See the “tough” teams Brazil could face in their World Cup group | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup is getting closer and soon the Brazilian National Team will know its initial path in the competition. This Friday, starting at 2 PM (Brasília time), FIFA will hold the World Cup group stage draw, allowing all teams to know their first three opponents in the tournament.

For the first time in history, the World Cup will feature 48 teams, which has increased the number of groups from eight to 12 groups. Despite this, the draw format will be the same as the public is used to: according to the FIFA ranking, the qualified countries will be divided into four pots.

Following the draw system developed by FIFA, Gazeta Esportiva listed some teams considered "difficult" that the Brazilian National Team may face in the group stage of the World Cup. See below:

Challengers in pot 2

Brazil, as a seeded team, will draw one team from pot 2, one from pot 3, and another from pot 4. The second group of countries includes the following teams: Australia, Austria, Colombia, South Korea, Croatia, Ecuador, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Senegal, Switzerland, and Uruguay.

Among these teams, Croatia could be a major adversary for Brazil. Besides having a solid campaign in the Qualifiers (seven wins in eight games), the Croatians were responsible for ending Brazil's dream of a sixth title in the last World Cup in 2022.

Morocco and Japan are also countries to watch. The Moroccans, who are strengthening with local development, reached the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, shocking the world.

The Japanese, in turn, have a very traditional team and recently defeated Brazil in a friendly match held in Tokyo.

(Photo: FADEL SENNA / AFP)

Rising teams in pot 3

In pot 3, the following teams are present: South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Qatar, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Scotland, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

Norway returns to a World Cup after 28 years, since 1998. Now, the Norwegians are led by star player Erling Haaland, the top scorer of the Qualifiers with 16 goals in eight games.

Another strong team is Tunisia. The Africans were dominant in the Qualifiers (nine wins in ten games) and, like Japan, made things difficult for Brazil in the last friendly between the countries, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Photo: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

Italy in pot 4?

Pot 4 has six teams already guaranteed in the World Cup (Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, and New Zealand), along with another six spots coming from the playoffs.

One possibility is facing the four-time champion Italy, which is in the playoffs and will have two matches ahead to reach the World Cup.

The Italians have been experiencing drama in recent years, having failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, in 2018 (Russia) and 2022 (Qatar).

Photo: Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP

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