Didier Deschamps is set to take charge of his final tournament as France’s manager, having delivered the World Cup trophy back in 2018 with victory over Croatia in the final.

He’s a pragmatic and conservative coach, but that actually suits the style of international football which may be exaggerated here given the extra factors of weather and travel. France boast the deepest squad of any side travelling to the World Cup, so they are set up well to go deep.

Aside from disastrous campaigns in 2002 and 2010, France have been very strong when it comes to reaching the quarter finals of further at the World Cup - across their 17 appearances at the World Cup, they’ve reached the quarter finals of further on 11 occasions.

France start with an interesting group consisting of Senegal, Norway and Iraq. If they were to top the group, they would take on one of the best third placed sides in the Round of 32, before a potential clash against Germany in the Round of 16 if Nagelsmann’s side were also to top their group.

Spain are the pre-tournament favourites and reigning European Champions, they’re priced as short as 1.62 to reach the quarter finals of the World Cup and it’s hard to see a world where they don’t reach at least the last eight of the competition.

Luis de la Fuente has assembled one of the most impressive projects in international football, not many sides can be as ruthless and dominant as Spain are on the international stage and that is reflected in their qualifying record, they won five of their six matches - netting 21 goals and conceding just two in the process.

Spain’s group should be routine, they take on Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde in the early knockings of the tournament. If they top their group, which is very likely, then they will take on the second placed side in Group J in the Round of 32 - which is expected to be either Austria or Algeria.

Spain have faltered at the Round of 16 in recent World Cup campaigns, though this is a very different Spain side and one that should be able to battle to at least the quarter finals this time around.

Thomas Tuchel is an expert when it comes to navigating knockout football, and he has a squad with enough talent to reach at least the quarter finals of the World Cup.

This may end up being England’s ceiling given the testing travel conditions that they’ll have to deal with in the early parts of the tournament - but it’s certainly the minimum expectation of a country that’s been desperate for success since 1966.

England’s overall record in the World Cup isn’t spectacular, but Gareth Southgate made it normal again for the Three Lions to expect to be part of the last eight. They reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 under his stewardship, and also reached the quarter finals in 2022 - suggesting a consistent trend which Tuchel can continue to build on.

If England top their group, they’ll take on one of the best third placed sides - which should be pretty routine given the forecast of sides expected in that bracket. What follows is a more challenging test, a Round of 16 clash against Mexico if they were also to top their group and navigate their Round of 32 tie against another of the best third placed sides.

Carlo Ancelotti has been given the reins of the most expectant nation in football when it comes to the World Cup and it’ll be fascinating to see how the former Chelsea, Milan and Madrid boss does on the international stage.

Brazil’s pedigree in the World Cup speaks for itself, they’re the most successful nation in the history of the competition - but recent campaigns have been challenging, with their last triumph coming all the way back in 2002.

Brazil have the most consistent record of reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup of any of the sides we’re backing here, and shouldn’t have too many problems in the group. If they top their group, they will face the runners up of a group consisting of Japan, Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia in the Round of 32.

Brazil notably have quite a few players from the domestic South American leagues in their squad which could prove crucial to their chances of going deep, these players will be familiar with the climate, altitude and travel conditions more than the UEFA nations - setting up Ancelotti’s side well to reach at least the quarter finals of the competition.

The defending champions kick off their campaign in a group featuring Algeria, Austria and Jordan. It’s hard to see many complications for Argentina in the early stages, Austria could challenge them in the group - but i’m not sure how Rangnick’s high intensity pressing approach will play out in these weather conditions.

Argentina have won the World Cup on three occasions, and notably are the only side other than France with any real experience of actually lifting the trophy in the modern era. They’ve stuck with Lionel Scaloni who led them to glory four years ago, and also still have Messi within their ranks. They’ve reached the last eight in each of the last four international tournaments, including Copa Americas.

If they top their group, they will take on the second placed side in Spain’s group - likely to be Uruguay or Saudi Arabia. Uruguay could be a test, but Argentina tend to be pretty dominant against other sides from South America so their experience and quality should be able to guide them through to a Round of 16 clash which looks pretty favourable.

Messi is just four goals away from standing alone as the top World Cup goalscorer of all time. He currently has 13 goals to his name and is chasing down Miroslav Klose's record of 16. He scored seven times during the previous tournament in Qatar.

Interestingly, Argentina were awarded five penalties at the last World Cup, the most ever by a team in a single edition of the World Cup. Messi took all of them so being responsible for these is another big benefit.

Messi was Argentina's top scorer during qualifying having scored eight times in ten starts. Julian Alvarez was next best with four goals across 16 starts.

It took Raphinha a bit of time to settle at Barcelona, but he’s thrived since adapting to the higher standards of the club. Across the last two seasons, Raphinha has made 90 appearances for Barcelona and scored 55 goals (0.61 per game).

Brazil don’t have a clear favourite to lead the line given Joao Pedro’s surprising emission from the squad, so I expect a lot of their goals to be concentrated in the wide areas which is where Raphinha can shine.

Raphinha is 29, so this is likely to be his last World Cup given the constant emergence of attacking talent in Brazil. He’ll have all the motivation to try and get Brazil as close as they can to the big prize. He was their top scorer during qualifying and he was also responsible for penalties.

Harry Kane goes into this World Cup on the back of an incredible season. He has scored 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich across all competitions.

He scored two goals in five matches at the previous World Cup, finishing behind Rashford and Saka. He does have fond memories at these tournaments though having won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Kane scored eight times during qualifying for the World Cup and Eze was the next best with three. As the penalty taker too, Kane seems such a straight forward pick on paper.

Kylian Mbappe has been unbelievable in his two World Cup appearances so far. He scored four in seven when France won the tournament in 2018, and last time out he scored eight in seven as he won the Golden Boot in Qatar.

Mbappe was France's standout player during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. He scored five goals and provided three assists across four appearances. He was also on the penalties.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still going incredibly strong. Domestically he scored 28 goals in 30 appearances this season for Al-Nassr. He took six penalties too, something that he is well known for.

He's still firmly among Portugal's most important players. He averaged a goal a game during qualifying as he scored five in five and he will step up from the penalty spot if required.

Portugal have DR Congo and Uzbekistan first, this could be an opportunity for Ronaldo to add to his tally. He's also 27 goals short of reaching 1000 career goals so he will want to make headway there.