In this 2026 North American World Cup with the expanded lineup of 48 teams across the US, Canada, and Mexico, the round-of-16 knockout stage has been crazily eliminating strong teams—like mowing grass. It feels like the situation right now is like a newly opened high-risk counterfeit-coin sector: old beliefs are collapsing, and a new dark-horse is growing wildly. Look at yesterday’s match stats: the tournament favorites Germany drew Paraguay 1-1, and then were sent home in the penalty shootout 3-4. The Netherlands also drew Morocco 2-2, then lost 2-3 on penalties and were eliminated right away. This tells us a lesson: in this bloated 48-team format, traditional big clubs have an appallingly low margin for error—apart from France and Argentina, the other big names haven’t been very consistent.
I could also see this quite directly from the World Cup event meme trend in the Binance Wallet. It’s given me strong reference value for picking bets on each match this year’s championship favorites. As for who will win the title, based on these performances and the steady upward trend of the Binance event meme, France is basically a sure thing. Defensively and in terms of controlling the game, they’re almost in a class of their own; the only slight blemish is in midfield. Next, I think the runner-up should be Argentina. Although Argentina successfully defended the title last year, the group stage exposed their difficulty in breaking through entrenched defenses. I also think there’s a clear dependence on Messi. In the crucial match versus Saudi Arabia, they were nearly forced into a draw that way, and in the knockout stage I have doubts about how well their back line holds under pressure.
For third place, it should be Spain. Spain’s possession-and-control dominance is also excellent—about 75% average possession per match—but their efficiency in breaking through seems to swing up and down a lot. Against Cape Verde, they almost conceded. A young squad still needs to be tested in hard-fought matches. And there’s also England: while their attack and defense look fairly balanced, their overall mental toughness seems to have issues after conceding a goal. This time, against Congo, they were even close to going back home. Still, Uncle Kane’s quality is very strong, and they also have a real chance to fight for second or third. #BinancePickAndWin
I could also see this quite directly from the World Cup event meme trend in the Binance Wallet. It’s given me strong reference value for picking bets on each match this year’s championship favorites. As for who will win the title, based on these performances and the steady upward trend of the Binance event meme, France is basically a sure thing. Defensively and in terms of controlling the game, they’re almost in a class of their own; the only slight blemish is in midfield. Next, I think the runner-up should be Argentina. Although Argentina successfully defended the title last year, the group stage exposed their difficulty in breaking through entrenched defenses. I also think there’s a clear dependence on Messi. In the crucial match versus Saudi Arabia, they were nearly forced into a draw that way, and in the knockout stage I have doubts about how well their back line holds under pressure.
For third place, it should be Spain. Spain’s possession-and-control dominance is also excellent—about 75% average possession per match—but their efficiency in breaking through seems to swing up and down a lot. Against Cape Verde, they almost conceded. A young squad still needs to be tested in hard-fought matches. And there’s also England: while their attack and defense look fairly balanced, their overall mental toughness seems to have issues after conceding a goal. This time, against Congo, they were even close to going back home. Still, Uncle Kane’s quality is very strong, and they also have a real chance to fight for second or third. #BinancePickAndWin