BBC Pundits Back France, Supercomputer Picks Spain to Win the 2026 World Cup

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico just around the corner, a panel of pundits from the BBC have shared their predictions for the tournament's most likely champions. The BBC also turned to artificial intelligence and consulted a supercomputer for an additional forecast.



Among the BBC pundits, nine experts backed France to lift the trophy, including former England striker Alan Shearer. He said:

"Given France's attacking strength, they have two or three top-quality players available for rotation in every match. As long as there are no internal conflicts within the squad, they are clear favourites to win the tournament."

Former France striker Olivier Giroud believes that France and Spain are the strongest teams in the competition, while Wayne Rooney expects England and Spain to reach the final and is hoping England come out on top.

For the tournament itself, a supercomputer ran 25,000 simulations and concluded that Spain are the most likely champions. According to the model, the chances of winning the World Cup are:

Spain — 16.1%
France — 13.0%
England — 11.2%
Argentina — 10.4%

Final BBC Pundits' Vote
France (9 votes)
Wes Brown
Gaël Clichy
Corsi
Olivier Giroud
Danny Murphy
Paul Robinson
Tony Pulis
Alan Shearer
Chris Sutton
England (7 votes)
Thomas Frank
Joe Hart
Hope Powell
Martin Keown
Wayne Rooney
Sue Smith
Ellen White
Spain (1 vote)
Micah Richards
The split opinions highlight just how open the 2026 World Cup appears to be. While France received the most backing from BBC pundits, the supercomputer believes Spain have the best chance of lifting football's biggest prize.