Winning the World Cup is never easy. That is why, throughout history, only eight teams have managed to achieve maximum sporting glory at national team level and add the World Cup to their offering. The event, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer, will be no exception: The draw witnessed difficult confrontations since the group stage.
Mbappé vs. Haaland
The two players called to succeed Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi in the struggle for the throne of world football will face each other on the final day of the group stage, where they will face each other. They were classified in the “I” group.They will also face Senegal and the winner of the play-off (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname).
Dueling on American soil The first confrontation with their teams will be between Mbappe and Haalandwho previously measured themselves by their club shirts. In fact, the last time the Frenchman and the Norwegian met on the pitch was last February, when Real Madrid and Manchester City faced each other in the match. He clears his throat To the round of 16 of the Champions League. So, tie It fell on the white side, with a triple from the Frenchman On the return that meant a 3-1 final on the scoreboard. For his part, the Scandinavian striker scored two goals in the first leg, but was unable to score at the Bernabéu.
It’s going to be an exciting duel, because The numbers for both at this stage of the season are scary: Mbappe threatens Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for goals in a single calendar year, which he scored 59 goals in 2013, with 55 goals in 2025, as he has scored 30 goals in just 24 matches this season; And Haaland is not far behind in the battle with 33 goals in 24 games so far.
The only duel between two heroes
Among the seven world champions who will participate in this event, waiting to know if Italy will be able to reach the qualifiers, Only two will face each other: Spain and Uruguay. The Spanish national team, which won in South Africa in 2010, will face two-time group champion Celeste, winner of the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, at the conclusion of Group H.
This will not be the first time that the two teams have met, although Uruguay is a rare competitor for Spain in the final stages, as evidenced by this. Their last meeting happened more than a decade agoIn the group stage of the 2013 Confederations Cup, the Spanish national team won 2-1, with goals scored by Pedro Rodriguez and Roberto Soldado.
Uruguay, who have never been able to beat Spain in the ten matches they have faced, He arrives at the tournament amid doubts after his scandalous victory over the United States team (5-1). He tied with Mexico in the second half. However, the competitiveness they usually display in this type of competition, and the individual talent of their players, led by Fede Valverde, and under the orders of Marcelo Bielsa, an expert in getting the most out of his team in short tournaments, will not make it easy for the European champions.
A duel between the giants of the continent… with a reunion
The third big confrontation in the group stage Starring Luka Modric and Jodi Bellinghamwho will meet again, this time on opposite sides of the field, after sharing the dressing room at Real Madrid for two seasons. Croatia and England have been placed in Group L and will face each other in their first World Cup appearance.
It will be a real duel between the giants of the continent: the Three lions They were declared runners-up in Europe last summer, after losing to Spain in the final, although in the last World Cup, in Qatar 2022, they failed to get beyond the quarter-finals; Vatrini’s performance is quite the opposite, because despite finishing second and third in the last two World Cups, they failed to progress beyond the group stage of last summer’s European Championship.
A complex rival for Ancelotti and Vinicius of Brazil
Carlo Ancelotti and his star crew, which includes Vinicius, Rodrygo, Rafinao Estevao, among many others, are the star. Responsible for aspiring to the hexagram He raises the prestige he achieved in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002, his last major tournament, and leaves behind the accumulation of disappointments in recent events, especially Copa America 2024. But The Italian will have a difficult road ahead of him: They will face Morocco in their first World Cup appearance in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Atlas Lions is a rising team: The first African team to reach the semi-finals From the World Championship, Spain’s executioner in Qatar and the intractable, with complete victories, in the qualifying stage of the World Cup. Led by Achraf Hakimi, the influence of his players has increased over four years, with Brahim Diaz, Sofiane Amrabat, Amine Zouhzouh, Youssef En-Nesyri or goalkeeper Bono under the leadership of Walid Regragui. Carlito better be careful, because the last time they met was in a friendly match in March 2023. Morocco wins (2-1).
A reunion of two former Madridistas
Cristiano Ronaldo reunites with James RodriguezWith whom he exchanged experiences and victories at Real Madrid An unprecedented duel in the history of the World CupThe only previous match was a friendly match in 2014 that ended with a 1-0 victory for the European team.
South American national team He returns to the final stage of the World Cup after eight years And with ambition after their good run in the qualifying stage. He got his ticket just a day before from Argentina and Ecuador. With a mix of veteran and young players, and under the tutelage of coach Nestor Lorenzo, he has players of a certain reputation such as Santiago Arias, Johan Mujica, Davinson Sanchez, Yasser Asprilla, John Cordoba or James himself, on the verge of his last major event. All under the wing of Luis Diaz, the Colombian superstar.
It’s compound coffee The main obstacle to Portugal’s top spot in Cristiano Ronaldo’s last dance. At 40, the former Real Madrid player, determined to reach 1,000 goals as a professional, is part of an amazing generation that sees the 2026 World Cup as a great opportunity. After winning the Nations League over Spain, it seeks to achieve better results as required by a team led by Spaniard Roberto Martinez, with players of the caliber of Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Neves, Gonçalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes… among many others.