Power Ranking The 12 teams from America at the 2026 World Cup

12 teams participate in the WC from North and South America. I have the reigning champions as the best.

Argentina will be one of the teams to beat at this World Cup, with Lionel Messi returning to defend the trophy he led his country to back in the winter of 2022. However, there are other teams from Central and South America that could also be a spoiler at this tournament.

Here’s how I rank all 12 teams from the Americas ahead of Mexico’s World Cup opener on Thursday against South Africa.

If there was a trophy for the team that will bring the best vibes to the World Cup this summer, it is Curaçao. You see the players’ training entrances and dancing, their traveling school bus – it’s absolutely epic. They want to get the most out of the tournament on and off the court from an experience point of view and hopefully from a playing perspective.

Most of the players are from the Netherlands, so there will be a solid base for this squad that ultimately lacks international experience. (I also hope to vacation in Curaçao after the tournament.)

Obviously, Panama were given a tough group with England, Croatia and Ghana. This team will lean heavily on midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla and Aníbal Godoy, who plays for San Diego FC and has 159 caps to his name. Panama must be solid defensively against three strong opponents without loss of concentration. Also positive, the warm climate will not affect them.

Panama has beaten teams in CONCACAF before, so I wouldn’t count them out, but making any real noise in this tournament will be a tough task. Set pieces will be key.

Keep an eye on the Croatia match. I think Panama can create a surprise.

Haiti could surprise some people here. It has had some solid results in friendlies, including a 4-0 win over New Zealand on 2 June.

Haiti will also have a potential home court advantage in the United States with many fans at every game. Don’t rule this team out.

Paraguay is back at the World Cup for the first time since 2010, when it reached the quarter-finals in South Africa.

It will have a great defensive focus, but it may have some shortcomings where it lacks concentration when the game is in transition. I could also see the Paraguayans struggling to score.

Overall, this is the most direct team in South America with the fewest passes in CONMEBOL qualifying, so it doesn’t need many passes to score. Paraguay also had the most tackles of any team in its 18 qualifiers.

Under head coach Jesse Marsch, the high press becomes Canada’s greatest strength. However, it could also be its biggest weakness if it can’t sustain it throughout a game against quality opposition later in the tournament. Canada will need to take advantage of playing its group games in its home country.

Alphonso Davies will be the clear generator of chances going forward, but is the Bayern Munich man 100 per cent fit and healthy? Whether that is the case for the entire tournament will determine how successful Canada can be.

The first thing that comes to mind with Mexico is inconsistency, both in terms of coaching and personnel. You never quite know what you’re going to get with El Tri.

Goalkeeper will be a question heading into the tournament. Chivas keeper Raul Rangel will start, but I’ll patiently wait for some magic from potential memorable Memo Ochoa moments and Memo memorabilia.

Going forward, there will be a lot of pressure on strikers Santiago Giménez and Raúl Jiménez to score the big goals.

Can Bielsa ball prove himself on the world’s biggest stage? Manager Marcelo Bielsa always emphasizes the high pressure and aggression that is already part of it garra charrúa mentality.

There has been talk of friction in the squad, which is alarming, but it is time for the managers to get this team going without the likes of Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Godín.

Eyes will be on Real Madrid star Federico Valverde, who will bring the most experience to this squad. There is also a big question about defender Ronald Araújo, who is coming back from injury.

Despite some notable defeats over the past 12 months, specifically a 5-1 loss to the USA in the fall, I still believe Uruguay can become a tournament team that is sound defensively and aggressive enough to pull off some impressive results.

I have the US as my dark horse. Having followed it over the last four years, it has been fantastic to see how head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff have integrated the importance of culture with intensity.

Coming into the tournament we saw two strong performances and that mentality came together against Senegal and Germany. The US is trending upward going into the World Cup.

Folarin Balogun is a potential breakout star in this tournament. He is such a dynamic player and a constant threat who does well in front of goal, consistently putting himself in so many good positions while playing with a defender on his back. He is also the first line of defense for the United States in its press. I’m really excited to see how Balogun links up with Christian Pulisic.

A key player will be Weston McKennie in midfield. He is coming off a really good season with Juventus in Italy and can play so many positions between midfield and attack. Having his experience in midfield, where it looks like he will play, will be very valuable.

Two other names I’m looking forward to seeing: Antonee Robinson and Sebastian Berhalter. I’m looking forward to seeing Robinson in this American attack, especially after his bang of a goal against Germany. For Berhalter, can he be a starter on this team? He’s a great story, the coach’s kid who watched his dad coach at the last tournament. I’m a big fan of him.

Finally, the position that is a concern for me going into the tournament: goalkeeper. Matt Freese will be the most inexperienced goalkeeper in recent memory at a World Cup if he is the starter. I hope he has a good tournament and goes into the tournament with a lot of confidence.

Ecuador finished second in the CONMEBOL qualifiers and are very solid defensively. Midfielder Moises Caicedo has grown into a leader and has made an incredible impact both at international level and for his club Chelsea.

Ecuador may lack quality in attack, but striker Enner Valencia is capable of popping up with a big goal. This team’s biggest strength is defensively, and that kind of team tends to do well at the tournament level.

Ecuador’s opening game is at the New York/New Jersey Stadium and I can’t wait to see the whole stadium turn yellow against Germany on June 25th.

¡Si si, Colombia si si caribe!

Obviously, this is the land of my roots. Colombia is a team that is lively, technical, loves possession and has the biggest threat this World Cup will have going forward in winger Luis Díaz. He was a fantastic player at Liverpool and is coming off a sensational first season at Bayern Munich.

James Rodríguez hasn’t had consistency at club level, but that’s nothing new. He always stands up for the national team when it matters most.

I have concerns about this team defensively, as we saw in a friendly against Costa Rica on June 1, which Colombia won 3-1. At times, the Colombian defense lacked the necessary concentration and consistency in the back line. Goaltending is also a potential concern.

Brazil was not very good in World Cup qualification, finishing fifth in CONMEBOL. This team was very inconsistent and found itself in a lot of trouble on both ends of the court.

Vini Jr. is obviously who this team is going to lean heavily on in attack and Raphinha has become a big player for them since moving to Barcelona two years ago. Can these two combine to power the Brazilian attack? Defensively, Brazil has solid central defenders in Gabriel and Marquinhos, but overall this team is not as strong as previous eras.

That doesn’t mean this team won’t be a threat, especially under experienced manager Carlo Ancelotti. A foreign manager has never won the World Cup, but it is the type of coach with an extremely impressive CV who can become the first.

A key player to watch for Brazil is 19-year-old Endrick. We are talking about many young players in this tournament, like Jamal Musiala for Germany or Lamine Yamal for Spain, but I think Endrick has a lot of potential and can be the future of Brazil – starting with this tournament.

The last time a team won back-to-back World Cups was 1958 and 1962, when Pele led Brazil. Will the motivation be there for Argentina? The majority of the players in this squad were there in 2022.

Argentina still have a very strong roster at a time when Lionel Messi is not at the same top level he was in 2022. However, he is still putting up strong numbers for Inter Miami and will be the leader of this team.

It is worth noting that goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is dealing with a hand injury right now, which is not good for the position going into a tournament. Another key player to watch is striker Julian Alvarez, who has been linked with a move to Real Madrid from Atlético Madrid, which I hope doesn’t happen as a fan. He is a very creative player and such a goal threat, also on set pieces as an incredible free kick taker.

There is no doubt about Argentina’s talent. It’s just a matter of whether this team will go full throttle to win this tournament again.