Valdano says France leads World Cup 2026, Argentina faces test

Jorge Valdano has turned Argentina’s World Cup challenge into a direct comparison with France. In the first 48-team edition of the tournament, with 104 matches spread across Canada, Mexico and the United States, he said France has already confirmed itself as the favorite, while Argentina’s opener against Algeria will show whether Lionel Scaloni’s champions belong in the same tier.

The scale of the tournament changes the calculation. FIFA’s expanded format has put 48 nations into a schedule that runs from June 11 to July 19, and the final 26-player lists were submitted on June 2, leaving 1,248 confirmed footballers across the field. That matters because the new World Cup is not only about elite quality at the top, but also about rotation, recovery and how quickly a squad can absorb fatigue across a long, cross-border competition.

Valdano had already grouped Spain, Portugal, France and Argentina among the selections “más temibles” for the title, and he said Argentina “no perdió el hambre” after winning the Copa América in 2021 and 2024 and the 2022 World Cup. That hunger is now being measured against a different standard: Argentina arrives as defending champion, with Lionel Messi as captain, but the real test in this tournament is whether its title-winning core still has the depth to survive the strain of a 104-game event.

The draw has made that comparison immediate. Argentina was placed in Group J with Algeria, Austria and Jordan, and its first match against Algeria in Kansas City was set for June 16. France, meanwhile, landed in Group I with Senegal, Iraq and Norway and opened against Senegal on the same day. Didier Deschamps is guiding France through what Sports Mole describes as his final World Cup as coach, adding another layer of pressure to a side that remains one of the tournament’s main reference points.

For Argentina, Valdano’s point is less about nostalgia than about standards. France’s depth, tactical discipline and ability to manage a tournament across three host countries set the bar in the first World Cup of the 48-team era, and Argentina’s path to another title will depend on whether Scaloni’s team can sustain that level over a longer and harsher test.