Every World Cup to date has been won by present day members of UEFA and CONMEBOL. Which confederation or continent is the next most likely to break through and win one?

💬Discussion

No offense to Oceania, I just don’t see it ever being plausible for them, but I think if (and that’s frankly a big if) a new continent winning it ever happens, it’s a three way race between CONCACAF, AFC, or CAF.

CONCACAF seems very top heavy, yet still sort of far fetched at the moment if the best options are USA & Mexico. However I’d give USA or Mexico the best odds at turning things around the quickest over the other continents’ teams.

CAF & AFC both seem pretty level with one another, where in one cycle it might be a Ghana & a Tunisia making the knockout round, and another cycle it may be Japan & South Korea putting together solid campaigns. But I don’t know that there’s enough power on one squad to make a generational push one year.

Anyhow, curious to think about.

in worldcupby chrobbin

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DurhamOx

13h

It'd make for a more interesting game, globally, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

TheChiefJaguar

21h

Depends on which of those regions wants to pay the most to make it happen. MLS is trying to make us care about them by shoving messi down our throat, wouldn’t surprise me if the rig was being negotiated now. Canada is ahead of the US somehow…..

Affectionate_Fill312

None of them will.

CONCACAF is a lost cause unless and until it’s heavy hitters get with the program and make true promotion-relegation mandatory (MLS, I’m looking at you). There’s a reason real football only has a niche following here, and it comes down to the US Federation being stuck in the Stone Age.

AFC are improving but need the equivalent of meteor strikes to beat the best Europe and South America have to offer. Same deal for CAF (especially Japan, who STILL won’t call real football what it is and is just as hopeless as the US is).

FWIW, I don’t even think I’ll be watching the 2026 World Cup. Expanding it to 48 is ridiculous and is clearly a money grab by FIFA.

TheChiefJaguar

21h

This is the only correct answer

Affectionate_Fill312

17h

I appreciate that.

Due-Butterscotch-621

USA and Mexico plays 99% of their matches in the US and they can not get out of the group stage...... Unless big changes happen quick, neither team will advance out of group stage in the next world cup. CAF have a chance but more likely be an Asian team but not for another 3 or 4 world cups.

Amockdfw89

I think a AFC team. They have gotten a lot better overall

Wise-Variation-4985

CONMEBOL will win it again I think, UEFA is going through a generational change and they don't seem so strong. South American teams look better in my opinion overall. Although Spain is a very strong contender from UEFA

TheBonadona

I really want to say Africa, but I think a country in AFC might be the one.

GB_Alph4

USA

Maybe AFC or CAF.

joescary

If one between USA, Japan or Mexico can score two top players a la “Hazard/De Bruyne” within the same generation, similar to Belgium, then they can be the ones. While from a result standpoint they have never overachieved, reaching max the final 16 or 8, they usually have a solid base of average and good players without overly weak spots. Having a couple of top players would allow them to win those tough games they aren’t capable of (eg USA played a semi-decent game vs Uruguay but could not score).

Other teams like African teams for example may have some great players but usually in their weak spots they are very weak, like almost amateur level. That said Morocco and Nigeria have a good pool of talent.

gwy2ct

Hazard/DeBruyne not good examples 😉

Significant-Object14

Africa easily

BritishGuy54

England

My gut feeling says Japan could wind up being a dark horse next time around.

abellapa

Given the past positions of The more recent WC

I Say CAF

Ghana would have gone to the Semi-Final in 2010 had not been by Suarez Hand

And Marrocos went to the semi final in 2022

bkobayashi

I don't think it's fair to say that Suarez hand was the reason. They lost a penalty and weren't able to score despite playing the rest of the match against 10 players.

Cafetario

Really they just lost on penalties, I think the penalty Gyan missed was the last kick before the extra time final whistle.

abellapa

But if Suarez didnt do the Hand ,it would have been goal and there wouldnt be a penalty

WagwanMoist

It was though. Without that handball the ball goes in. They definitely messed up after the handball was given, but it's still fair to say that Suarez hand was the reason.

ADMTLgg

USA and Mexico mention when they haven’t pass the groupe stage of copa

arbustosbishop

None.

