Gianni Infantino chose the top favorite to win the 2026 World Cup

With less than 100 days to go until the start of the 2026 World Cup, the teams are beginning to emerge as candidates for the title. In this context, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, assured that Spain comes as one of the main teams to win in the next World Cup.

During an interview with the Spanish newspaper AS, the Swiss leader highlighted the great moment that the group led by Luis de la Fuente is going through. “Spain is one of the favorites. There are others, yes. The number one team in the ranking has to be the favorite for the World Cup,” he said.

The Spanish team is backed by its recent victory in the European Championship and runner-up in the UEFA Nations League, and by a squad that combines established figures with a new generation of players. For Infantino, this competitive present places her among the natural candidates for the title

.

In the group stage of the World Cup, Spain will join Group H together with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, an area that, on paper, appears accessible to advance to the direct elimination rounds

.

The president of FIFA also recalled the tradition of Spanish football in major tournaments, with the recognition of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as one of its most important milestones, achieved by a historic generation led, according to him, by figures such as Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Iker Casillas.

In

any case, Infantino remarked that the fight for the title will not be limited to a single team. On several occasions, he also mentioned other teams that have been protagonists in recent years, such as Argentina and France, in addition to pointing to Colombia as a possible surprise in the

tournament.

How and when are the repechages

.

Although everyone is anxious for the start of the World Cup, all its participants have yet to be confirmed. Of the 48 teams that will participate in the world championship, the intercontinental and the European repechage have yet to be defined

.

The series that pits nations from all the confederations, with the exception of UEFA, will be played in Mexico. Unless there are changes, the semifinals will be played on Thursday, March 26, while the finals will be played on Tuesday

, March 31.

In the first bracket, which will be played in Monterrey, New Caledonia and Jamaica will meet, and the winner of that match will face the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the final. For their part, in the second bracket, to be played in Guadalajara, Bolivia and Suriname will face each other, and the winner will face Iraq for the World

Cup.

In parallel, on the same dates, the repechage of the old continent will be played, the semifinals on the 26th and the finals on the 31st. Unlike the intercontinental playoffs, many more teams participate (16 in total for four places), and the semifinals will be played in the highest-ranked countries and the finals in those

designated by lot.

• 

  Bracket

  A

  • Semifinal 1: Italy - Northern Ireland

  • Semifinal 2: Wales - Bosnia and Herzegovina Final Location:

• Winner of Semifinal 2 Bracket

  B

  Semifinal 3:

• Ukraine - Sweden Semifinal 4: Poland -

• Albania Final Location: Winner of Semifinal 3 Bracket C Semifinal 5: Turkey -

  • Romania Semifinal 6

:

Slovakia - Kosovo

Final

• Locality: Winner of Semifinal 6

Bracket

D Semifinal

• 7: Denmark - North Macedonia

• Semifinal 8: Czech Republic - Ireland Locality Final:

  • Winner of Semifinal 8