PARIS, May 21 — With the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America now barely three weeks away, AFP Sport runs the rule over the leading contenders at the first-ever 48-team finals (world ranking in brackets):

France (1)

Les Bleus have won the World Cup twice and lost two finals on penalties in the last seven editions. This will be their last tournament before long-serving coach Didier Deschamps steps down. “It’s a strange feeling,” admitted Deschamps, in charge since 2012.

France beat Brazil 2-1 in March and then defeated Colombia 3-1 with an entirely different starting line-up, with those games both played in the US. Unbeaten in nine matches since last June, France have a fearsome attack featuring reigning Ballon d’Or Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki. They will take some stopping.

Spain (2)

The European champions have not lost since winning Euro 2024. Luis de la Fuente’s team are a perfectly-oiled machine in which the standout player is teenage superstar Lamine Yamal. But the 18-year-old Barcelona winger is currently out with a hamstring injury, and reports suggest he might miss their first two group games.

His Barcelona teammate Fermin Lopez is set to miss out entirely with a foot fracture. Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, scorer of eight goals for Spain in 10 games in 2025, has not played since January due to injury. But La Roja still boast fearsome quality — think 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, or Pedri.

Argentina (3)

Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina are dreaming of retaining the title they won in 2022. That tournament marked Lionel Messi’s crowning glory, and it is hard to see how he can hit the same heights again given he turns 39 next month.

Nevertheless, Messi is very much at home in the US now and has 12 goals in 13 MLS games for Inter Miami this year.

Argentina also won the 2024 Copa America in the USA and comfortably topped South American qualifying. Beyond Messi they boast a wealth of attacking talent, including Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, and Nico Paz, the Tenerife-born attacking midfielder with Como.

England (4)

After several near misses under Gareth Southgate, with agonising defeats in the finals of the last two Euros and exits from the 2018 World Cup in the semi-finals and the 2022 quarters, England now hope German Thomas Tuchel can deliver a first title since 1966.

England cruised through qualifying and have formidable depth but there are some doubts. They drew with Uruguay and lost to Japan in March friendlies, while big names like Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer have not had straightforward campaigns. However, they will hope Harry Kane continues the remarkable form he has shown with Bayern Munich, for whom he has 58 goals this season.

Portugal (5)

Portugal, who have never gone beyond the semi-finals, are serious candidates — provided they are not held back by the possibly overbearing presence of Cristiano Ronaldo.

At 41, this will be his sixth World Cup, but the quality of their midfield — Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes — could be the key.

Uefa Nations League winners last year, Portugal stumbled a little in qualifying, losing in Ireland as Ronaldo was sent off. Ronaldo did not play in their last game, a 2-0 friendly win over the USA in Atlanta.

Brazil (6)

Brazil’s progress under new coach Carlo Ancelotti will be fascinating to watch. That the Selecao felt it necessary to turn to an Italian says much about Brazil’s ongoing footballing identity crisis, and their current lack of depth has been exposed by Ancelotti’s decision to name Neymar in his squad.

Now 34 and playing for Santos, Neymar has not been capped since 2023, and Vinicius Junior is Brazil’s attacking leader now.

Since winning their fifth title in 2002, Brazil have only reached the semi-finals once, when they were humiliated 7-1 by Germany as hosts in 2014. They finished fifth in South American qualifying, losing six of 18 games.

“The World Cup won’t be won by a perfect team — because a perfect team doesn’t exist,” insists Ancelotti. “It will be won by the most resilient team.”

Germany (10)

Julian Nagelsmann’s side sit behind the Netherlands, Morocco and Belgium in the rankings and it seems a stretch to suggest Germany could win a first World Cup since 2014.

They suffered group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, and lost in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals as hosts. However, the class of Joshua Kimmich, Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz ensure Germany should be taken seriously. — AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 18 — Brazil’s record scorer Neymar said he had to endure “nonsense” criticism as he worked his way back from serious injuries and is satisfied he has done all he can to prove he is fully fit and deserves a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad.

The Santos forward has not played for his country since 2023 due to injuries and a knee operation that sidelined him for a year. Brazil coach Ancelotti has said Neymar has to be fully fit and playing well to be in contention for a World Cup spot.

“Physically, I feel great. I’ve been improving with every game,” Neymar told reporters after Santos’ 3-0 defeat by Coritiba yesterday.

“I’ve done my absolute best - it wasn’t easy. I’ll admit it wasn’t easy.

“It’s been years of hard work, and also of a lot of nonsense being said about my condition and what I was doing. It’s really sad the way people talk about it.

“I worked hard, quietly, at home, suffering because of what people were saying, and it all worked out.

