Supercomputer, however, predicted that World Cup co-hosts the United States, Mexico, and Canada are very unlikely to win the tournament.
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Opta Supercomputer has backed European nation Spain as the favourites to win the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This year’s tournament will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and will be the first World Cup to feature an expanded 48-team field.
The competition is expected to begin on June 11 and end on July 19, with the final to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, US.
It will comprise twelve groups of four nations and feature a record 104 matches.
However, out of the forty-eight nations participating in this year’s event, the Opta Supercomputer picked Spain as the leading favourite to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy.
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La Roja were awarded the tournament in 16.1% of the 10,000 pre-tournament simulations run by the supercomputer.
France, England, and Argentina follow close behind, with all winning the World Cup in more than 10% of the simulations.
Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium complete the top ten favourites to win the tournament.
The data added that co-hosts the United States, Mexico, and Canada are highly unlikely to win the 2026 World Cup.
Prior to this latest prediction, the supercomputer had made two successful predictions: while it tipped Arsenal to lift the English Premier League (EPL), it also backed PSG to lift back-to-back UEFA Champions League (UCL) trophies.
