What the friendlies taught us about the World Cup favourites

The last international games before the 2026 World Cup have been completed. This means there’s nothing left for the players to do but maintain their club form, stay fit, and wait by the phone to see if they get the call saying they’ve been selected. 

For fans, though, it means the countdown to the World Cup truly begins. With focus starting to switch to this summer’s competition, here’s how all the favourites performed across the March international break. This includes the results, along with what changes they may need to make to give themselves the best chance of lifting the Jules Rimet trophy in July. 

Spain

The March international window was disrupted for the World Cup favourites. Spain was due to face fellow contenders Argentina in the Finalissima, the match between the reigning UEFA and CONCAF champions, however the game was forced to be cancelled. This led to Spain instead taking part in two hastily arranged matches against Serbia and Egypt. 

Spain had an easy 3-0 victory over Serbia, but struggled against Egypt. The match ended 0-0, with Spain missing several chances to score. Although manager Luis de la Fuente mainly used the Egypt match to evaluate squad depth, it will still be a worry that the likes of Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Rodri couldn’t influence the game enough to secure a win. 

One draw won’t change the fact that Spain are the favourites to lift the World Cup. The reigning European champions are still seen as the most likely winners at most bookmakers, and you can find the best football betting sites to back them at Goal. 

England

The Three Lions are second favourites to win the World Cup at most bookmakers, but looked far from it across their two games. The first was a 1-1 draw with Uruguay marred by bizarre refereeing mistakes, while England looked beyond poor as they fell to a 1-0 defeat by Japan in the second. 

England were missing captain and star striker Harry Kane for both games, and so it could be argued that their main objective was to try different ways to play without him in case he misses games in the summer. Still, the team were so poor, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they lost their position as second favourites to win the World Cup in the coming weeks. 

Brazil

There were alarm bells ringing for Brazil after the team’s first friendly match against fellow World Cup favourites France. Les Blues won 2-1, with Brazil finding it hard to create meaningful chances on goal even when the French were reduced to 10 players. Thankfully, though, the team looked much better against Croatia. 

There were goals for Danilo, Igor Thiago and Gabriel Martinelli as Brazil won 3-1, ending the March window on a high. All attention now switches to manager Carlo Ancelotti, and whether he decides to recall Neymar to his squad in the summer. 

France

Of all the World Cup favourites, France had the strongest March window by a wide margin. The team started out with a comfortable 2-1 victory over Brazil, then followed things up with a 3-1 win against Colombia. 

This summer is widely expected to be manager Didier Deschamps’ last tournament in charge of France, as he brings down a historic 14-year spell in charge of French football. Based on current form, he looks increasingly likely to end his reign as a World Cup winner. 

Argentina

Like Spain, Argentina found its March international plans disrupted by the cancellation of the Finalissima. Rather than face the European champions, the team instead played two fixtures at home in La Bombonera. 

These were both easy wins for the Albiceleste. The first game was a 2-1 win over Mauritania, with the second a 5-0 demolition of Zambia. Although Argentina will be happy to collect two wins, the strength of their opponents mean the games are meaningless for judging how preparations are going. 

Mauritania are ranked 115th in the world, with Zambia 91st, and neither team is heading to the World Cup. With the other tournament favourites all playing top teams, there are legitimate concerns that Argentina may find themselves underprepared after opting for such ceremonial games instead of giving themselves a true challenge. 

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