Soccer
World Cup Power Rankings after matchday 1: Which nations made the most of their opening matches?
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Every team at the 2026 World Cup has now played one match apiece, making this a perfect time to take a look back at the early action and start assessing the performances of the top sides.
From Germany crushing Curaçao to Spain being frustrated by Cabo Verde, the first matchday of the tournament has given us a lot of new information to consider as we attempt to rank the nations at this point in the World Cup.
Power Rankings are not meant to look at the overall picture, but rather to provide a snapshot based on current form, strength of opposition, and other factors. As a reminder, these were our power rankings in April and just before the tournament started.
Here are DAZN News' Power Rankings ahead of matchday 2, limited to the top 10.
World Cup Power Rankings after matchday 1
1. France (—)
The French shook off a tentative first half against Senegal to cruise to a 3-1 victory, powered by the otherworldly talents of Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise.
It wasn't a perfect start to the World Cup for Les Bleus, but they did enough to keep hold of the top spot here.
2. Argentina (▲1)
There's no better way to begin a defence of the World Cup than with a blowout victory, and Argentina can thank their GOAT for continuing to defy Father Time with his first World Cup hat-trick against Algeria.
3. England (▲3)
The Three Lions got through their toughest match of the group stage with a convincing 4-2 victory over Croatia, with Harry Kane on target twice.
England overcame a sloppy first half to dominate over the final 45 minutes.
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Thomas Tuchel reflects on England's victory over Croatia
4. Germany (▲3)
You can only beat the team in front of you, and the Germans pummeled Curaçao with a 7-1 scoreline.
Things will obviously get tougher for Julian Nagelsmann's men as the tournament progresses, but they stepped over the banana skin unlike a few notable sides elsewhere in the competition.
5. Brazil (▼1)
The Brazilians looked far from their best in a 1-1 draw with Morocco, with Vini Jr. playing the hero for the South Americans.
However, this team has too good a coach and too many talented players to write them off after their hardest match of the group stage.
6. Spain (▼5)
Being held scoreless by Cabo Verde is a surefire way to earn a big drop in the power rankings.
Yes, Spain dominated the match statistics and on any other day likely would have scored four or five, but results are results.
7. Morocco (▲3)
The Atlas Lions were the better side in their draw against Brazil, and with their group games getting easier they should build some momentum ahead of the knockouts.
8. Portugal (▼3)
A disappointing 1-1 draw with DR Congo to open their World Cup journey exposed some major flaws in the Portugal set-up, namely what to do with Cristiano Ronaldo.
9. Colombia (▲6)
The high-octane Colombians claimed a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan in their first match of the competition, and we're expecting big things from the exciting duo of Luis Diaz and Luis Suarez.
10. Norway (▲9)
Erling Haaland is on his way in the World Cup with two goals in his debut match, a 4-1 victory over Iraq.
Norway got their easiest group stage match out of the way with a bit of momentum, and now they must carry those good vibes into tough match-ups against Senegal and France.
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