The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the most ambitious in the tournament's history, featuring 48 nations competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico — has produced an edition rich with possibility, danger and intrigue.

For the first time, the format introduces a 12-group stage of four teams each, with the top two from every group plus the eight best third-placed teams advancing to a 32-team knockout. Navigating this expanded bracket will require tactical flexibility that previous World Cup winners rarely needed.

Brazil enters as the betting favourite, having won the Copa América in dominant fashion and lost just twice in 38 matches under manager Dorival Júnior. Their front three — Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Endrick — represent arguably the most explosive attacking combination in international football.

France, despite the retirement of Kylian Mbappé from international duty in controversial circumstances last year, remain formidable. The squad assembled around Eduardo Camavinga, Khephren Thuram and Warren Zaïre-Emery has a physical and technical quality that most nations cannot match.

England's draw placed them in what journalists are already calling the Group of Death alongside Germany, Portugal and Uruguay — four former World Cup winners in the same pool is unprecedented in the tournament's history.

The dark horse that most analysts agree upon is the United States. Playing at home, in front of what will be the largest attendances in World Cup history, with a young squad galvanised by their semi-final run at Qatar 2022, the Americans believe this is their moment.

"Every team in this tournament will have seen the draw and identified two or three groups they did not want," said former England manager Gareth Southgate, now a TV pundit. "The drama has already started before a ball has been kicked."

Ticket demand has broken all previous records. FIFA reported that over 47 million people applied for the 5.2 million tickets made available through the public ballot — a ratio of nine applicants per seat, eclipsing even the frenzy that surrounded the 2014 tournament in Brazil.