World Cup 2026: Who will win the tournament? The view from the semi-finalists

Guillem Balague, Spanish journalist:

Spain – the best team.

France is the best player and the scariest attack.

Argentina – best idea: Doing more with less than everyone else.

England – two world class players in form.

All four semi-finalists have what it takes to win the tournament.

If Spain can take the ball away from France and stop their counters – and if they are more efficient than before – they have a very good chance of reaching the final.

But they need to play the perfect game with the excellent (or very good) Lamine Yamal.

Argentina will try to make their match against England go smoothly and then wait for a brilliant performance from Lionel Messi or Julian Alvarez. But they are playing with fire.

England are still trying to find their identity but they have a huge personality and two world class stars.

A Spain-England final would be incredible. It’s a win-win situation for me in a way, but I would like England to win the World Cup soon. It could be this summer.

Hispanic fans in the United States:

Lionel: France will be tough but I think we can beat them, and if we can we have a strong chance. We are strong in attack, we are strong in defense. The only downside is that Pedri has not played at this top level yet.

Jack: Argentina looks strong, but it is not possible to ignore England. They have one of the toughest strikers in the world, Harry Kane.

Michael: I have no doubt that Spain will win the tournament. Nobody gives us a chance against France, but we will control the match and beat them. The winners of this match will win the tournament.