Who will win the World Cup? BBC pundits make their predictions
Joe Hart: England. But actually I don’t care whether I’m right or wrong. I love supporting my people and I want England to do the same.
Martin Keown: Judging by the draw, there will be blockbuster quarter-finals if the favorites win their groups, such as England against Brazil, Argentina against Portugal or Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo.
Is this the hardest World Cup ever to win? Maybe. It feels very open. My mind tells me the best team is France, my heart tells me it could be England.
Paul Robinson: The only thing stopping France from winning is France. They will need a matching dressing room.
Pat Nevin: It’s a guess, but England have a real chance. They are among my favourites, along with France, and there is a toss-up as to who will win.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if we get a left field win this time, and Morocco was the one to jump out at me because I followed most of their games when they reached the last four in Qatar. I hear they might be better now, they were great then too. They will also get used to the heat, which always helps.
Ellen White: Frankly, I want England to win. That’s what I’ll do too, but if that doesn’t happen, France has a very good squad.
Tony Pulis: It’s ridiculous that there are 48 teams and 40 more games than last time. Fair play to all the countries that go, everyone will enjoy it but football at this level is now being used as a cash cow.
My quarter-finalists are Argentina, Brazil, France, England, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Senegal. Is it my choice to win? France.
Chris Sutton: Spain is an outstanding team, but I chose France to win the last two World Cups and I was not far wrong. I won’t change my mind now; They didn’t do well last Euro but I look at their front line and I think they will be hard to stop.
Who will win the 2026 World Cup? Total votes
France (9): Scott Brown, Gael Clichy, Rachel Corsie, Olivier Giroud, Danny Murphy, Paul Robinson, Tony Pulis, Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton
England (7): Thomas Frank, Joe Hart, Steph Houghton, Martin Keown, Wayne Rooney, Sue Smith and Ellen White
Spain (1): Micah Richards
