It’s so close we can almost taste it. The 2026 World Cup is now just days away, with the best players from around the globe descending on the United States, Mexico and Canada for what promises to be a superb summer of football. While some teams will solely harbour dreams of getting out of the groups, others know that anything other than a trophy parade in late-July will go down as failure. We’re set, then, for five-and-a-half weeks of drama, filled with joy and heartbreak in equal measure.
Here at GOAL, we like to think we know a thing or two about the beautiful game, and so we’ve asked our team of writers and editors from the UK and the U.S. to make their predictions for the tournament. From the Golden Boot winner to the dark horses, we’ve got you covered on what to expect from the the biggest World Cup ever staged.
Today, we asked our team to predict who will claim the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament – here’s what they had to say…