Accomplished-Good664

In terms of quality of teams Africa should be first.

Structurally you will be looking at USA, Japan, Korea and possibly Mexico.

JT91331

South Korea or Japan have a chance. I’ve always thought Nigeria, Ghana, or the Ivory Coast would make the leap. The US in about 30 years if we establish a military base in Brazil or Argentina 😂.

ShishRobot2000

Morocco or USA. If the Messi effect last more than 10 years and football spreads to the male part of the country, with the female part that has got the best infrastructure in the world, they can really easily get a team enough strong to beat european and south american teams, especially with USA being the favourite nation of immigration.

fdar

Argentina

The US might have the best infrastructure on the women's side but that's more because everybody else's infrastructure is bad in the women's side than anything else.

For a long time (and probably still) a big advantage for the US of the women's side is that colleges are required to offer the same number of men and women athletic scholarship so that provided a "huge" incentive for girls to get into football.

In the men's side by comparison the college pipeline is irrelevant at this point, all serious prospects go through the MLS academy system (or jump to academies in Europe).

little_peaa

none will. keep wishing and hoping. euro and south american teams are major powerhouse teams.

IDDQDArya

Except all the good European teams are now half if not more black and brown. So really it's about money. European countries have more money so they win cups. African teams don't have the budget but the talent is there. You get one sheikh funding Senegal for a few years they can win.

Responsible-Pin8323

They are black but still european, unless you are suggesting that because their parents or grandparents arent european they arent?

n_Serpine

lol of course it’s mostly about money and talent scouting. I don’t think anyone ever claimed only white oriole could play football.

NyquillusDillwad20

-10

United States

The USA becoming a powerhouse is inevitable, but they are taking so long to get to the top level that it's hard to say they will be the first.

I would think a random African team could be the next. Just have to make it out of group stage and then get some luck in a few knockout games. Obviously not likely, but not impossible.

SKS81

United States

The UsA needs to stop gatekeeper sports like golf, soccer, tennis, etc behind pay for camps and open it up. We would immediately see results.

LondonRedditUser

Not inevitable at all

Expert-Leader6772

If Croatia can almost do it then yes

abellapa

They Lost their Chance ,Their Golden Generation won nothing

Expert-Leader6772

Did you reply to the wrong person?

abellapa

Expert-Leader6772

Well your comment had no relation to mine so it seems like you did

flippertyflip

-3

England

Croatia haven't done it though.

Expert-Leader6772

Do I need to ask you to google the word "almost"

flippertyflip

England

Lol. Probably.

Own-Marsupial-4448

Unfortunately it’ll never happen unless all of Europe and South America start playing other sports and the other continents take advantage of that. Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain, and France will have a stranglehold on every world title from here until infinity really.

OutdoorRink

Famous last words

flippertyflip

England

Might not be so crazy. I mean the way we're headed it could be all over in a few short years.

Durian_Ill

We should first consider European countries that as of yet haven’t won a World Cup but consistently display the necessary talent to do so. Examples include the Netherlands and Portugal, situationally Belgium, and perhaps the Nordic countries, especially Sweden and Denmark. I rate the four of them lowly though.

After that, mark my words, Africa will have a huge step forward 2 years from now. Historically, their biggest problem was they had many competitive squads, but they always conflicted with each other and at least one would miss out. Think of Nigeria and Egypt last tournament, and Algeria the time before. Now, with more qualifying slots, that hurdle is removed, and while we can’t expect an African team to win right out of the gate, their chances have risen considerably.

Then there’s Asia. India and China are sleeping giants, but they won’t wake up for decades, maybe even a century. We can consistently expect the Arabs to do good but rarely great (look at Qatar, they came off of being Asian champions before dropping all 3 contests in their own World Cup). That’s why we gotta look at either Iran, Korea or Japan. They seem to be the only nations to consistently qualify and pose a decent threat. But there’s less competitive teams in Asia than Africa, so I don’t expect this to happen for a while.

