Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: After almost 17 days and 72 matches of breathtaking battles, the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has ended. The World Cup, which started with 48 teams, has been reduced to 32 teams. With the opponents of the last thirty-two determined, the picture of the possible battles in the next stages of the tournament has also become much clearer. As a result, the current calculations give a more realistic and clear idea of the possible matchups than before. For example, the prediction of the result of the first match of the knockout matches has been accurate. The supercomputer of the sports statistics company 'Opta Analyst' predicted a victory for Canada against South Africa in the first match of the Round of Thirty-Two. In the end, that is what happened. Now you can find out which two teams are more likely to reach the final this time, according to Opta's latest predictions. For example, the prediction of the result of the first match of the knockout matches has been accurate. The supercomputer of the sports statistics company 'Opta Analyst' predicted a victory for Canada against South Africa in the first match of the Round of Thirty-Two. In the end, that's what happened. Now you can find out which two teams have the most chances of reaching the final this time, according to Opta's latest forecast. The supercomputer's forecast is that France has the highest chance of reaching the last 32 to the last 16—81.5 percent. In addition, Kylian Mbappe has a 58.3 percent chance of reaching the quarter-finals, 42.7 percent of reaching the semi-finals, and 28.4 percent of reaching the final. And the chance of winning the final and becoming the champion?—18.7 percent. This is also the highest among all teams. Although France is ahead in terms of winning the title, Lionel Messi's Argentina is ahead in terms of passing through the other stages of the knockout phase. Argentina, who met Cape Verde in the Round of Thirty-Two, is the most 'safe' on the way to the last 16—89.2 percent of winning. Not only that, but the current world champions are also at the top of the list in terms of the chances of reaching the quarter-finals (70.5%), semi-finals (49.6%) and finals (30%). In other words, the supercomputer indicates that Argentina has a heavier chance than France in the fight to reach the finals, although the French are slightly ahead in the final moments of touching the trophy. Spain is in third place on the list, with a 13.5 percent chance of winning the World Cup.
Harry Kane's England is in fourth place with a 9.7 percent chance, and Neymar-Vinicius' Brazil has a 6.5 percent chance of winning the title.
Some other teams also have a good chance. The Opter supercomputer says that the Netherlands has a 5.1 percent chance of winning the title, Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal has a 4.7 percent chance, and Germany has a 4.4 percent chance. In addition, Colombia (3.2%), Erling Holland's Norway (3%), the host United States (2.5%) and Switzerland (2.2%) can change the equation at any moment. On the other hand, Mexico, one of the three host countries, has a 1.8 percent chance of winning the title. Last year's surprise Morocco and the golden generation of Belgium have the same chance of 1.6 percent. And the Asian superpower Japan has a mere 1 percent chance of winning the World Cup.
However, it should be remembered that this prediction by Opta is only a mathematical and statistical calculation. A lot can happen in 90 minutes on the football field.
