Your group-by-group guide to the 2026 World Cup: part two

We brought you part one earlier in the week, and now it’s time for part two of our group-by-group guide to the 2026 World Cup.

From reigning champions Argentina to this year’s favourites to lift the trophy (spoiler alert, it’s Spain and France) there are a lot of players and nations to put under the microscope. So we’ve done the hard work for you to help you wrap your head around the expanded 48-team tournament.

The top two teams from each of the 12 groups, and the eight best third-place finishers, will advance to the round of 32.

So here’s the second of a two-part group-by-group guide to the World Cup.

What we think: If Belgium’s ageing golden generation could have picked their own World Cup group, it might not have looked much different to what Rudi Garcia’s team have been drawn. That is to say that Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and company appear safe from a repeat of their Qatar 2022 catastrophe. More demanding – possibly insurmountable – obstacles await in subsequent rounds, but at least this veteran-stacked squad can confidently atone for their group-stage exit four years ago.

Mo Salah’s Egypt should be hot on Belgium’s heels, riding on an experienced squad including Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush and a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final run, not to mention an undefeated World Cup qualifying campaign that ensured their tournament return after failing to qualify for 2022.

Off-field matters could well overshadow Group G, as Iran prepare to compete inside the very country that subjected their home state to airstrikes just three months ago. The ongoing conflict will pose a major distraction to Iran’s attempts to progress past the group stage for the first time at their seventh appearance. And what will be the biggest distraction to New Zealand’s first finals since 2010? Defender Tim Payne’s overnight Instagram fame, of course.

What we think: A lopsided group if ever there was one, with Spain and Uruguay almost certainly the top two finishers while Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde will struggle for a point. Spain, of course, are one of the tournament favourites, and the Euro 2024 champions have Lamine Yamal headlining their embarrassment of riches. The question is whether the Barcelona livewire will be fully recovered from injury and, on a broader level, how Spain’s beautiful brand of football will fare at a World Cup at which success could come from attritional play.

How will they fare in North American conditions against the intensity and aggressive pressing of Uruguay? This is certainly a more utilitarian Marcelo Bielsa side, with a rock-hard