Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545300
HOST nation Mexico and South Africa will kick off the FIFA World Cup 2026 tourna- ment on Thursday at the Mexi- co City Stadium in Mexico City. It will be the first of 104 games to be played across 16 host cit- ies in three countries—Canada, Mexico and the United States. This year's tournament will feature 48 teams, making it the biggest ever. It is also the first to be hosted jointly by three countries. And as World Cup fever kicks in, there's no clear win- ner in the MaltaToday news- room. A quick poll among newsroom members produced a tight result. With two votes each, Spain, France and Brazil topped the list of countries the newsroom expects to lift the coveted trophy at the end of the month-long football tour- nament. In second place, with a single vote each came England, Morocco and Canada. It's not hard to discern that the person who mentioned Canada has ab- solutely no understanding of football. But the newsroom's inabili- ty to coalesce in a major way around one outstanding nation is pretty much in line with the close odds being offered by bet- ting companies. Spain is consid- ered favourite, closely followed by France, England, Brazil and Argentina with each of these teams having a good chance of winning the tournament. The World Cup is undoubt- edly the sporting event of the year, coming also at a political- ly turbulent time. With the US having gone to war with Iran, the two teams could eventual- ly meet in the knockout stage, adding to the intrigue. Football fans around the globe will be glued to their TV screens watching the GOATs of football—Argentine Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo—take part in what is ostensibly their last World Cup appearance. Messi would like to lift the trophy for the second consecutive time, while Ronal- do would like to do so for the very first time. However, adding to the colour this year is the fact that four teams will be playing for the first time in the finals—Cura- cao, Cabo Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan. The tiny Caribbean island of Curacao, with a population of around 156,000, became the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup. With Curacao having a FIFA World Ranking of 82, from the teams that have so far qualified to the World Cup, only Haiti and New Zea- land are worse off, ranked 83 and 85 respectively. Meanwhile, just across the Atlantic Ocean, Cabo Verde, an archipelago off the coast of west Africa, with a population of 525,000, will be the other minnow nation to compete in the 2026 World Cup. Making their debut in the tournament, Cabo Verde is ranked 67. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan and Jordan, the other tournament first-timers, are ranked 50 and 63 respectively. Gang-ravaged Haiti qualified for the World Cup for the first time since their debut in 1974, while Norway, Scotland and Austria will mark a return to the World Cup after a 28-year lapse. Iraq last played in the World Cup in 1986 when it was hosted by Mexico. The final will be held on Sun- day 19 July at the New Jersey Stadium in New York. 12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 JUNE 2026 SPORTS WORLD CUP 2026 World Cup fever: There's no clear winner in the MaltaToday newsroom KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Iran's World Cup squad has had to shift its base camp to Mexico after the US refused to allow the team to stay in the country. They will be forced to travel back and forth for their matches, which will be played in the US, while spending their time in Mexico instead Historical World Cup tournaments: 22 editions Last World Cup: 2022 in Qatar Different winners: 8 nations Most successful: Brazil with 5 titles Current champions: Argentina World Cup 2026 Host nations: Canada, Mexico, USA Host cities: 16 (2 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, 11 in US) Participating nations: 48 Opening game: Mexico City Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico Final game: New York/New Jersey Stadium, New York, USA MaltaToday newsroom winner predictions Spain, France, Brazil: 2 votes each England, Morocco, Canada: 1 vote each