Opta’s Super Computer gives its predictions on which national team is the favorite
Opta’s Super Computer gives its predictions on which national team is the favorite
With the 2026 World Cup draw approaching (on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, at 12:00 local time, 19:00 Cyprus time), a supercomputer is giving its own predictions about which national teams are considered favorites to win the top international competition at national-team level.
And while in the past we had classic favorites like Brazil and Germany, the landscape has now changed.
According to Opta’s Super Computer, the current European champions, Spain, may be considered the top favorite (with a 17.1% probability) to lift the coveted trophy, but the current World Cup holders, Argentina, are given “only” as the 4th favorite — perhaps because their biggest star, Lionel Messi, is now nearing 40.
And the impressive part is not that above Argentina (4th with 8.7%) we find the powerful France of Kylian Mbappé (2nd with 14.1%), but that according to the supercomputer’s predictions, England is more likely (3rd favorite) to win the 2026 World Cup (3rd with 11.8%)!
A country that, objectively, has the world’s top football league, but whose national team consistently goes from one crushing failure to the next.
However, with the new effort made in recent years by the “Three Lions” under the guidance of Thomas Tuchel, things may be changing.
The next positions are even more surprising, as Germany’s national team — a four-time world champion — is placed only 5th (7.1%), having lost its “hard-nosed” identity in recent years.
Even lower has… dropped Brazil under Carlo Ancelotti, which despite its five World Cup titles (more than any other national team) is ranked 7th, with just a 5.2% probability.
In between, in 6th place, we find Portugal with 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, at 6.6%.
Below are the supercomputer’s predictions for the 2026 World Cup.