Now North America. This year I think America and Mexico made themselves look worse than they really are, especially the former. After all, Panama was definitely a winnable game for the USMNT, and we could’ve hoped for a draw against Uruguay. Had that happened, we’d be saying some very different things about America than we are now. As for Mexico, Ecuador was beatable and a draw was possible against Venezuela. Even Costa Rica had a chance (albeit a narrow one) to advance from Group D had Brazil lost to Colombia, and crazily enough it would’ve been at Brazil’s expense.

Regarding South America, they’ve probably maxed out their World Cup winners. Chile used to be promising, but now they’re a shambles. Colombia is probably the most likely new South American country to win a World Cup, and while Venezuela is good right now, we don’t know how long this generation will last or how good it is. Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador historically have bright spots here and there, but none are both more consistent and brighter than Colombia is at any given time.

And for fun, Oceania. It’s a great thing that they finally have a guaranteed spot at the World Cup, which alleviates the pressure the Oceanians face against New Zealand. They’ll also have an intercontinental playoff spot for grabs from now on as well, and maybe, if all the stars align, we can see literal Tahiti on the world stage. Needless to say, the chances of anyone from the Oceania Football Confederation winning the World Cup are below a billionth of a percent… but that is still a greater number than zero.

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BusyWorth8045

None of them.

I think we’ll see the occasional semi-final run from home nations or when one of these teams find a ‘golden generation’, but these Federations are light years away from UEFA and CONMEBOL.

USA, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Senegal. Could you really see them working their way through Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, England, Germany and Netherlands etc? Because, to WIN the World Cup they aren’t just going to have to beat one of these teams, more than likely they’ll need to go through two, three or four of them. Not going to happen.

gamer552233

Croatia

Not just that, they gotta be the best team in the entire world to win the world cup

Markycalderon

mexico’s run was really good during 2014 wc, only lost bc netherlands’s got away with a dive penalty

cjeremy

United States

for sure not Asia.

Goondal

AFC but if it's close with CAF. I think CAF has a higher depth of teams that could get there but if I had to pick a country I would go with Japan.

A host country would be a great shout too. Morocco in 2030 of they are able to have gone games until at least the semi final could have a puncher's chance.

flippertyflip

England

Honestly I don't see it happening for quite some time.

But if it does it'll be a side from Africa, then Asia. North America 3rd likely. Oceania probably never will.

OG12

Definitely Africa. They are the other federation that consistently puts out world class talent year over year. No offence to Japan or Korea who put out very solid high-level players, but other than Sonny they don't produce world class talent like the African federations like Salah, Mane, Drogba, Osimhen etc.

I think it's not too conceivable that a country like Nigeria or Senegal could time it right with their world class talent and come through with a golden generation.

Add that these African countries do extremely well in U20 tournaments, and they have a diaspora pool of European trained players who sometimes opt to represent their parentage, I think there is a real chance.

DanielzeFourth

The best countries in these regions are Mexico, Japan and South Korea. But I honestly wonder if we’re going to see a non CONMEBOL or UEFA winner in our lives

MetikMas

Mexico has been worse than the US for the last 25 years. They have a long way to go

flippertyflip

-6

England

This is frankly not true.

MetikMas

USA has dominated Mexico head to head since the year 2000.

DanielzeFourth

11 wins 8 loses 3 draws. "Dominated" keep dreaming buddy. The US has been better than Mexico since 2021. Anyhting before that the US is behind compared to Mexico. And don't even try to mention the 13 friendly matches played between the US and Mexico of which 12 were on US soil. Because it's not helpign your point.

MetikMas

18h

You think that USA vs Mexico matches played in the US is a home field advantage for USA? That’s just a foolish statement. If you want to be selective in what you look at then make sure you don’t count Mexicos gold cup win last year since most of the Team USA starters were in Europe with their clubs. Just the fact that the majority of USA starters play in Europe and the majority of Mexico starters play in Liga MX should tell you all you need to know.

flippertyflip

-1

England

https://www.11v11.com/teams/usa/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Mexico/

Not so.

