Alan Shearer and Micah Richards among 27 celebs to predict World Cup winner

The World Cup starts in North America this week as a record 48 teams fight for the greatest prize in football.

The tournament will be played across 104 matches, in three countries over the course of 39 days. The first of those is in Mexico on Thursday night, when the co-hosts face South Africa in a repeat of the opening match from the 2014 edition.

Spain are the early tournament favourites, with France, England and Argentina also among the strongest contenders to lift the trophy this summer. The beauty of the tournament, though, is that all 48 nations will be dreaming of glory and lifting the World Cup aloft in New Jersey on 19 July.

SPORTbible asked 27 celebrities for their tournament predictions and who they think will win the 2026 World Cup this summer. It was no surprise to see many of them back their respective nations, including 2002 World Cup winner Cafu, who predicted a record-sixth victory for Brazil, along with Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli.

F1 stars George Russell and Arvid Lindblad both backed England to 'bring it home', along with the likes of KSI, Danny Aarons, Ollie Bearman and basketball star Wendell Carter Jr. Those thoughts were also echoed by former internationals Wayne Rooney, James Milner, David James and current international Noni Madueke. However, they were not shared by BBC pundits Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.

Speaking to SPORTbible, Richards backed Spain, while Shearer explained why he thought France would win the tournament. "There is no in-house fighting with who's going to start and who is going to be on the bench, because their forward players are ridiculously good."

Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar and Robert Pires sprung no surprises when they all backed France, while Max Verstappen admitted that while he would love it to be the Netherlands, he also expected France to be triumphant this time around. Those thoughts were echoed by Manchester United favourite Bastian Schweinsteiger, who added: "France actually has the strongest team. Germany, quarter-finals, semi-finals, something like that."

There was also plenty of patriotism on show from basketball star Mortitz Wagner, who backed Germany, while American WWE star Jade Cargill believes the USA could win on home soil. Angry Ginge was not so patriotic when he admitted 'next level' Lamine Yamal would guide Spain to glory this summer.

Jaylen Wells was the only celebrity to back Argentina to retain their title, while another WWE star in Drew McIntyre put his faith in Scotland to win the trophy, or at least get out of the group stages at a major tournament for the first time in their history.

Gianni Infantino took the political route while stating one of the 'usual suspects' would most likely win, while F1 driver Liam Lawson bluntly admitted he had no idea who would win. If you appreciate honesty, then former Chelsea star Eden Hazard was probably a bit too brutal. "Belgium," he told SPORTbible before he dismissed England's hopes of glory. "No chance. Maybe quarter-final," he bluntly said.

SPORTbible 2026 World Cup predictions

Argentina: Jaylen Wells

Belgium: Eden Hazard

Brazil: Cafu, Gabriel Martinelli

England: George Russell, Wayne Rooney, KSI, Noni Madueke, James Milner, Wendell Carter Jr, Ollie Bearman, Danny Aarons, David James, Arvid Lindblad

France: Charles Leclerc, Robert Pires, Alan Shearer, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar, Bastian Schweinsteiger

Germany: Mortitz Wagner

Scotland: Drew McIntyre

Spain: Angry Ginge, Micah Richards

USA: Jade Cargill