Ranking the toughest World Cup groups 🥵

In partnership with

OneFootball

·2. April 2026

Ranking the toughest World Cup groups 🥵

France got a tough draw.

Dieser Browser wird nicht unterstützt. Bitte verwenden Sie einen anderen Browser oder installieren Sie die App

That’s it, we now know all the teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

OneFootball Videos

Unsurprisingly, like Les Bleus, some teams were less fortunate when the group-stage draw was made.

So the question is, which is the toughest group at the World Cup? To help answer it, here’s a ranking of the groups based on the average FIFA ranking of the teams in each one.

12) Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland (average FIFA ranking: 42.3).

11) Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay (37.3).

10) Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador (37.3).

9) Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand. (36)

8) Group Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic. (35.3)
7) Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland. (35)
6) Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama. (30.5)
5) Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan. (29.5)
4) Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia. (28.5)
3) Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia. (26.8)
2) Group D: Australia, Paraguay, United States, Turkey. (26.3)
1) Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq. (25.7)

It should be noted that this method throws up a few surprises, especially Group E, which is only 10th despite featuring Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador, but dragged down by Curaçao’s ranking.

Source: L'Équipe

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 FABRICE COFFRINI - AFP or licensors