7 Countries Most Likely To Win Their FIRST World Cup

From Nigeria to the United States, or USMNT, HITC Sevens takes a look at which countries are the most likely to become the next first-time FIFA World Cup winners.
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[@MihailBFC]

is crazy to think that Netherlands never won the World Cup 🤯

[@gsmarchand]

Runner up twice right? They've had some great teams. I was surprised they couldn't win it in the 90s or early 2000s with their Milan stars and Bergkamp and Nistelrooy.

[@feyenoorden03]

@@gsmarchand runner up 3 times. 1974, 1978 and 2010

[@feyenoorden03]

@@gsmarchand most runner ups (3) without winning

[@gandalf_thegrey]

@@feyenoorden03 Sounds like home town club, just with the national cup. No other team has see the final so often without winning once (4 times) while the record holder has won it almost 30 times ...

[@TechniqueSan]

Considering 1974 Netherlands was arguably the best team in history, maybe only second to 1970 Brazil, they got really unlucky.

[@Swwatter]

How on earth did Croatia not make this list? They're even stronger on paper than their runner up performance 4 years ago.

[@Rollface1]

He definitely overthought this list because surely he doesn’t genuinely think there’s a bigger chance Ukraine or Egypt win their first world cup than Croatia or Belgium

[@mihovildanicic5305]

ssssshhh, flying under the radar is 1/3 of Croatia's strategy....

[@exhaustedcoffee2603]

Croatia is an aging team that isn’t getting better with a small population

[@Swwatter]

@@exhaustedcoffee2603 we just came 3rd mate. The young ones in the squad will be full of fire in 4 years time.

[@exhaustedcoffee2603]

@@Swwatter what young ones 😂

[@ohimats]

Call we all agree that Mexico also have consistently some of the best kits in history ?

[@soberski555]

Yes 100%

[@BrianStorm742]

I would disagree if they were still in their goth phase, but thankfully they switched back to green.

[@XLRAshon]

I don’t know about consistently there have been some average ones but definitely have had some of the best ones! 1998 and 2014 world cups were fire!!

[@Theneckofthrogs]

They're class... But not better than USA's! ;)

[@ohimats]

@@Theneckofthrogs well this year the US kits are 💩

[@michaelay4900]

Japan deserves an honourable mention here. They are very good with a lot of quality young players

[@SuperAnimeking100]

Problem is they and South Korea are very good at developing world class mid fielders but I don't think anyone can name a great striker from either place. To be a world class side you need world class players in every position, Japan can't seem to produce a striker

[@Snap_Snippet]

@@SuperAnimeking100 Son Heung Min

[@SuperAnimeking100]

@@Snap_Snippet I love Sonny and I'm a Spurs supporter so I should let you know the man isn't a striker, he's a winger. He may be used as a second striker and I've seen him multiple times in that position when Harry's injured and while he's a world class player it definitely isn't in that position

[@usersixnine347]

He put the United States but no japan. The usmnt lost 2-0 to japan and had zero shots on net! LMAO. The Asian bias is real. I’m not calling racism, rather bias. There truly is a bias against Asian football and it’s very sad

[@tk9839]

@@SuperAnimeking100 He's a striker at times so Son being considered a striker is perfectly ok... you Spurs fans are the whiniest fans ever...always thinking you're going to win it all after a big win and forgetting about the following games to play and only to bottling it at the end...so sad, you will never win. Sonny should get out while he's not too old and play for a real team.

[@soundscape26]

Going to take the opportunity to suggest a similar video, but for the 7 clubs most likely to win their first Champions League/European Cup.

[@higinegane7894]

Betis💚

[@wrestler-kickboxer2524]

Man City and PSG. Could even happen this year

[@soundscape26]

@@wrestler-kickboxer2524 Yes those are the no-brainers but the other 5 spots should be interesting to fill.

[@duyanhng8430]

@@soundscape26 arsenal seems like a no brainer, maybe atletico too

[@a.e.a.]

@@duyanhng8430 athletico has won the Europa League/Uefa Cup

[@QuentinSkalawag]

The cases of Mexico, Egypt and Nigeria are heartbreaking. Imagine that, the hopes and dreams of thousands of footballers and millions of people smashed to bits by around 40-50 fat disgusting corrupt A-holes lining their pockets on the sweat of no less than 5 generations of players and public. Countries that could be powerhouses in world football reduced to outliers because a few dozen people want to even be richer than they already are.

[@flaziblaz]

facts. i frequently travel to mexico and i love to see the passion they have for the sport. they deserve better from their FA

[@Jotiblanc0]

Yes this is the problem it’s so sad there’s nothing we can do about it

[@juliobello4561]

Im Mexican and growing up my grandpa would tell me the same story of how corrupted is the Mexican FA specially the TV media that controls it. Tv media and sponsors keep messing up players careers and progress in the league and national team. I admit I’m 27 years old but I’m never going to see my country lift that beautiful title if we keep doing the same no sense but I do leave few hope because of the new generation I hope we can bring a change to Mexico in general

[@waifubreaks1572]

Being Mexican is suffering.

[@cesarin3592]

@@user-lt1to1uh1i Almost everything They deleted promotion and relegation to save the money of the first division team owners There is a playoff sistem where even the team at 12 position at the end of the tournament could be champion There are owners with multiple teams There is a betting house that own 2 first division teams There are 2 public tv stations that own first division teams There are almost no chances for young players to make their debut cause any team can start with 8 foreign players and teams rather to buy cheap in south america than actually develop young talent I can go on and on but this are some things that i can remember at this moment

[@bak025]

Always enjoyed watching teams like Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark! They're obviously never the favorites, but they have certainly given me some of my favorite matches over the years, so I'm looking forward to watching them play next month! I also expect strong performances from Senegal, Serbia and Ecuador!