DanielzeFourth

This guy is leaving out the fact that 13 games of these were friendlies of which TWELVE were played on US soil. This guy is absolutley clueless to count those games. The US has been better than Mexico since 2021. Claiming the US is better than Mexico since 2000's is absolutley insane. Mexico has better perfromance in World cup, better performance in CONCAF and they perform relatively even head on head when you don't count the friendlies

MetikMas

Since the year 2000, USA has won 19 matches, Mexico won 9, and they drew 8. USA has 50 goals and Mexico has 33 goals in that period.

My statement was that USA has been better than Mexico since the year 2000. A bunch of wins from 60+ years ago aren’t relevant to this conversation.

DanielzeFourth

Tell me you know nothing about football without telling me you know nothing about football. The US wishes they were close to Mexico.

Mexico has 9 concaf titles, US has 7 concaf titles. Of which Mexico has won 7 in the past 25 years while the US has won 6. Since 2009 Mexico has won 5 CONCAF cups while US has won 3
In the past 20 years Mexico has a better perfromance vs titan nations like Brazil, Germany and Italy. 5 draws and 4 wins and 9 losses. While the US has 4 draws, 1 win and 7 losses.
Mexico outperforms the US in the world cup. The US even managed to not qualify in 2018 when the only compete vs Mexico, Canada and tiny countries.

Year	Mexico	United States
2022	22nd	14th
2018	12th	Did not qualify (LOL)
2014	10th	15th
2010	14th	12th
2006	15th	25th
2002	11th	8th
1998	13th	32nd
AVERAGE:	14TH	18TH

MetikMas

Cool man. Let’s look at the head-to-head stats since the year 2000 which clearly show that USA has been stronger than Mexico for almost 25 years now.

Since 2000, USA won 19, Mexico won 9, and they drew in 8 matches. During that span, USA has 50 goals and Mexico has 33.

Breaking it down by decade, in the 16 matches from 2000-2009, USA won 10, Mexico won 4, and they drew twice. USA outscored them 23-10.

From 2010-2019, it was much closer. In 13 matches, USA won 4, Mexico won 5, and they drew 4. The US scored 15 goals to Mexicos 17.

Since 2020, USA has won 5 matches, Mexico has won 0 matches, and they drew twice. USA has outscored them 12-3 in seven matches.

DanielzeFourth

Tactically leaving out the fact that out of those matches 13 were friendlies of which TWELVE were played on US soil? You're really planning on counting those games? XD. How on earth do you think this represents anything well. Have you heard of home advantage or is that a new concept to you? This leaves us with 11 wins by US 8 by Mexico and 3 draws. Meaning there's not a huge difference. But then we didn't even mention that of these 22 games, 5 were played on Mexican soil, 1 on neutral soil and 16 on US soil. Out of 5 times played on Mexican soil Mexico won 3 times and drew 2 times. Meaning the US has 0% winrate when playing in Mexico. Mexico won 5 games on US soil and lost 11 games a 31% winrate when playing on US soil. If more games would have been played on Mexican soil the US would have much worse stats. That explains why the US has more wins against Mexico but consistently underperforms compared to Mexico at the world cup. The US D tier bro just face it.

MetikMas

18h

Bro you’re just trolling at this point. USA vs Mexico in the US is generally a neutral game. Statistics don’t lie, even if you want to try and bend them to fit whatever BS narrative you are trying to push.

DanielzeFourth

13h

Yeah the US has never won a game vs Mexico when playing in Mexico, I’m sure it’s absolutely the same as playing in the US. What ever makes you cope I guess

beaversTCP

25 years definitely not but since the World Cup 2022 cycle began the United States has been head and shoulders above Mexico. This is maybe the worst Mexico team ever and definitely the worst of my lifetime. The United States has beaten them in multiple finals and in qualifying and has pretty much solidified dominance in NA for the moment at least

DanielzeFourth

-2

Yes that might be true for the current state of football. But just because they are better for now, it doesn't mean anything. The Belgic tem had a golden generation that did nothing. First we have to see the better state of US win something. Based on the fact they couldn't beat Panama just a few days ago to advance to the knock-out phase in the Copa America. I'm definitley not convinced.

beaversTCP

Oh ya I mean the USA isn’t winning a World Cup any time soon but Mexico as of right now is further away. Also that red card against Panama is why they lost but that’s beside the point here. Neither is close but Mexico is trending down and the us trending up the last 4-5 years

