EXPLAINER
Al Jazeera tested nine leading artificial intelligence models to predict the 2026 men’s world champion.
Published July 14, 2026
As the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup enters its final stages, AJLabs asked nine leading AI models to predict the tournament’s final podium based on all available data for each team, including:
- Team strength
- Composition quality
- Coaching
- Historical performance
- Team performance in the current tournament
France emerged as favorites to win the trophy, receiving five (Gemini, Grock, DeepSeek, Le Chat and Qwen) of the nine champion votes.
Argentina, the reigning world champion, received the remaining four votes (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Meta AI).
France number 10 striker Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxboro on July 9, 2026 (Odd Andersen/AFP)
Predictions for second place were split, with France and Argentina each receiving three votes, followed by England with two and Spain with one.
Spain were the clear favorites for third place, receiving six of the nine predictions for third place, while England and France received fewer votes.
Lamin Yamal celebrates after the match as Spain reached the World Cup semi-finals (Gary Vazquez/Reuters)
The predictions reflect the broad AI consensus on the four remaining contenders: France, Argentina, Spain and England, but also highlight differences in how leading language models assess recent performances, squad composition and tournament dynamics.
AI predictions appear when the tournament reaches the semi-finals. France will face Spain on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and England will face Argentina on July 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
The third-place playoff will take place on July 18, and the World Championship final will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Champions Predictions
- France: 5 models
- Argentina: 4 models
Predictions for second place
- France: 3 models
- Argentina: 3 models
- England: 2 models
- Spain: 1 model
Predictions for third place
- Spain: 6 models
- England: 2 models
- France: 1 model
