📉 Updated World Cup 2026 Power Rankings

World Cup 2026 Power Rankings after one game: U.S. cracks top 10, but who is No.

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Senegal? (2:41)James TylerJun 19, 2026, 02:34 AM ETCloseJames Tyler is an ESPN editor for soccer.Multiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt has been an incredible first week at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the superstars showing up -- Lionel Messi tying the men's World Cup goals record by scoring his first hat trick in this competition, Erling Haaland scoring twice in his tournament debut, Kylian Mbappé adding two of his own to become France's all-time leading men's scorer -- and the smaller nations making an impact, too.

Australia stunned Türkiye to rival the U.S. for top spot in Group D, Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 for their first win at a World Cup since 1990, and tiny Cape Verde, in their tournament debut, held powerhouse world No.

1 Spain to a 0-0 draw in their first game.Could you ask for much more from the action on the pitch? We think not, but what do these early results tell us about the front-runners and the also-rans?

As we did 100 days out, 30 days out and with 48 hours to go, we're looking at how our global reporters feel about the tournament from a contenders vs. pretenders perspective after every team's first game. 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.- O'Hanlon: World Cup overreactions after one round of games - Hamilton: How Scotland's Tartan Army took over the World Cup - World Cup 2026: Fixtures, results and all coverageEditor's note: Voting was concluded before Thursday's games involving Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czechia and South Africa kicked off.

Performances in their second round of group stage games will be reflected in our next Power Rankings, which will launch after that round is complete on Tuesday.ESPN FC's World Cup Power Rankings after one game1. FRANCE (up 1)- Official FIFA Rank (June 11): 3 - Group I games: defeated Senegal 2-0; vs.

Iraq (June 22, Philadelphia); vs. Norway (June 26, Boston)For the first time since we began these rankings back in March, we have a brand-new No. 1 team!

Take a bow, Les Bleus, for doing something that seemed impossible before the World Cup began.Our voters can't get enough of Mbappé & Co. following their smooth 3-1 win to open play in Group I, with 13 of 20 first-place votes, having picked up just six in our previous ballot, and it's not hard to see why: After a muddled first half in which France struggled to click, Mbappé picked up two second-half goals (including an otherworldly effort from range in injury time) to become France's all-time men's top scorer as they racked up eight shots on target to Senegal's one, which Ibrahim Mbaye converted in the 95th minute.

Mbappé looks highly motivated, Michael Olise's red-hot form at the club level with Bayern Munich has continued (one assist, four chances created) and France's defense limited Senegal to just 0.10 xG over the 90 minutes. Tougher tests await -- notably the June 26 showdown with Norway and a little-known guy named Haaland that could decide who wins the group -- but this is exactly how you'd want to open a World Cup after an agonizing runner-up finish in 2022.

2. ENGLAND (up 2)- Official FIFA Rank (June 11): 4 - Group L games: defeated Croatia 4-2; vs. Ghana (June 23, Boston); vs.

Panama (June 27, New York/New Jersey)Look out for Thomas Tuchel's free-flowing Three Lions, everyone: A comfortable win over Croatia to open group play has impressed our electorate, garnering England three first-place votes (up from zero with 48 hours to go) and our biggest upward move at the top end of the rankings.With so many questions marks coming into the World Cup based on the stars Tuchel left at home -- Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Harry Maguire, Adam Wharton -- and some of the squad inclusions such as Marc