{"id":51963,"date":"2026-04-24T07:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victorspredict.com\/article\/?p=51963"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:12:13","slug":"world-cup-three-storylines-that-tend-to-play-out-at-every-edition-of-the-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victorspredict.com\/article\/world-cup-three-storylines-that-tend-to-play-out-at-every-edition-of-the-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup: Three Storylines That Tend to Play Out at Every Edition of the Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away, and national team managers across the planet are weighing up their options ahead of announcing their squads in a few weeks’ time. England’s German-born boss Thomas Tuchel is debating whether the fitness and form issues that have hindered Jude Bellingham all season are now in the rearview mirror. France manager Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, has been forced to pivot following striker Hugo Ekitike’s devastating Achilles tear in Liverpool’s Champions League quarterfinal defeat against Paris Saint-Germain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For betting favorites Spain and their manager, Luis de la Fuente, however, it’s currently business as usual. The latest <\/span>World Cup odds<\/span><\/a> currently make La Roja the 9\/2 favorites to leave MetLife Stadium with the trophy for the second time this July, and those odds have been somewhat unchanged since the Spanish claimed a record-breaking fourth European Championship two years ago. Their sole concern was over the central striking position, but Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal – the man who scored the winner in that Euro 2024 final victory against England in Berlin – has seemingly solved that mini-crisis by netting 11 goals in his last ten international appearances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every time the World Cup rolls around, a slew of familiar storylines seem to play out. But what are those narratives? And which teams could fill the roles required for them to come to fruition in 2026? Let’s take a look.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Heavyweight Will Fall\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

At each edition of the World Cup, a genuine contender seems to fall early. The Germans know that all too well, having fallen victim to the Champion’s Curse in 2018 before suffering another group stage exit in Qatar four years later. Belgium also fell at the group stage in 2022, having suffered a stunning loss to upstarts Morocco. Fast forward to 2026, and there are some contenders who will be looking to avoid that devastating fate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

France have reached back-to-back finals, winning the first in Moscow before <\/span>losing to Argentina<\/span><\/a> in their failed bid to defend the title in Qatar. They, however, find themselves locked in a testing group alongside Erling Haaland’s prolific Norway and AFCON finalists Senegal, and neither of them will be pushovers. Then there is England, who will face perennial nemesis Croatia in the group stages, a potential banana skin that could see them exit the competition early, just as they did in their disastrous 2014 campaign under Roy Hodgson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Host Nation Will Impress\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Having home support at the World Cup can go one of two ways. Either the hosts will crumble under the weight of expectation, just as Qatar did four years ago and South Africa 12 years before them. Alternatively, the raucous support from the stands will inspire a nation to go further than anyone ever expected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the best example of that in recent years came back in 2018. Russia headed into that year’s World Cup as the lowest-ranked team at the entire tournament. The Sbornaya was expected to suffer a group stage exit, but they managed to progress as runners-up behind Uruguay after beating both Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Then, they went on to deliver arguably the biggest shock of the entire tournament when they downed Spain in the round of 16 after winning a riveting penalty shootout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their journey would come to an end in the quarterfinals, with the penalty spot becoming their enemy as opposed to their friend against beaten finalists Croatia. But which of the host nations will it be that follows in Russia’s footsteps eight years on?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, the World Cup will be shared across three host nations, namely the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Each of them has a favorable group stage draw, having been positioned in pot one when the draw was made back in December. But while the group stage could be somewhat straightforward, the knockout round most certainly will not be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mexico are projected to face England in the Round of 16, with the US set to face Belgium – a team that just beat them 5-1 in a friendly in Los Angeles – at the same stage. Will either of them be able to pick up an upset win and trigger an unexpected march to the quarterfinals, and perhaps beyond?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Dark Horse Will Rise<\/b><\/h2>\n

The World Cup is a place where unfancied nations can make a name for themselves, cashing in on the fact that they were on nobody’s radar to mount a deep tournament run. In Qatar, <\/span>Morocco became the first African semifinalist<\/span><\/a> in history, beating Belgium, Spain, and Portugal along the way. Croatia joined them in the semifinals, their second straight trip to the latter stage of the tournament, having surprisingly reached the final in 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, which teams look well-positioned to revel in the role of underdogs this year? Both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic will be looking to take advantage of kind group stage draws to progress deeper than anyone thought they might. Each of the three tournament co-hosts will be looking to do the same, combining two of our storylines into one and whipping up a frenzy among their raucous fan base in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The action will get underway on June 10th when Mexico welcomes South Africa to the stunning Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the curtain raiser. Will these narratives play out once again? We don’t have long to wait to find out.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away, and national team managers across the planet are weighing up their options ahead of announcing their squads in a few weeks’ time. England’s German-born boss Thomas Tuchel is debating whether the fitness and form issues that have hindered Jude Bellingham all season are now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":51964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[899],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-51963","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles"},"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup: Three Storylines That Tend to Play Out at Every Edition of the Tournament<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than two months away, and national team managers across the planet are weighing up their options ahead of announcing their squads in a few weeks' time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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