DanielzeFourth

I do agree with you they have been close in the past 4-5 years. The US still has to prove it's better though, but if the trend keeps moving the same way as has been the US will indeed overtake. But for now they still have to prove that title wise. See the CONCAF results below in the past 5 years

CONCAF CUPS:

Year	Mexico	US
2023	1st	3rd
2021	2nd	1st
2019	1st	2nd

beaversTCP

Nations league is a better representation of where the teams are at because the USA hasn’t brought its “A” team to the gold cup the last two editions. Overall, the US hasn’t lost to Mexico since 2019 with 5 wins and 2 draws

DanielzeFourth

The comment isn't about the US being better than Mexico since 2019. Otherwise I wouldn't be arguing. The comment said the US is better than Mexico for over 25 years....Also saying US doesn't bring their A team to the bigger tournament is just weird. Why would they not want to win the bigger tournament? They even are the hosts. Every. Single. Time. No one cares about the nations leagues. Not even here in Europe

beaversTCP

See thats the difference, you’re not really aware of the differences between CONCACAF and Europe. Recently the nations league and gold cup have been played in the same summer and teams have prioritized nations league over the gold cup rather than fielding the same squad the entire summer in two tournaments. The gold cup is held too frequently and the meaning is watered down

Continue thread...

chrisd0220

Mexico? 🤔

chrobbin

-3

Mexico are very down at the moment, but they’ve been remarkably consistent prior, and I feel could make a rapid improvement with the right leadership in place

chrisd0220

It does not look likely. They have never been consistent enough to compete with CONMEBOL teams. They were decent in CONCACAF but being realistic they will never have the talent required to consitenly beat UEFA teams. They might occasionally beat Brazil or Argentina but they lack a serious plan to be a threat in the World Cup. An African team has better chances than Mexico ever will. They will probably not win any games in the next WC, even playing at home.

DanielzeFourth

Mexico has gotten 13th, 13th, 11th, 15th, 14th, 10th, 12th, 22nd at the world cup in the past 8 World cups. Even putting up fights against big countries. A draw against Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil and Italy twice, winning against France, Germany and Croatia twice. It's probably the best non UEFA or CONMEBOL nation in world cup history.

EnragedBearBro

those arent good numbers

DanielzeFourth

Name a non CONMEBOL and non UEFA country with better numbers. You can't. Because there are none. So if they are the best, how exactly can those not be good numbers?

EnragedBearBro

they are consistently bad numbers

DanielzeFourth

Maybe your two brain cells are having trouble. Let me help you once again. Your words are meaningless until you present a better country. Until then, quit yapping.

FunRealistic3010

-3

China🇨🇳 has a project to not only host but win within the next 50 years

DanielzeFourth

Maybe they should try winning an Asian cup first 😂

SurpriseBurrito

I think if it does happen it will probably be a host country. I still think about South Korea making the semifinals and Russia making the quarterfinals. There will need to be some luck and some hijinks, but we also can’t deny that some teams really outperform on their home soil. Don’t forget the host countries get a favorable draw to begin with, this builds momentum and increases chances of a favorable matchup in the first knockout stage.

LogicalMuscle

It has to be Japan. The only country that has a reasonable and organized league and a proper project.

abellapa

You Mean a country never even Reach the Semi-Final

A African nation is much more likely to win

They tend to do better than Asians in the WC

Ghana in 2010 and more recent Morrocos in 2022

gunnychamero

Right now an African country could win but they are still very far from the level of Europe or South America.

buffeloyaks

I think a asian team like South Korea or Japan may win with a big help from luck.

