It's ten days to go. The World Cup will kick off on June 11, and the 104 matches will be played across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The teams have now announced all their squads ahead of the tournament, with some surprising names still on the lists and to be involved in the summer tournament, while others won't be part of the much-anticipated World Cup.
Let's recap all the groups before taking a look at our power rankings ahead of the tournament:
- Group A: Mexico, Korea Republic, South Africa, Czechia
- Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
- Group D: USA, Australia, Paraguay, Turkiye
- Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Sweden
- Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
- Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cabo Verde
- Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq
- Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
- Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, DR Congo
- Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
Let's now dive in into the power rankings with one month to go ahead of the World Cup.
Biggest Movers 1 Portugal 1 England RkTeams ChgRcrd 1
Spain Luis de la Fuente's side should still be considered the most likely candidate to win the tournament. Lamine Yamal, despite the latest injury, is expected to be back for the knockout stage at the latest and will try to win what would be a historical achievement for the whole country. -- 2 
France The last dance of Didier Deschamps as the head coach. They won it in 2018, they only lost in the final in 2022 against Argentina on penalties, and there are many reasons to believe they can win it again this time. Kylian Mbappe, was embroiled in a lot of negative vibes over the last part of the season with Real Madrid. Will it also affect the mood in the national team? -- 3 
Argentina The 2022 world champions are still one of the best teams in the tournament, but at the same time, they won't have the same motivation as four years ago. There is Leo Messi, that's true, but also some young talents that want to shine, such as Como and Serie A star Nico Paz, one to watch this summer. -- 4 
Brazil If we consider Brazil among the most likely teams to win the World Cup, a lot has to do with Carlo Ancelotti being their manager. Neymar Jr was included in the roster and will travel to the World Cup but his latest injury raises concerns about his fitness...again. -- 5 
Portugal Once again, all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo's likely last World Cup, even if there are rumors he will also try to play in the next one, when he'd be an astonishing 45 years old, which will also be hosted by Portugal alongside Morocco and Spain. 1 6 
England The question is always the same, and this time, Thomas Tuchel is the one that has to make it happen. Will the Three Lions be able to win the first World Cup since 1966? The German manager made some interesting and surprising decisions, ruling out players such as Harry Maguire, Phil Foden or Cole Palmer: Will it work it out? 1 7 
Norway Watch out for them. They have some world-class players such as Erling Haaland and Arsenal's Martin Odegaard, who just won the Premier League title with Mikel Arteta's team, before coming up just short in the Champions League final. -- 8 
Netherlands The injury to Tottenham's Xavi Simons was a big deal for them, but this is also a team with the right experience and the talent needed to perform at the highest levels. Still not having the Spurs star at the World Cup was definitely bad news for Ronald Koeman and his staff. -- 9 
Germany This team doesn't seem to be at the level of past years, but never say never when it comes to Germany at the World Cup. This might also be the last tournament for some of the key players like keeper Manuel Neuer who returned for this tournament. -- 10 
Morocco They were the biggest surprise of the 2022 World Cup when they only lost to France in the semifinals. This time it will be different with more pressure, especially after what happened in the AFCON final and the decision to crown them as winners of the tournament two months after losing it on the pitch against Senegal. -- 11 
Uruguay We should all consider Uruguay as a strong team in the World Cup even if manager Marcelo Bielsa decided not to include Inter Miami and Uruguayan legend Luis Suarez in the team. The end of an era. -- 12 
United States Is Christian Pulisic back? He hadn't scored for club or country since December 28th before finding the net in a friendly vs. Senegal. An in-form Pulisic could push the USMNT to make a statement on home soil. 1 13 
Belgium It feels like a transitional World Cup for the Red Devils, as some of the more experienced players such as Kevin de Bruyne or Romelu Lukaku will play alongside the young talents of the new generation. 1 14 
Turkiye A talented roster that can do great things at the upcoming World Cup. Players such as Kenan Yildiz can easily become the break out starts of the tournament this summer. -- 15 
Japan Nobody is speaking about this team, but there are several reasons to believe they can become an underdog that makes noise this summer. -- 16 
Senegal They definitely want to react after the scandal of the AFCON final, and there will be less pressure considering what happened in the recent weeks between them and Morocco. -- 17 
