See which teams are tipped as “easy” picks for Brazil’s World Cup group | OneFootball

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

For the first time in history, the World Cup will feature 48 teams, which has led to an increase in the number of groups, from eight to 12. Despite this, the format of the draw 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 has listed some teams considered “easy” that the Brazilian National Team could face as early as the group stage of the World Cup. See below: 

In pot 2

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

Of these teams, Brazil cannot face Ecuador, Uruguay, and Colombia as they are South American countries. Thus, the options considered “easier” would be Austria and Iran. 

The Austrians, even though they had a good campaign in the Qualifiers, still have a technical level below the rest of the teams in pot 2. The Iranians, who have appeared in the last few World Cups, qualified by facing teams of a much lower technical level, and can be considered the “weakest” option in this pot. 

Panama and Uzbekistan 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. 

Of these teams, Panama and Uzbekistan are the most viable options for Brazil. The Caribbeans fought until the last round with Suriname to qualify directly. The Uzbeks will be playing in their first World Cup ever, and secured their spot after a draw with the United Arab Emirates. 

Inexperienced teams in pot 4

Finally, pot 4 has six teams already guaranteed in the World Cup (Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, and New Zealand), as well as six more spots coming from the playoffs. 

In theory, the easiest teams would be those coming from the intercontinental playoffs or the Caribbean countries participating in the World Cup for the first time, such as Curaçao, Haiti, and Suriname. 

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