World Cup 2026 Power Rankings, 48 hours out: Who is No. 1? - ESPN

It's official: Tuesday marks just 48 hours until the 2026 World Cup kicks off in earnest, when Mexico host South Africa in Mexico City on June 11.

As we did at the 100-day and 30-day mark, we're looking at how our global reporters feel about the tournament from a contenders vs. pretenders perspective with just two days until kickoff. We asked our panel of 20 reporters to rank their top 15 favorites from No. 1 (meaning «the trophy is theirs») to No. 15 («the cool outsider's pick for a tournament shock») and compiled their ballots into the collective ranking below.

Our voting panel includes Bill Connelly, James Olley, Julien Laurens, Sam Marsden, Rob Dawson, Mariano Mancuso, Armando Neria, Alain van Hilten, Mark Ogden, Lizzy Becherano, Beth Lindop, Ed Dove, Tom Hamilton, Leonardo Bertozzi, Alex Kirkland, Gabe Tan, Joey Lynch, Jeff Carlisle, Gab Marcotti and Cesar Hernandez.

Consider this your shorthand guide to the favorites next month, with some adjustments noted based on form, injuries and other intangibles.

— Ranked: The top 50 players at the 2026 World Cup
— Simulating the World Cup: Who did EA crown as champions?
— Borden: What you've missed in soccer since 2022 World Cup

— FIFA Rank (unofficial) as of June 7: 2
— Group H games: vs. Cape Verde (June 15, Atlanta); vs. Saudi Arabia (June 21, Atlanta); vs. Uruguay (June 26, Guadalajara)

Our reporters and editors still have the most confidence in La Roja when it comes to who they favor in the expanded, 48-team field — Spain picked up three more first-place votes than they managed at the 30-day mark — which is impressive considering they do have a number of question marks around the squad.

The biggest of those is, of course, the fitness of teenage superstar Lamine