“I’ve made it to where I wanted to be in one piece. I’m happy with my performance, with everything I’ve done so far... Whatever happens, Ancelotti will certainly call up the 26 best players for this battle.” During yesterday’s match, Neymar was involved in a furious protest after being wrongly substituted. The mix-up could not have come at a worse time for the 34-year-old, with Ancelotti set to announce his World Cup squad today.

Brazil, looking to win a record-extending sixth World Cup title, will face Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C of the June 11 to July 19 tournament in North America. — Reuters

SAO PAULO, May 18 — Neymar was involved in a furious dispute with match officials after he was substituted by mistake as his Santos team lost 3-0 to visiting Cortiba yesterday.

On the day before the announcement of the Brazilian squad for the World Cup, the oft-injured 34-year-old was receiving treatment in the 65th minute on the far side of the field from the team benches.

Neymar did not notice when the fourth official held up his number 10. By the time he was ready to return, play had restarted with Robinho Jr, the 18-year-old son of former Brazil star Robinho, on the pitch.

Neymar trotted back on and was told by the referee to leave.

Furious, he demanded to see the hand-written substitution note handed to the fourth official. It showed that Santos manager Cuca had wanted to take off number 31, Gonzalo Escobar but apparently had not spotted the wrong number before the game resumed.

Santos were already three goals down. The defeat dropped them into the Brazilian Serie A relegations places.

It was a last chance for Neymar to impress Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has so far ignored Brazil’s all-time leading international scorer.

Neymar, who missed the start of the season after knee surgey, has played in only half of his club’s 16 league games this season, but he has scored four goals while collecting five yellow cards. — AFP pic

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 14 — Carlo Ancelotti will walk into Monday’s Brazil squad announcement with a nation peering over his shoulder and one burning question hanging in the Rio de Janeiro air: Neymar or no Neymar?

The 34-year-old forward is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, but his place at the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off next month, hangs in the balance after years of injury trouble and an underwhelming return to Santos.

That leaves Ancelotti weighing romance against the cold, practical demands of fitness as he lays out his high-intensity blueprint for the record five-times champions.

“When you have to choose, you have to consider many things,” Ancelotti told Reuters in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

“Neymar is an important player for this country because of the talent he has always shown. But he has had problems and is working hard to recover. He has improved a lot recently and is playing regularly. It is, obviously, not such an easy decision for me. We have to weigh up the pros and cons carefully.”

Ancelotti hosted Reuters at the Brazilian Football Confederation’s headquarters in Rio, overlooking Barra da Tijuca, and spoke about the delicate selection call with the calm that has defined one of football’s most decorated managerial careers.

The Italian is the only coach to have won league titles in all of Europe’s big five leagues and has lifted a record five Champions League trophies as a manager, in addition to two as a player.

‘Much loved’

Yet few selection decisions will be picked apart quite like this one. Teammates have publicly lobbied for Neymar’s inclusion, while supporters remain split between affection and anxiety over whether his body can still keep pace with his imagination.

“I know full well that Neymar is much loved, not only by the public but also by the players,” Ancelotti said.

“This is also a factor, because we have to consider the atmosphere that will surround Neymar’s call-up. It’s not as if I’m going to drop a bombshell in the dressing room. He’s very well-liked, he’s very much loved.

“I think it’s normal for the players to express their opinion. I’m grateful to everyone who has given me advice; I thank you all. But ultimately, the right person to make this decision, the one best placed to do so, is me.”

Asked whether the players’ appeals had influenced him, Ancelotti said they mattered only in one respect: they underlined that Neymar would not disrupt the group.

For Ancelotti, the dressing room is not the concern. The circus outside it may be.

“The internal atmosphere, I don’t think it will affect the team at all. The atmosphere is a very positive, very clean one, and no matter which player is in the squad, it will remain positive and clean right to the end,” Ancelotti said.

“But I can’t control the external atmosphere and what the media says.”

‘His fitness has improved’

The bigger question may be whether Neymar still fits the football. Ancelotti wants four forwards who can run, press and track back, a demanding template for a player who has struggled to string together a sustained run of matches.

The Italian, however, said Neymar had shown signs of progress.

“He has improved his fitness a lot in recent matches,” Ancelotti said.

“He has played some very good matches lately. His fitness has improved. He can maintain a high intensity in a match. But there are matches and matches...”

Ancelotti said the decision whether or not to select Neymar would be his alone.

“I haven’t been pressured by anyone to call up Neymar. I have complete autonomy,” he said. “The decision will be 100 per cent professional. I will only take into account how he is performing as a footballer. Nothing else.

“Can I draw up a perfect squad? Impossible! But I can draw up a squad with fewer mistakes than others who might do so. Of that I am certain.” — Reuters