Power Rankings for the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup

The round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought epic moments and exciting football. We started to see some surprises and difficult moments, as we now approach the quarterfinals of the tournament.

So, with only eight teams remaining, which are the best nations still playing in the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW team of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals.

“I think Switzerland, which put us to sleep, may be the eighth,” Kljestan said.

Edu agreed with the assessment and noted that Belgium should advance after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium managed to move up one place.

Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 in this tournament.

Belgium, originally ranked eighth, moved up one place after a 4-1 thrashing of co-hosts the United States in the round of 16. Belgium has shown the ability to score in groups, but looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 16, having to mount a comeback to advance. That also came after Belgium finished 1-2-0 in the group stage, but has now won three straight.

Norway took the number 6 position with the unanimous consent of the World Cup NOW team, with Edu even leading a quick Viking fight with his teammates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation’s history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 victory over Brazil on Sunday. Norway also won all four matches Haaland played in this tournament as it fights for the Golden Boot.

For the No. 5 spot, the team agreed to have Morocco finish the bottom half of the power rankings. Ortiz added that Morocco should not be taken lightly, something the rest of the crew agreed with.

Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals following its 3-0 victory over Canada on Saturday. But his most impressive game might have been against the Netherlands in the round of 32. After fighting to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, Morocco advanced on penalty kicks and will now face France in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The debate shifted as the panel examined the top four teams, starting with a close comparison between No. 4-ranked England and the third-ranked team on this list.

“Our decision between number three and number four was difficult, because I think England have also shown quality in the championship, so I think there is a little bit of separation between teams one and two and teams three and four,” Kljestan said.

Edu highlighted England’s recent performance with their 3-2 victory over Mexico to show how close the margin was between the two teams.

“The biggest one for me, between Argentina and England, because I was in that match in Mexico City, England was impressive to be able to do what had not been done since 2013 in a competitive match at the Azteca, which is to win, that was impressive,” said Edu. “Their stars came through, Jude Bellingham gets a brace, Harry Kane gets a goal and assists on that one too.”

Despite England’s heroic performance, the team gave Argentina the advantage in the number 3 spot due to their history and management of the tournament.

“What separates Argentina? Obviously it’s Messi, but they already did it,” said Edu.

“They come here as defending champions, so they know that winning pedigree, they know what it takes, and when you talk about their last two games against Cape Verde, and then today against Egypt, yes, they were heartbreaking.

“If you are a Messi fan, if you are an Argentine fan, you are sitting sweating, you are nervous, but there is a certain character that this group has, the coach too, because they already crossed that line in the last World Cup.”

Argentina has won all five games it has played in this World Cup. However, his last two victories were dramatic. I needed extra

a moment to defeat Cape Verde in the round of 32 before having to overturn a 2-0 deficit to defeat Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

“You have made the fans suffer, you have made the football fans suffer, but you have always come out ahead,” Ortiz said.

Guzan added that it has “been Messi’s show” and indicated that the rest of the squad must contribute more as the tournament progresses.

“They will need help from others,” Guzan said. “There are other guys on that team, they’re going to have to step up.”

Spain secured the number 2 spot in the power rankings, largely due to its defensive efficiency throughout the competition.

“I think Spain has been incredible,” Edu said. “There is still more, there is still more to see from this team, but they have been incredibly efficient. The fact that they are in the quarter-finals without having conceded a goal, that is where [I say] “This is impressive.”

As Spain has yet to concede a goal in this tournament, they have outscored their opponents 9-0 in this tournament.

France took the number one spot on the board, maintaining their status as tournament favorites.

“And they have lived up to the expectations that everyone had of them,” Kljestan said. “They were the odds-on favorites. They were the team that all of us, I think, in this little round table have picked to win the tournament, and they’ve been the best attacking team. So, they’re number one – the best attacking team, number two – the best defending team in this tournament.”

Like Argentina, France has also won all five matches it has played in this tournament. They had to earn a 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16, but France outscored their opponents 14-2 in this tournament.

With the standings established, analysts discussed whether any of the lowest-ranked teams could challenge the top four for the title. Kljestan expressed skepticism about the lower division’s chances of maintaining success in the remaining rounds.

“Personally I don’t think any of the teams that are not in the top four can win this World Cup,” Kljestan said. “You have to win three more games from this point on, and I don’t see any of those teams beating any of the top four, let alone knocking them off once and then having to win two more.”

Guzan agreed, emphasizing the difficulty of achieving multiple consecutive victories against elite opponents.

“That’s what I was going to say, I think there’s a chance to do it once, twice, three times,” Guzan said. “I think it becomes really challenging when you go up against these top four teams because of the quality they have.”