We are just days away from the biggest sporting extravaganza in the world, as the FIFA World Cup 2026 will kick off on Thursday, June 11 (June 12 IST). The competition will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico and will be the biggest edition of the tournament yet, with 48 teams participating.
These 48 teams, several of them having qualified for the World Cup for the first time, have been divided into 12 groups of four teams each.
Each side will go up against the other in a group once. After each team has played their three games, the nations that finish in the top two in their group will qualify for the Round of 32. But that just gives us 24 teams, leaving eight more qualification spots. And so, the eight best-performing third-placed sides will also make it to the knockout rounds.
World Cup Group H Predictions
Today, we will predict how Group H of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will shape up at the end of the group stage. This might be the tightest group in the competition, with Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cabo Verde being in it.
Spain is currently the best football team in the world. The defending European champions had a comfortable path into the World Cup. In the first round of UEFA qualifiers, they won their group comfortably to book their tickets to North America.
Uruguay are World Cup royalty. As the winners of the first-ever tournament in 1930, they have a special place in the history of the competition. As for their qualification, they finished fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, one place ahead of Brazil, and grabbed one of the six qualifying spots.
Saudi Arabia shocked the world in the 2022 World Cup, defeating eventual champions Argentina in their opening game. They did not have the smoothest ride through the AFC qualifiers, finishing second in their second round group behind Jordan. Then, in the third round, they finished third behind Japan and Australia to go to the fourth round, where they topped their three-team group to qualify for the World Cup.
Lastly, Cabo Verde is the third-smallest country (population-wise) to qualify for the World Cup, with a population of just over half a million. The West African country went through the challenging AFC qualifiers. They topped their group over an African giants in Cameroon to book a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Now, let’s see who will make it to the Round of 32 from Group H –
This group has the most accurate split of quality among teams, with a clear best side, a team that is obviously the second best, and a side that is expected to finish last.
The fact that Spain might be the best team in the world is not only suggested by the fact that they currently stand second in the FIFA rankings behind the defending world champions, but also by the fact that they have not lost a game since March 2024. Their two-year unbeaten streak includes them winning the 2024 Euros, wins against France and Portugal in the Nations League, and big wins against Serbia and Peru this year.
An argument can be made that all the players in this Spanish squad are world-class. They will be captained in this World Cup by 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri and managed by Luis de la Fuente. Some of the players to watch out for in this team are – striker Mikel Oyarzabal, Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, Barca midfielders Gavi and Pedri, attacking winger Nico Williams, and obviously, the star-boy, Lamine Yamal.
The Dutch will be captained by their defensive stalwart, Virgil van Dijk and managed by former Barca coach Ronald Koeman in this competition. They have several big-name players that will look for the spotlight in the World Cup, like Liverpool striker Cody Gakpo, Barcelona midfielder Frankie de Jong, and Denzel Dumfries of Inter Milan.
Uruguay has not won a World Cup since 1950. The last time they made a deep run was their semi-final qualification in 2010 with a golden generation. They will look to have a similar campaign this time around. However, their recent run of form has not suggested that at all, with a massive defeat to the USA, and draws against Mexico and B-level England not being good signs heading into the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Uruguay are considered the dark horse of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and a team that is expected to make a deep run in this competition. They are captained by Atlético Madrid’s veteran defender José María Giménez and managed by legendarily radical manager Marcelo Bielsa. They have an abundance of world-class players in their squad, with Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, and former Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez expected to be the stars of the show.
Saudi Arabia is firmly the third-best team in this group behind some giants. They will be led in this World Cup by winger Salem Aldawsari, who not only captains multi-time Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal, but also scored the winner against Argentina four years ago. The team will be managed by Georgios Donis. The likes of Saud Abdul Hamid of RC Lens and midfielder Mohammed Kanno are expected to impress in this World Cup.
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. And with the incredible funding into their domestic league, the country expects big things from their national team. However, they have not had too many positive results in recent months, with losses to Ecuador and a thrashing against Egypt comingearlier this month. And they also couldn’t make it past the semi-final in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup.
Finally, Cabo Verde comes into the FIFA World Cup 2026 with some solid results on their back. They have thrashed Serbia 3-0 and lost on penalties against Egypt and Iran in friendlies in the last year
The African island nation has the weakest team in this group. But in their first-ever World Cup appearance, they will look to impress against some giants. Captained by veteran attacking winger Ryan Mendes and managed by Pedro “Bubista” Brito, this team’s strength has been its defence, propped up by the duo of Logan Costa of Villareal and Sidny Lopes Cabral of Benfica.
World Cup Group H Predictions –
- Spain vs Cabo Verde: Spain wins
- Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia: Uruguay wins
- Spain vs Saudi Arabia: Spain wins
- Uruguay vs Cabo Verde: Uruguay wins
- Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia wins
- Uruguay vs Spain: Uruguay wins
Group ranking –
| Rank | Nation | Points |
| 1 | Spain | 9 |
| 2 | Uruguay | 6 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 3 |
| 4 | Cabo Verde | 0 |
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