Go deep in the tournament. Related to the first point, the team of every winner since 1998 has made at least the quarterfinals, and with the additional knockout round this tournament, reaching the Round of 16 and playing five games is the baseline for picking a Golden Boot winner.

The Republic of Ireland left it late to qualify for the playoffs where, this week, the final six spots at the 2026 World Cup -- four from Europe, two from the intercontinental playoff -- will be clinched.

Six spots in the 2026 World Cup are still up for grabs, with the final four European places set to be decided this week beginning with Path D, pitting Czechia against Ireland in one semifinal.

Rankings tell the story: Italy sits perched 13th in the FIFA rankings—the best nation yet to have qualified for the World Cup—while Northern Ireland is all the way down in 69th. On paper, this is no contest, although the hosts are not expected to blow their visitors away. O’Neill’s side is often stronger than the sum of its parts.

World Cup qualification playoffs get underway this week, which means the US men's national team will find out which team will join them, Paraguay, and Australia in Group D

A look at the latest betting odds for the 2026 World Cup.

Italy is one of the top 10 favorites to win the World Cup, but there's one problem. They haven't actually qualified.

Get the best Ukraine vs Sweden predictions ahead of Thursday's World Cup playoff fixture. Free soccer picks for March 26.

Two of the top-five nations in the FIFA rankings will meet in a must-see international friendly.

The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, once a shimmering mirage, is now taking shape into something almost tangible. We made our first U.S. women’s national team roster prediction in October, two international windows away from an end-of-year period defined by dynamic squad experimentation and culinary analogies courtesy of coach Emma Hayes.