Tournament favourites
Spain
Manager: Luis de la Fuente · FIFA rank: 2 · Route: UEFA Group E winners · Last World Cup: 2022 · Best result: Winners (2010)
Reigning European champions and the bookmakers’ outright favourites for the tournament. De la Fuente has built around a generational midfield — Rodri at City, Pedri at Barcelona, Zubimendi at Arsenal — and an attack led by Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo. The Spain side that won Euro 2024 has only got deeper since.
Key man: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) — the best young player in world football.
Betting angle: Spain are 4/1 favourites for the outright title in most markets. Group winner is short to no-value. Yamal Golden Boot odds are heavily backed.
Spain full squad
GK: Unai Simon, David Raya, Joan Garcia.
DF: Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Marcos Llorente, Eric Garcia, Pedro Porro, Alex Grimaldo, Pau Cubarsi, Marc Pubill.
MF: Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Mikel Merino, Pedri, Gavi, Martin Zubimendi, Alex Baena.
FW: Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, Yeremy Pino, Borja Iglesias, Victor Munoz.
South American qualifier
Uruguay
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa · FIFA rank: 17 · Route: CONMEBOL fourth place · Last World Cup: 2022 · Best result: Winners (1930, 1950)
Bielsa returns to the World Cup with one of the strongest Uruguay squads in years. Federico Valverde anchors midfield; Ronald Araujo and Jose Maria Gimenez bring elite defending; Darwin Nunez, Bentancur and Ugarte add Premier League experience. Bielsa’s pressing system can frustrate Spain — the group decider in Zapopan is the most-watched final-day fixture.
Key man: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) — the world’s most complete midfielder right now.
Betting angle: Uruguay short for qualification, longer for group winner. Bielsa’s sides typically over-perform — Uruguay outright is around 25/1 and arguably the value play.
Uruguay full squad
GK: Sergio Rochet, Fernando Muslera, Santiago Mele.
DF: Guillermo Varela, Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez, Santiago Bueno, Sebastian Caceres, Mathias Olivera, Joaquin Piquerez, Matias Vina, Juan Manuel Sanabria.
MF: Manuel Ugarte, Emiliano Martinez, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Valverde, Agustin Canobbio, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Nicolas de la Cruz, Facundo Pellistri, Rodrigo Zalazar, Maxi Araujo, Brian Rodriguez.
FW: Rodrigo Aguirre, Federico Vinas, Darwin Nunez.
World Cup debutants
Cape Verde
Manager: Bubista · FIFA rank: 68 · Route: CAF Group D winners · Last World Cup: Debut · Best result: n/a
One of the standout stories of the tournament. Cape Verde, with a population of around 600,000, qualify for their first ever World Cup. The Blue Sharks are coached by Bubista (Pedro Brito), and the squad mixes domestic-league players with European-based talent — Roberto Lopes at Shamrock Rovers is the captain; Logan Costa at Villarreal anchors the defence; Garry Rodrigues and Jovane Cabral provide the attacking flair.
Key man: Garry Rodrigues (Apollon Limassol) — the experienced attacking outlet.
Betting angle: The Saudi Arabia fixture is the realistic three-points game — Cape Verde to win is the value upset angle of the group.
Cape Verde full squad
GK: Vozinha, Marcio Rosa, CJ dos Santos.
DF: Stopira, Roberto Lopes, Joao Paulo, Diney, Logan Costa, Steven Moreira, Wagner Pina, Sidny Lopes Cabral, Kelvin Pires.
MF: Jamiro Monteiro, Kevin Pina, Deroy Duarte, Telmo Arcanjo, Laros Duarte, Yannick Semedo.
FW: Ryan Mendes, Garry Rodrigues, Willy Semedo, Jovane Cabral, Gilson Tavares, Dailon Livramento, Helio Varela, Nuno da Costa.
Asian qualifier
Saudi Arabia
Manager: Georgios Donis · FIFA rank: 61 · Route: AFC Group B winners · Last World Cup: 2022 · Best result: Round of 16 (1994)
Saudi Arabia’s legacy at the last World Cup was a famous 2-1 win over eventual champions Argentina. Greek coach Georgios Donis took over after the 2022 cycle and has organised the squad around the Saudi Pro League core — Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad. Salem Al Dawsari is still the headline name; Firas Al Buraikan leads the line. Hard-working, organised, but offensively limited against top opposition.
Key man: Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal) — the moment-maker.
Betting angle: Under 2.5 goals in every Saudi Arabia match is sensible. Their best chance of points is the Cape Verde fixture.
Saudi Arabia full squad
GK: Mohammed Al Owais, Nawaf Al Aqidi, Ahmed Al Kassar.
DF: Abdulelah Al Amri, Hassan Tambakti, Jehad Thikri, Ali Lajami, Hassan Kadesh, Saud Abdulhamid, Mohammed Abu Al Shamat, Ali Majrashi, Moteb Al Harbi, Nawaf Boushal, Sultan Al-Ghannam.
MF: Mohammed Kanno, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Ziyad Al Johani, Nasser Al Dawsari, Musab Al Juwayr, Alaa Al Hajji, Salem Al Dawsari, Khalid Al Ghannam, Ayman Yahya.
FW: Firas Al Buraikan, Saleh Al Shehri, Abdullah Al Hamdan.
