Ranking the 6 World Cup favourites by how they played in their opener: Portugal 6th, England 2nd… | OneFootball

Every team at the 2026 World Cup has now got their campaign underway, giving us our first proper look at the tournament’s leading contenders out in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

While one game isn’t enough to draw concrete conclusions, some of the big dogs have already laid down a marker. Others, meanwhile, have raised a few questions.

A handful of the pre-tournament heavyweights failed to live up to expectations, while several outsiders produced performances that suggest they could be dangerous as the competition progresses.

With that in mind, we’ve ranked and graded the six biggest World Cup favourites based solely on how impressive they were in their opening match.

6. Portugal – D-

Portugal’s draw with DR Congo didn’t cause the shockwaves or have the upset factor of Spain’s failure to beat Cape Verde.

It’s easy to scoff at Rodri when he’s in sore loser mode, but his post-match comments did at least have half a point. Spain had control, and the underlying stats suggest that on another day they easily could’ve won.

You can’t say the same for Portugal, and for that reason they have to be dead last. DR Congo out xG’d Portugal and were more than worthy of their point. Unlike Cape Verde, it didn’t even look like they had to work that hard for it.

This might be the best squad that Portugal have ever sent to a major tournament. Bruno Fernandes, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha and Joao Neves are coming into it off the back of world-class campaigns.

Having them pander to a 41-year-old walking about is a disastrous gameplan. Cristiano Ronaldo has now gone 10 consecutive major tournament appearances without scoring a goal. On this evidence, you could see why.

5. Spain – D-

La Roja were on the wrong end of one of the all-time great World Cup upsets.

We’re obliged to point out that Cape Verde are not a rabble who only qualified by virtue of the expanded tournament. They topped their group in African qualifying, making it at the expense of Cameroon. It was also a heroic backs-to-the-wall display for the ages that deserves nothing but praise.

As romantic as it was, and much as we loved it, the pre-tournament favourites and reigning European champions probably shouldn’t have found it so difficult to make it past a centre-back who’s spent his entire career in the League of Ireland and a clubless 40-year-old goalkeeper who spent last season in the Portuguese second tier.

Spain’s final-third domination did see them create over 2.00xG, but more cumulatively rather than creating any really big chances. This stunk of the sterile domination game, so lacking in flair and invention, that saw them pass themselves to death and exit the last two World Cups at the hands of Russia and Morocco.

The emergence of two wing wizards in Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams changed everything at Euro 2024. Dominating possession and controlling the tempo while those two carve open defences is a winning formula – but they desperately need them fit and firing. Late, rusty cameos weren’t enough.

4. Brazil – C-

Few teams, not even the minnows, produced anything quite as bad as Brazil’s opening 30 minutes against Morocco.

Spain and Portugal were insipid and anaemic, sure… But they weren’t shambolic.

The Selecao looked shockingly ragged as they had rings run around them by Morocco, who were well worth their early lead and could’ve had the game out of sight were they a bit more clinical.

And yet, they got a draw. A good one, against excellent opposition, at that.

Vinicius Junior produced a stunning individual piece of quality to get them back on level terms. Carlo Ancelotti made some tweaks, and they looked a bit more competent as they comfortably saw out a forgettable second half.

Very Real Madrid. Very Ancelotti. Very ominous? Never bet against star power.

3. France – B+

Les Bleus were very fortunate not to go into half-time behind against Senegal, and Kylian Mbappe produced what must be one of the worst 45 minutes of his career.

Then everything changed.

In the second half, France looked every bit as terrifying in reality as they do on paper. This might be the most stacked attack ever sent to a major tournament, and we saw evidence of that in the manner they blew away the African champions.

The current Ballon d’Or holder, Ousmane Dembele, doesn’t look quite as at home in this set-up as he does for his club, but Mbappe and Michael Olise look like they have a burgeoning telepathy and were unstoppable at points.

Even Adrien Rabiot was very good.

2. England – B+

Overall, it was a complicated and confusing first half against Croatia.

Not our assessment, that was from assistant coach Anthony Barry in a surprisingly frank half-time interview with ITV.

Croatia’s two goals were exceptionally well-worked, but we were left with the sense Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville might’ve been onto something when they suggested England’s lack of elite-level centre-backs could be what costs them this summer.

Jude Bellingham’s powerful run one minute into the second half, giving England the lead for a third time, set the tone for what might be the best, most impressive football England have produced in a major tournament in over 20 years.

Luka Modric and Croatia finally look a bit over the hill – there’ll surely be tougher tests to come – but they made it to the last four of the last two World Cups, and this is England’s first World Cup win over a top-15 ranked team since 2002.

Harry Kane’s first-half brace was a reminder that England have the most in-form goalscorer in world football, looking sharp, while Thomas Tuchel’s bold and proactive substitutions reaped rewards and hinted England won’t fall into the same paralysed-by-fear trappings of his predecessor.

It remains an open question whether England can produce such an intense, physically dominant whirlwind in more humid conditions, though.

1. Argentina – A

France in 2002. Italy in 2010. Spain in 2014. Germany in 2018. All of them went out in the group stages after not shaking up a group that took them to World Cup glory four years before.

You wondered if the same fate might befall Argentina, with Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad leaning heavily on those who delivered the goods in Qatar, including a 38-year-old Nicolas Otamendi. Lionel Messi turns 39 next week and has spent the last three years in MLS – surely he couldn’t continue to single-handedly win them games?

Scaloni went with the same midfield three that started the World Cup final – Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez. One is an MLS player, and the other two looked knackered at the end of difficult, unconvincing seasons.

…Why worry? Argentina dismantled a genuinely not-bad Algeria, inspired by an outrageous performance from their legendary captain, transporting us back to December 2022.

They weren’t completely perfect. Angel Di Maria hasn’t been adequately replaced, Lautaro Martinez was poor, Thiago Almada was an awkward fit, and there was a concerning lack of width. But Emiliano Martinez didn’t have a save to make, Messi scored three, and he might’ve had more.

The only team on this list that produced a complete 90-minute performance. They have plenty left to prove, but this didn’t look far off the side that lifted the trophy last time out.