Or China if they decide to become really really serious. They could reach 0-100 real fast. (Like 20-30 years)

OrcaBoy34

Morocco based on them reaching 4th place in most recent world cup

Expert-Leader6772

Dumb take lol

DanielzeFourth

They got knocked out of the African cup a year later by South Africa. It was really cool what they did. But it was only in a single tournament so far

IthinkImightbeJesus

It takes two things: quality of players and an organizational structure in the countries' Football Association that is able to run a successful and long-term project that focuses on generating youth talent, exporting players to the best leagues, and then international success. While teams in North America and Africa could generate the talent and even a few world class players, without the organizational structure it will not be possible to win a World Cup.
I see Japan (maybe South Korea) having the long-term vision and discipline to see a project through, so I would think the AFC is the only non-UEFA or CONMEBOL team that has a chance.

rickyft98

No sense about Mexico and USA. They have beaten in Copa America´s group stage this year. CONCACAFF never reached semifinal in WC. Morocco with CAF make history last world cup I think CAF would be closer to win WC than other options.

SurpriseBurrito

South Korea made the semi finals in 2002 but they had a lot of help.

Substantial-Past2308

It will be Japan

doormatt26

I think this sub is discounting Africa quite a bit. We’ve seen African teams make the quarters and Morocco make the semis. They also pretty consistently have players placed throughout European clubs that see them developed at elite levels. And they have a brutal, high quality qualifying cycle.

I could see a Morocco / Senegal / Ghana / Nigeria going on a run before i’d expect Mexico or the US to do it.

OG12

Don't forget with the expanded World Cup they will get more slots. Which was always an issue as their allocation was too low and would consistently see one of their better teams miss out.

Away-Objective9234

Couldn’t have said it better. CAF is ahead by a long-shot

doormatt26

their problem is there’s so dang many of them, and it’s kinda a crapshoot if the teams with quality even make the WC, but they’re so deep with talent

cucaracho86

-4

CONCACAF [MEX-USA]. (But keep an eye on Morocco).

Jusfiq

Looking at historical performance, I always believed that Mexico would be the first one outside of UEFA / CONMEBOL to win the FWC. However, looking at current Copa América, I am not so sure anymore.

ttttyttt678

-2

As a concaf member the sport of football/soccer is booming here in USA and Canada (thanks to last World Cup, this Copa, Messi to mls, and next World Cup), in 20-30 years time I think USA/Canada/Mexico will be significantly better and USA will potentially have a chance to win one.

BusyWorth8045

USA have got so far to go. 20-30 years might be too optimistic. They’re probably going to have to win some significant games first and build on that.

Sure, they’ve had some decent group stage results in previous WCs. But it’s a whole different ball game when facing up against one of the established European and South American teams in a do-or-die knock out fixture. Win one of those. Beat an e.g. England, Germany, Spain or Brazil in the round of 16 then we’ll talk.

RealAlePint

Couldn’t this same statement had been made in 1994 with the Cup plus the formation of MLS?

ttttyttt678

Forming a league was step one and it did help grow the sport, getting the GOAT of the sport is adding onto that growth exponentially. All I’m saying in 2056, the sport will be significantly bigger in the USA and they will have a chance to win it all.

Able_Donkey2011

Definitely not the US based on the Copa America, I'd say Morocco is the obvious choice due to the world cup performance. Maybe Japan or South Korea, they seem to do pretty well generally. But I don't think it'll happen for a while, especially now a lot of European teams have got young phenoms into their team

chefanubis

Lol none.

Agreed_fact

You’re never going to get all of Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, Netherlands, Colombia, Portugal, Croatia, England, Belgium, Uruguay etc to be bad all at the same time. One of these countries, if not more, will constantly be in a “golden generation”. Right now France, Portugal and Argentina are in the midst of very solid runs with high levels of talent. By the time they fade it may be Spain and Brazil or England and Netherlands. Very little opportunity for a weak CONCACAF team to win, similar for CAF.

GroundbreakingJob730

Croatia

Portugal??

cosmicdave86

-11

People that say never are off their rockers.

It'll happen sometime in the next 30 years. CONCACAF>AFC/CAF.

Savitar2606

The gap between the usual suspects who win and the rest are too big. Oceania isn't winning the World Cup anytime soon but CONCACAF, AFC and CAF still need Europe and South America to underperform at the same time.

You need a similar situation to Leicester City in the 2015/2016 season of the EPL to happen. England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay need to either not qualify or do badly. They're the guys who have won it before so they're some of the most dangerous guys.

