany, the Netherlands, the Ivory Coast, Sweden, Belgium and Spain.

In groups E-H, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain are locks to get to the round of 16. It would be extremely surprising if any of those teams were upset before that point. The Ivory Coast and Sweden are intriguing, but the world-class talent gap is just enough for the superior nations.

In next week’s issue of ShieldSource, I will conclude the 2026 World Cup Preview with the final groups: I-H.