The biggest football tournament on earth is nearly upon us – but who will take the trophy? We asked EA FC 26 to help us predict the winner in North America.
The moment of truth is just hours away – the 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off a month of football fever in North America. Held across three nations for the first time, 48 teams will take part in a new format in matches at venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
While this year’s competition has two runaway favourites that’ll surely be close to glory come the final in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19, it’s not easy to predict exactly who’ll claim the famous trophy. Will it be one of France or Spain? Or will a dark horse take the crown. And how will England and Scotland perform?
To answer these questions, we loaded up EA Sports FC 26’s new unofficial World Cup mode, The World’s Game, which mimics the tournament. And unfortunately, it’s very bad news for British football fans.
World Cup 2026 simulated by EA FC 26
In our simulation, there were plenty of shocks in the group stages alone. Hosts Mexico fell at the first hurdle, which seems hugely unlikely given the home field advantage they’ll enjoy in Mexico City at the famous Estadio Azteca.
The other major shock was seeing Scotland fail to score a single goal across their three Group C fixtures against Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. A 2-0 loss to eventual group winners Brazil sealed their fate.
England finished second in their group, behind Croatia, while the Netherlands were runners-up in Group F behind Japan.
Giants Germany, France, Portugal, Argentina and Spain all won their respective groups. Perhaps most surprisingly, Uruguay and ex-Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez led the Group Stage as the tournament’s top scorer on five goals – two ahead of England skipper Harry Kane.
Knockout round shocks
With the new format, it makes sense that the bulk of the surprises would come in the earlier rounds of the knockout stages. And the simulated World Cup certainly delivered in that sense.
In a meeting of two European heavyweights, France beat the Netherlands 1-0 to advance, before Korea dumped out co-hosts Canada with a 3-1 win. Indeed, the USA followed with their exit after a 3-2 loss to Germany.
Brazil swept aside Japan with an easy 3-0 win, while Portugal and Belgium also moved on. This, however, is when things got strange.
Spain found themselves forced into extra time by Algeria, who eventually dumped out the favourites in a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win. Lionel Messi‘s Argentina also left the competition at this stage, being surprised by Nunez and Uruguay in a 3-1 reverse.
And most notably, England’s dreams of lifting the trophy also ended in the Second Round. A 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Colombia, where Luis Diaz scored twice, left Thomas Tuchel‘s men packing their bags and passports to come home empty handed.
Iran also surprised Switzerland with a 2-1 win, and the surprises kept coming in the Round of 16.
In the last 16, France beat Germany 3-1 while Brazil, Norway and Portugal all advanced with straightforward wins. Colombia also beat Algeria 2-1 to move into the last eight, and Croatia, Uruguay and Austria – who surprised Belgium with a 2-1 victory – joined them.
The Quarter Finals were full of intrigue, as France eliminated Brazil with a 1-0 win before Austria’s dream run continued thanks to a 4-2 win over Colombia. Croatia beat Norway 1-0 and Portugal ended Nunez’s summer renaissance.
But the Semi Finals were where the most drama-laden shocks came. Austria implausibly took France to extra time after a 1-1 draw, eventually winning 3-2 dramatically. They earned a spot in the World Cup Final, where they would face a Portugal team who beat Croatia 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
The World Cup 2026 Final simulated by EA FC 26
After France thumped Croatia 3-0 to claim third place, it was time for the showcase in New Jersey. However, it was a tense, tepid affair and despite the best efforts of Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafa Leao – who had 11 goals between them so far – it ended goalless after 120 minutes.
And onto the drama of penalties once more, with a shoot-out that included the first two for each side hitting the back of the net.
However, Diogo Costa saved Paul Wanner’s spot-kick before Vitinha chipped his straight into the chest of Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager. Laimer’s penalty was saved and Ronaldo predictably scored his, before Nicolas Seiwald skied his over the bar, handing Portugal a 3-2 shoot-out win and the World Cup trophy on a plate.
