The Denver Gazette gives its predictions for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Paul Klee, sports editor

The USMNT will… shock the world with a quarterfinal run, a feat made even more difficult with the expansion to 48 teams and the new round of 32. The massive field leads to an astounding 72 games in the group stage alone. By the time the final rolls around July 19, you’ll either love or loathe soccer.

The match I can’t wait to watch… USA-Paraguay at 7 p.m. Friday (Fox). The good guys can set a proper tone in their opening match at spectacular SoFi Stadium, the benchmark for new stadiums in the United States. Or the U.S. will show it’s still playing catch-up in the world’s most popular game.

The host city I’d most like to visit for a game… Miami, a sports city that won me over during the 2023 NBA Finals, where I covered Nikola Jokic’s walk in the park to a championship then hopped a city bus for delicious eats in Little Havana. Great timing, too: Prior to Game 3, soccer junkies sang and danced on Calle Ocho when Lionel Messi announced he would play for Inter Miami CF.

The Golden Ball winner will be… Kylian Mbappe, the tip of the spear on France’s attack. How popular is the 27-year-old? Well, to put it in American terms: Travis Kelce is the NFL’s active Instagram king with 7.7 million followers. Mbappe? He’s not joking around with 130 million devotees.

The World Cup champion will be… France, which trails only Spain among betting favorites to hoist the (other) cup. Les Bleus advanced to the World Cup final in 2018 and 2022 and open their next world championship bid in the “Group of Death” against Senegal at 11 a.m. Tuesday (Fox).

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Mark Kiszla, sports columnist

The USMNT will… be a source of both high anxiety, as well as red, white and blue cheers. USMNT will not win its group. But in the angst-ridden match of the tournament, our lads will secure a victory in the knockout stage, before bowing in the round of 16 to England.

The match I can’t wait to watch… Are you ready for this? On the eve of America’s 250th birthday, deep in the heart of Texas, do not be surprised if the USMNT takes the pitch in Jerry World against Iran in a soccer battle that would be the most emotionally charged sporting event of 2026.

The host city I’d most like to visit for a game… While I’d love to see a match in Vancouver, which is a great city and a wonderful sports town, I’ve got to go with Los Angeles. Why? Because I’m going, on my own dime, to sit in the stands of Stan Kroenke’s sports palace to watch USA-Turkey on June 25.

The Golden Ball winner will be… Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. From Barcelona to the Big Apple, this World Cup should be one big coming-out party for futbol’s next international superstar, provided the hamstring injury suffered this spring by Yamal doesn’t come back to bite him.

The World Cup champion will be… There will be upset carnage along the way. (I’m looking at you, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.) But the World Cup is won by a team with an impeccable pedigree. So I won’t apologize for following the chalk that leads me to declare the final will be: Spain 3, France 2.

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Chris Schmaedeke, digital sports editor

The USMNT will… be the story of the summer with a run to the round of 16. The Americans will steal Group D from Turkey but will not be able to keep up with powerhouse Belgium in the round of 16.

The match I can’t wait to watch… Spain vs. Uruguay (6 p.m. June 26) in Guadalajara, Mexico. Spain’s toughest test in the group stage in a match that will feel like it belongs in the round of 16.  

The host city I’d most like to visit for a game… Vancouver. The Canadian city has seven matches, including one very important to the United States’ group play fate in Turkey and Australia. Also, the atmosphere for Canada’s matches there should be electric.

The Golden Ball winner will be… Lamine Yamal from Spain. The 18-year-old will be the talk of the tournament, and it also helps that he plays for the favorites with plenty of eyes on him.

The World Cup champion will be… Spain over Argentina. Spain will get its second World Cup title, with the other one being in 2010, over the 2022 champions. Lionel Messi and Argentina make a great run to the final but fall short of becoming the third team to repeat.

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Tyler King, college sports reporter

The USMNT will… take the nation by storm with the country’s first trip to the quarterfinals since 2002, culminated with a breakthrough victory in the round of 16 against none other than Belgium thanks to the most talented roster the U.S. has assembled and a winning formula on the pitch established by coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The match I can’t wait to watch… France vs. Senegal on Tuesday (1 p.m. Fox). Les Blues are the favorites to win the tournament thanks to a depth of talent unrivaled by any other country, but their first test will be a big one against arguably the top African team in Senegal, led by an aging but still talented attacker in Sadio Mane.

The host city I’d most like to visit for a game… Philadelphia, of course. Not only is it home for me, but is there really a better way to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday than watching a round of 16 game in the city where the Declaration of Independence was written? That it has the potential to be a matchup between juggernauts France and Germany only adds to the excitement.

The Golden Ball winner will be… Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Off the back of an outstanding season for Manchester United in the Premier League, Fernandes is the headliner of the best midfield at the World Cup and his combination of goals and assists will carry his team all the way to the final.

The World Cup champion will be… a newcomer into the prestigious club of winners. Three times the runner-up since 1974, the Netherlands finally gets its breakthrough moment and crowning football achievement after defeating Portugal in the final at MetLife Stadium with star Liverpool defender and captain Virgil van Dijk hoisting the gold trophy in the air for the Dutch as the lasting image from a tremendous tournament in the Americas.

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Vinny Benedetto, Nuggets writer

The USMNT will… feel the weight of expectation in a draw against Paraguay in the opener before winning the group thanks to victories over Australia and Turkey. The momentum carries over into a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast and a 3-2 extra-time victory over Belgium to exact revenge for 2014. The run that legitimizes American soccer ends with a 3-1 defeat to a superior Spain squad in the quarterfinals.

The match I can’t wait to watch… Norway vs. France (1 p.m., June 26). There’s going to be a whole lot of attacking starpower on display in Foxborough, Mass. later this month. France is among the favorites thanks to the attacking combination of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, but don’t sleep on Norway’s Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard’s ability to make it interesting. It should be goals galore.

The host city I’d most like to visit for a game… Vamos a Cuidad de Mexico! The energy when Mexico hosts South Africa to open the tournament at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday is going to be raucous, and we like raucous around here. While it’s a little late for me to get to the Azteca, maybe I can visit when the Nuggets play the Pacers in Mexico City in November.

The Golden Ball winner will be… Despite his heroics, Kylian Mbappe came up just short in 2022, finishing second to Lionel Messi. There’s no denying him this year.

The World Cup champion will be… waving a red, white and blue flag while “La Marseillaise” plays over the sound system at New York New Jersey Stadium (the temporary, neutral tournament name for MetLife Stadium). France has too much depth and too much tournament experience to deny. Les Bleus thrash Japan in the round of 32, survive a Germany-Netherlands-Spain gantlet to reach the final where they beat Brazil, 3-1, in a game that’s not as close as the scoreline suggests.