How do the Squads Shape up? A Last Look before your World Cup 2026 Football Predictor Begins

The World Cup squads have been coming in thick and fast, so with the tournament just days away, how are the teams shaping up? It’s nearly time for you to lock in your World Cup 2026 Football Predictor choices. Let’s take a look at some of the team news.

England and Scotland prepare for the World Cup

No Surprises with Scottish squad 

Scotland arrive at the World Cup with confidence, their first World Cup since 1998. There’s a lot to look forward to and the squad is as expected. John McGinn comes into it off the back of a historic season with Aston Villa, lifting the Europa League as captain. Scott McTominay continues to wow spectators in Serie A, with other players in the Italian league proving their worth, like Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson. Andy Robertson provides the top level experience, leadership, and talent. One worry is in goal, with the three keepers only playing 15 games between them this season.

Big names missing as Tuchel goes for team cohesion over individuals

Thomas Tuchel has gone big on the collective over the individual. There’s no room for maverick’s Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. There’s also no sentiment for previous stalwart Harry Maguire, even after a good season at Manchester United. Pickford remains the clear number 1 in goal, and Harry Kane will lead the line after a stunning goal return in Germany this season. One surprise inclusion is Ivan Toney. He may have scored over 40 goals for Al-Ahli this season, but do we really know how strong the Saudi Pro League is? 

Around the World in 48 Squads

What about some of the other big names at the World Cup? 

The Sweeper Keeper to beat all others – Neuer out of Retirement 

Manuel Neuer is highly regarded as a game-changer in his position, the best sweeper keeper of the modern game. He retired from international duty after Euro 2024 but has been persuaded to come back into the squad for the World Cup. Coach Julian Nagelsmann plans for him to be the number 1 ahead of Stuttgart’s Alexander Nubel and Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann.

Neymar back in the Brazil Squad

One of the biggest surprises so far is the decision by Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti to call up former talisman Neymar to the World Cup squad. Neymar hasn’t played for Brazil since 2023 and hasn’t played much football at all in that time for either Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal or back at his boyhood Brazilian team Santos. Let’s see if he’s fit enough to play.

A World Cup for the oldies

At the 2018 World Cup, Egypt’s Essam El Hadary became the oldest player to play at a World Cup, at the staggering age of 45 years, 161 days. At the upcoming World Cup there seems to be a greater number of ‘old’ players than we’ve ever seen before. Craig Gordon is the oldest player (43 years old) to be called up (at the time of writing). Beyond that, Cristiano Ronaldo is aiming to play in his record-breaking 6th World Cup at the age of 41, Luca Modric, Edin Dzeko, and Manuel Neuer are all 40 going into the World Cup, and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha will turn 40 before his country makes its tournament bow.

Get your picks in – the World Cup 2026 Football Predictor begins! 

Now that the squads have been announced, and you can get a clearer picture of the squad depth for each country, it’s time to get your picks in. We’ve made it as simple as possible to play our World Cup 2026 football predictor competition. Just log in and make your choices. Enter what you think the results and specific scores will be for each match at the tournament. We’ve got plenty of stats and information for each country to help you make your choices. Will you go for the favourites (Spain, France, Argentina, England) or for some dark horses (Portugal, Croatia, USA – as hosts)? It’s only for you to decide!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which player has appeared in the most World Cup tournaments?

Lionel Messi, Lothar Matthaus, and Cristiano Ronaldo each have 5 World Cup tournament appearances. It is expected that both Messi and Ronaldo will play at this World Cup, breaking the record.

How long is World Cup 2026?

This is the largest World Cup there has ever been. 48 teams, 104 matches, across 5 weeks. The tournament kicks off on June 11th in Mexico City and runs until the final in New Jersey on July 19th.

How do I play the World Cup 2026 Football Predictor game?

It’s easy. Once you log in to the football predictor game, navigate to the tournament bracket where you enter your predictions for scores and results for each individual match at the World Cup. The leaderboards update live as the matches kick off and finish each day.