Ranking All 48 Teams at the World Cup After the First Round of Matches

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It's finally over.

The first chapter of the World Cup was put to close on Wednesday night, as tournament debutant Uzbekistan put up a strong fight but eventually fell to Colombia in a great game down in Mexico.

On Thursday, the second round of the group stage begins, where teams will either try to lock down their place in the knockout rounds or desperately fight to stay afloat in the standings.

Every night I've been ranking the teams on how strong they look following their first impressions, and after the first seven days, I have three teams that have shown me enough that I can call them legitimate threats for the trophy: Argentina, France, and England.

While I'm sure the likes of Spain will join them in the coming weeks, that trio stood above the rest for me in terms of looking ready at every level to contend for the championship.

When it comes to dark horses, the United States of America, Sweden, and Ivory Coast led the charge for me. While maybe not deep enough to truly go all the way, I could see those three teams making a quarterfinal run depending on whether they can continue their form from the first game.

And at the bottom, as it was on night one, South Africa sits alone. Luckily for them, they have a chance to get out of the basement tomorrow when they take on Czechia in a game where they need to find a result.

As we move on to round two, here are how I have the 48 nations ranked through the first week of action.

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Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J match between Argentina and Algeria at Kansas City Stadium on June 16, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)