Then there's countries who haven't won it but if the 8 winners aren't winning it, then these countries would be next in line. You're looking at teams like Croatia, Belgium, Portugal, the Netherlands. So they need to fuck up too.

Then maybe you get some South American teams like Colombia, Ecuador who could then come in and that's when a very strong CAF or AFC time could do it.

cheekynandos85

Never as it’s been said, you need IMO 6/7 elite players in your team to win a World Cup although teams like Japan/Morocco can produce these players it’s normal in pockets. I hope it happens but I think it’s very unlikely

dickpal

Japan has a 2050 plan to win a World Cup

drgath

United States

US had a 2010 plan to win one.

pioneerSolid3

What was the plan?

drgath

United States

Project 2010 was intended to host the 2010 World Cup (went to South Africa) and win it.

Globalruler__

I never knew of this.

bortusgortus

Right now Japan and Morocco would probably be the most likely, maybe Senegal.

OG12

Nigeria is head and shoulders the best CAF nation right now.

jolipsist

Thailand

South Korea, Japan, and Mexico are WC regulars and have semi-regularly reached the round of 16 so with a good draw and some inspired performances and a bit of luck, can see them going deep (maybe semis). CAF also has teams with physically strong players capable of going toe to toe with UEFA and CONMEBOL teams, and again can get to semis if things go right.

In terms of winning the whole thing, I'd say Japan or Korea but probably not for at least another 30 years.

drgath

United States

Mexico has been and forever will be a 10-15 team. Never top 5.

mostlyfire

Mexico is a long way from competition lol. They couldn’t even get out of a group with Venezuela, Jamaica l, and Ecuador this Copa America

Unlikely_Morning_717

None. Ever.

Kapika96

Japan

AFC.

IMO CAF is the strongest at the moment, but they're way behind economically and have lots of corruption issues too. AFC isn't that far behind CAF, but has a lot more wealthy countries, some of which are already investing in football. A CAF country certainly could end up a contender, but it'd probably just be 1 at a time. While in the future AFC may produce multiple country in contention for the WC, giving them better shot at winning it.

Barring a miracle there are only 2 or 3 countries that could ever hope to compete from CONCACAF. Both AFC and CAF have more than double the amount that you could conceivably see being a top team at some point. So CONCACAF has got to be the least likely.

Practical-Squash-487

Morocco was close. Maybe Senegal?

stonedleaner

No way CONCACAF can pull it off In the Copa America rn, the top CONCACAF team, USA literally struggled. Mexico also got grouped and don't have the team from the past compete.

If at all any other continent does it will be CAF, AFC

Enzopita22

CAF. AFC. CONCACAF. In that order.

Morocco and Senegal are currently in their golden generations, and are the probably the top candidates to win it for Africa for the first time. Morocco also came very close to reaching the final in 2022. But Africa is such a young and populated continent, and so crazy for football, that with a bit of discipline, order, and a little luck, a contender could arise from another country besides the aforementioned two. Heck, I struggle to see how a country like Nigeria, with over 200M people and having produced some world class players, can't be a contender in the future.

Japan I think is the only one from Asia with a real shot. Their domestic teams have improved a lot, football is growing in popularity, they have players in the best leagues of Europe, and they have always made it out of the group stage 4 of the past 6 World Cups. But for some reason they always have terrible luck in the Round of 16. But yeah, I would bet on Japan contending one day.

CONCACAF has a chance with the United States and Mexico, if Mexico can pull its shit together and the USA can find a way to attract athletic talent away from the traditional American sports. But I don't think either is imminent.

Honestly, I think we will see other teams from UEFA and CONMEBOL win their first World Cups before any other confederation does for the first time. Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Croatia, Ecuador. More titles for Uruguay or England.

I don't see an expansion of winners for realistically another 20-30 years.

cyberresilient

Canada is a better team than the US now.

mostlyfire

Right now but plus/minus 50 years it’s USA for the large part.

evan

None. It’ll be UEFA and CONMEBOL for the next hundred years. ;)

gemarimon

Asia and Africa are pretty strong always but nowadays football is getting even closer so it won't be a mad prediction saying Morocco or Japan win the world cup.

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