Ranking the 10 Favorites to Win the 2030 World Cup

The countdown to the next tournament is on after Spain’s triumph in East Rutherford, N.J.

Spain will defend its crown on home soil. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

That’s it then. After 104 matches, 308 goals and 208 hydration breaks, the 2026 World Cup is done, with Spain crowned a worthy champion.

Still, it’s only four years until the next one kicks off and there’s no better time to get a head start on preparations by looking ahead to a very special centenary edition of soccer’s biggest tournament—one which may end up featuring 64 nations.

Morocco, Portugal and Spain will share the bulk of the hosting duties, but there will also be room for one match in each of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (because, FIFA) as the World Cup keeps on expanding.

But, just who is the early very favorite to lift the trophy and add a star to its players’s chests four summers from now?

Predicting anything in soccer is a mug’s game, so here we go anyway. Here are the favorites to win the next World Cup in 2030—ranked.

---

10. Norway

Imagine Erling Haaland, but more experienced. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

After a 28-year absence from the tournament, Norway made its presence felt at the World Cup this summer, both on and off the pitch.

Erling Haaland might well have won the Golden Boot had his team played a game or two more, but a narrow quarterfinal defeat to England after seeing off Brazil and Côte d’Ivoire ranks as a better than par showing for Ståle Solbakken and his Vikings.

In four years time, Haaland will still only be 29, while his chief suppliers, Andreas Schjelderup and Antonio Nusa, will also be sub-30.

The country’s youth teams are not pulling up trees—the U-21s did not qualify for the most recent European Championship—but if Solbakken remains in charge and Haaland is still firing, expect Norway to be a force in 2030.

---

9. Italy

Italy surely can’t miss a fourth World Cup in a row? | Chris Ricco/Getty Images

By the time of the next tournament, it will have been 16 years since Italy last featured at a World Cup—and 24 since it last played a knockout match (incredibly the final win over France in 2006).

Surely, surely, Italy can only stay in the soccer shadows for so long.

There is talent there. Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessandro Bastoni, Sandro Tonali and Nicoló Barella will all be 33 or younger in four years time, while there are high hopes that the more attack-minded talent the team has badly missed in recent years is finally on the verge on breaking through.

U-21 stars like Pio Esposito, Samuele Inácio and Alphadjo Cissè are highly thought of, and who better to nurture the next generation than Pep Guardiola? The legendary coach could well be on the touchlineafter holding talks about taking over.

---

8. Brazil

Vinícius Jr will still be there in 2030. | Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Since winning its fifth star in 2002, Brazil’s World Cup campaigns have followed a similar pattern: high hopes before losing to the first really good European side faced.

It goes without saying, but Brazil has great individual talent and likely still will in 2030.

Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Estêvão might well be pillars of the next World Cup roster. The problem is forging a top team.

2026’s squad was an aging one and, while the manager is never going to be short on attackers, it’s not immediately apparent where the next generation of center midfielders and defenders is going to come from.

---

7. Argentina

No Messi, no problem? | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

This summer’s World Cup final defeat felt like the end of an era for Argentina, which has been on quite the run in recent years.

Lionel Messi’s last dance means other players will need to share a heavy burden in the coming years, but there is still plenty of quality to call upon.

Julián Alvarez, Enzo Fernández and Lisandro Martínez probably all have one more World Cup in them, while there are big hopes for 21-year-olds Nico Paz and Milton Delgado, the latter a runner-up at the U-20 World Cup in 2025.

---

6. Germany

Can Jürgen Klopp bring heavy metal soccer to Germany? | Tom Weller/picture alliance/Getty Images

Like Italy, Germany appears to have fallen foul of the World Cup winners curse.

Die Mannschaft lifted the title in 2014, before going out in the group stages at the next two tournaments and then failing to beat Paraguay in the round of 32 this summer. Three tournaments, zero knockout wins is simply unacceptable for the four-time winners.

Enter: Jürgen Klopp. The former Liverpool manager has signed a deal to take over the national team and now has a four-year run up at the big prize.

A roster starring a solid core of Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Nathaniel Brown and Nico Schlotterbeck gives Germany hope. A wonderkid conveyor belt producing the likes of Lennart Karl, Kennet Eichhorn and Assan Ouédraogo adds further reason for optimism.

---

5. Portugal

A Ronaldo-free world opens up new possibilities for Portugal. | Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates /Getty Images

The last time Portugal hosted a tournament at senior level, it made it all the way to the final, back in 2004.

Even if new manager Jorge Jesus has left the door open for Cristiano Ronaldo to continue playing for the national team, it feels fanciful that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner might rock up for a seventh World Cup aged 45 ... doesn’t it?

Without the Ronaldo albatross around its neck, Portugal has plenty to work with, including Nuno Mendes, João Neves and Vitinha (all 30 or younger by 2030).

Youngsters Geovany Quenda and Mateus Fernandes are tipped for greatness, but might the next tournament be a step too far for Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva (both will be 35)?

---

4. Morocco

Can Morocco go one better than in 2022? | David Ramos/Getty Images

Anyone who thought Morocco’s semifinal showing at the 2022 World Cup was a fluke has since been proved very wrong, with the Atlas Lions establishing themselves as a true force in international soccer in recent years.

Morocco won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil (sort of?) and then made it to the quarters in North America this summer, only coming undone against France, after impressing against historic powers Brazil and Netherlands.

Being co-hosts will surely give Africa’s best side a boost, while the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Ismael Saibari, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Brahim Díaz (all 31 or younger in 2030) could be supported by some of the country’s 2025 U-20 World Cup winners, such as Yassir Zabiri and Gessime Yassine.

---

3. England

Jude Bellingham could be England’s captain in four years time. | Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

So near and yet so far. England’s story of the last five major tournaments reads: semifinal, final, quarterfinal, final, semifinal.

Still, it doesn’t seem so long ago that a narrow defeat in the last four to the defending champion would feel like an unreachable goal, which in itself shows how far England has come.

The Three Lions should be in the mix come 2030. Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Elliot Anderson and Marc Guéhi will all be sub-30, and Declan Rice only 31.

The future looks bright too with the U-21 side the best on the continent and the Premier League continuing to hothouse wonderkids like Max Dowman and Rio Ngumoha.

---

2. France

Mr World Cup will surely return in 2030. | Sarah Stier/FIFA/Getty Images

The appointment of Zinedine Zidane to replace Didier Deschamps creates a sense of excitement for the future rather than any fear for an end of an era, while no country in the world has the same production line of talent.

In the summer of 2030, expect a 31-year-old Kylian Mbappé to still be leading the line in search of a second World Cup trophy (and more individual records), along with Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué and William Saliba—plus a whole load of wonderkids we haven’t even heard tell of yet.

---

1. Spain

Spain simply has to start as the favorite. | Patrick Smith/Getty Images

In 2030, Spain will become the first-ever defending champion to host the tournament. And it all seems a bit unfair.

After a dominant showing at the 2024 European Championship, Spain took its show global this summer, keeping opponents at arms length with its system-led brilliance and unstoppable pressing and passing.

Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Nico Williams, Pedri, Marc Cucurella and Dani Olmo should still all be major players by the next World Cup, while Martín Zubimendi may have stepped up to fill Rodri’s shoes on a full-time basis.

In terms of up-and-coming talent there’s Fermin López, Dro Fernández, Samu Aghehowa. .. the list goes on. Perhaps the most important element, however, is manager Luis de la Fuente, who has signed a contract extension keeping him in the job until after the 2030 World Cup.

---