Croatia The last dance of Luka Modric, one of the greatest players of all time, who also played a final in 2018, losing to France. This is a team full of experienced players that can make the difference in a tournament like the World Cup. -- 18 
Colombia Despite a challenging group stage where they will also meet Portugal, they finished with the same number of points as Brazil and Uruguay in the qualifiers. This group has talent -- 19 
Switzerland Always a solid tournament team, one of those we never consider but then they are regularly playing knockout matches. We don't have to make this mistake again. -- 20 
Sweden They qualified in the playoffs after Graham Potter took over and managed to make it despite not winning a single game in their qualifying group. The beauty of a 48-team tournament. 1 21 
Mexico The expectations are really high, especially considering we are talking about the first nation in history to host the World Cup for the third time after 1978 and 1986. They'll open the tournament against South Africa on June 11 1 22 
Ecuador Five goals conceded in 17 played in the qualifiers. Darkhorse? -- 23 
Iran The reality is that this is a very good team, but they are overshadowed by current events. Don't expect them to be an easy out. -- 24 
Canada There are doubts about Alphonso Davies as he suffered another injury and it's not clear if he will be fit for the tournament. Any surprise run from the cohost would depend on their superstar -- 25 
Austria Ralf Rangnick's project has started to take shape and this is only the first step. However, he might soon leave and join AC Milan at the end of the summer tournament. -- 26 
Egypt They've never won a match at the World Cup and it's now time to change this number. Mo Salah will lead his teammates and will try to change the history of his country at the World Cup. -- 27 
Scotland Same group with Brazil and Morocco, not an easy one but they have got Scott McTominay, a player who can make the difference at this level. Fellow Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour had to leave the roster due to injury and will miss the World Cup, sadly. -- 28 
Korea Republic Another star who might be looking at their last World Cup, Son Heung-Min should at least feel at home in America a year after moving to LAFC in Major League Soccer. -- 29 
Czechia Twenty years after their last World Cup, they are back after winning a spot in the playoffs. -- 30 
Cote d'Ivoire The nation that once boasted of historically great attackers like Didier Drogba is now doing things a different way. They haven't conceded a single goal in qualifiers. They will need the same level once the main even begins. 1 31 
Tunisia Their record in the qualifiers? How about 22 goals scored, none conceded, nine wins and one draw. Good reason to consider them a possible outsider to make a deep run. 1 32 
Ghana A historic team for the World Cup that also had a nice run in the qualifiers, but they will need to face England and Croatia in the group stage. Unlucky. -- 33 
Qatar They will have more experience compared to the past edition, the first time they played at their home World Cup. Can the sneak by Canada and possibly escape the group stage? -- 34 
Saudi Arabia What happened here? Their manager, Herve Renard, the one who led the team at the World Cup in 2022 when they won against Argentina, parted ways with the team and they appointed Georgios Donis as the new manager. Not a good sign. -- 35 
Paraguay First time they are at the World Cup since the 2010 edition, and they open against the hosts. Tough task. -- 36 
Bosnia-Herzegovina They eliminated Italy in the playoffs, a big reason to consider them as a threat to make noise. They can be a challenging outsider in the group with Canada, Switzerland and Qatar. -- 37 
Australia In the last edition, they only lost to Argentina in the round of 16 and they have experience when it comes to the World Cup. They're in a group with Turiye, Paraguay and the USMNT, so they're aiming to spoil the host's fun. -- 38 
Algeria In a group with Jordan, Austria and Argentina, they can definitely hope for a spot in the round of 32. -- 39 
Jordan One of the World cup debutants, there are very low expectations around them. The perfect recipe for a surprise result or two. -- 40 
South Africa For the first time in the history of the tournament the opening match won't be a new one, as they will meet Mexico, the same game that kicked off 2010 when they were the ones hosting the tournament. The beauty of the World Cup. -- 41 
Iraq The last time they played at the World Cup was Mexico 1986. -- 42 
Haiti First time at the World Cup since 1974 and they will meet Brazil, Morocco and Scotland in the most challenging group of the group stage. -- 43 
Panama The last time they met England, they lost 6-1 at the 2018 World Cup. They will face them again, hoping to do better. -- 44 
Cabo Verde They are already a great story of soccer and nothing will ruin it. -- 45 
Uzbekistan Do you know that their manager is former 2006 World Cup winner and Ballon d'Or winner Fabio Cannavaro? I'm still asking myself how that happened. -- 46 
DR Congo The last time they participated at the World Cup the country had another name (Zaire) and it was one of the most memorable stories of the World Cup. A team to watch. -- 47 
New Zealand Playing in the same group with Belgium, Iran and Egypt doesn't give them too many chances to score points. -- 48 
Curacao Dick Advocaat is back and will become the oldest manager in the history of the tournament. What a story. -- Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments 
