Contenders

France
It might be a cliché answer, but simply put, France has been the best team this World Cup, both on paper and on the pitch, winning all three of their group games and scoring a ton of goals. It’s extremely hard to look past them as one of the prime title contenders. Sure, you can ask some questions about their defense, which tends to give up a lot of chances. But in each case thus far, they have simply outscored the opposition, with players like Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, both of whom have scored 4 goals in 3 games each, in flying form.

Argentina
We are in the midst of a dynasty that will live long in soccer history. Coming off two consecutive Copa América victories and the 2022 World Cup title, Argentina is by far the most experienced and the most confident team in the world, to the point where they don’t necessarily even need to play the best football. Yet, they still somehow find a way to win. Also, winning all three of their group games without much trouble, they easily topped their group. One could argue that any serious opposition hasn’t truly tested them and that they also have some defensive flaws of their own. But by that same token, it is incredibly hard to look past the form of Lionel Messi, who, despite being 39 years old and despite playing in the MLS, has scored six goals across three games here, breaking the record and becoming the highest goal scorer in World Cup history.

England
Over the past few years, England has come within touching distance of glory, but has fallen short at the final hurdle each time. Can Thomas Tuchel bridge that gap and finally win a trophy? It remains to be seen, but England looks to be a strong title contender at this time around, coming out of a surprisingly tough group. England was truly tested, but they still found a way to finish on top and with a very deep squad headlined by Harry Kane, who is in the best form of his life, England genuinely has a chance to win it all. And now with Tuchel at the helm, who is known to be a tournament manager, this might be the year that it finally comes home.

Pretenders

Belgium
Just a few years ago, Belgium was in the midst of its golden generation and among the top title contenders in tournaments like the World Cup or the Euros. In the time since, many of that generation have moved on, and the team lacks the array of world-class talent it once had. That being said, they are still a solid team and were drawn into what seems like an easy group, leading many to believe they will easily walk through the group phase and potentially go on a deep run, especially now that the pressure of the golden generation has lessened. But unfortunately for them, the opposite has occurred: even being the most talented team in their group by far, they still almost fell short, requiring a clutch win against New Zealand on the third Match Day to punch their ticket to the knockout round. While they did have a great performance in that last game, one cannot ignore their very poor performances against both Egypt and Iran to start the tournament. Now coming up against Senegal, who, depending on who you ask, are the current African champions, there is a great possibility that they slip up here in the Round of 32.

Portugal
On paper, Portugal has one of the best squads in the world, and many would argue it has the absolute best midfield, with players like Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and João Neves. Unfortunately, we have not seen that play out on the pitch thus far with their talented attack and their star-studded midfield lacking any sense of cohesion. Struggling against both DR Congo and Colombia, Portugal was condemned to a second-place finish in their group, giving them a much harder path forward. Now facing them in the Round of 32 is Croatia, a team that always punches above its weight in the World Cup. Could this be the end of the road for Portugal at this tournament? And will Croatia be the ones who end Ronaldo’s quest to claim the sole title missing from his illustrious trophy cabinet?