Ibrahimović, Henry and Lalas Name Their Groups to Watch at 2026 World Cup

Ibrahimović, Henry and Lalas Name Their Groups to Watch at 2026 World Cup

Three prominent figures in world football – Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thierry Henry and Alexi Lalas – have each identified a different group as the standout contest of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first edition to feature 48 teams and 12 groups, the largest field in the tournament’s history.

Ibrahimović pointed to Group L, which contains England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama. He described England and Croatia as the group’s dominant forces, suggested Ghana possessed the talent to disrupt them, and assessed Panama as likely to concede heavily to both. Henry, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, selected Group I – the group containing France – though he attributed his choice primarily to Senegal and Norway, whom he identified as two of his dark horses for the tournament. He added that Group C, featuring Brazil, Morocco and Haiti alongside Scotland, warranted attention, suggesting Haiti could cause an upset in their opening fixture against Scotland. Lalas, a former United States international and current Fox Sports analyst, highlighted Group D, which pairs the United States with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. He argued that, given the squad’s depth and experience, this is the first time it would be reasonable for the country to expect the U.S. men’s team to win their group outright.

England last won a major international trophy at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The country reached the UEFA Euro 2024 final, where they were beaten by Spain. France reached the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, losing to Argentina on penalties. Senegal, whom Henry highlighted as a dark horse, reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations most recently.

The United States open their 2026 World Cup campaign against Paraguay, with Lalas stating directly that anything short of winning Group D would represent an underperformance for the host nation’s squad.