[@OttawaRocks]

Agree with you. I'm Canadian and all those four teams have been memorable since I've been watching (1982).

[@realjayseven]

Portugal should be the favorites alongside Brazil, Argentina, France... they have one of the best squads in the whole tournament but sadly their coach his holding them back massively, with how badly he makes them play.

[@johnmartens4632]

I think Croatia has also been very enjoyable for quite some time.

[@uroreocookie]

🇺🇲 is also cool to watch

[@Jotiblanc0]

@@uroreocookie yeah the USA have got loads of talent and I’m looking forward to seeing how they can do in this World Cup

[@MrReese]

For me the Netherlands are clearly the number 1 here. No country who hasn't won a world cup yet got so close so many times and keeps producing amazing players. In second place I would put Portugal. They have so many great players time and time again; I am just afraid that the time for the greatest of them all (CR7) has run out by now. Third place would probably be Belgium for me, but their golden generation is looking like it's gonna be on a decline very soon. In fourth place I would put Croatia. Their output of quality talent is absolutely insane, especially given the small population. After those four one can only make guesses because of their sheer size, like Nigeria (Nigerian players are so amazing, I loved their 90s squad! Okocha, Amokachi, Babangida, Kanu, Oliseh, West, ...), Egypt, the USA, China, Mexico, etc. .

[@loudseik9997]

I agree with the list but I would say it is more relevant on the long run. For this World Cup though, out of the first 4 teams you mentioned, Croatia and the Netherlands are in the best form. So for me, it is more likely that Croatia will take this rather than Portugal or Belgium.

[@MrReese]

@@loudseik9997 I don't think you can put any of these four teams significantly above the others at the moment. Regarding the long run, Netherlands, Croatia, and Portugal have a long history of producing amazing players. Belgium has a golden generation right now that is close to the end of their lifespan, so it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up or decline again.

[@leandroteixeira33]

Agree with top 4. However, after I would look at the countries who are structuring themselves to produce more quality talent over the years. Japan is the biggest example, starting their professional league in the 90s and improving their reputation after each event they play. More population means nothing if there's no incentive to play football, you end up relying on a golden generation. From the top 5 populations, the only with minimal (really minimal) relevance in football is the USA.

[@fmac6441]

@@MrReese Belgium from time to time produces good teams. In the 2002 cup, they almost beat Brazil in the round of 16.

[@leroyukpong9514]

As a Nigerian 🇳🇬. It saddens me that our football federation single-handedly foils our prospects time and time again. The talent is there, hopefully, we sort it out.

[@TheBallProphet]

My dream is to become powerful enough to effect change and help Nigeria win the world cup

[@princewillmadugba]

Our nation does this in all aspects, we'd be so much better in everything with proper governance in everything

[@siralekmay]

I honestly believe that the nations that stand a better chance of winning the world first as an African are Nigeria, Ghana and maybe Morocco. This is based on the fact that those nations tend to consistently produce squads that are more balance in terms of talent and their youth national teams also tend to perform well in international competitions.

[@GreekHouseEffect]

current Nigeria NT has great players. With the right management, they are easily better than Ghana, but...

[@kennedyikechukwu3300]

As a proud Igbo. I totally understand where you’re coming from. Greed is madness

[@deanothemanc5281]

Holland 🇳🇱 are definitely overdue. Had some great sides 74, 78 and the euro 88 Gullit side was great. Orange 🟧 total football ⚽️ 👌

[@raistormrs]

well you can have that one this year if you like, since many here shall ignore it's existence anyway just like myself so, help yourself, greeting from germany. 😋

[@daarom3472]

Don't forget the 1998 and 2000 sides (van der Sar, Seedorf, Davids, Overmars, Kluivert, Bergkamp etc.) and 2008-2014 side (Sneijder, Robben, RvP, VdV, RvN etc.).

[@daarom3472]

@@raistormrs yea think its the first WC in my life I won't follow...

[@deanothemanc5281]

The funny thing is in 74, Rob Rensenbrink hits the post in the last minute, if it goes in Holland undoubtedly win it. Not only that Rensenbrink finishes the tournament as top scorer, most likely the player of the tournament as well. He would probably be revered as Hollands greatest, even more than JC.Fine lines I guess!!!

[@deanothemanc5281]

78 I mean not 74!!!

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

Antarctica deserves a shot this year. They have the depth, the speed, the coaching, the energy drinks, the desire, the killer scoring duo of Caldwell and Ramirez

[@Mendozamosca]

😆

[@worstgamer1162]

Chilllll, they ain't ready for the heat bro

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

@@worstgamer1162 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MattYeet]

Don't forget penguinihio in the midfield is very good at passing

[@jovangrant6053]

🐧🐧

[@joshualiley]

Netherlands have to be top, surely. You can't keep churning out so much talent consistently and not get anywhere with it. Netherlands produces a lot more and better talent in my opinion

[@andyelgrand0]

But would you put moeny on them beating Portugal this year... or even in the next 9 years when their current stars start to retire? I think in the future... Portugal seem more liekly, NL lost their chance it seems when the Mechanical Oranges turned sour in the 80s and late 2010

[@joshualiley]

@@andyelgrand0 If I was a betting man, yes, I absolutely would put money on them outperforming Portugal both in the current world cup and for the next decade (maybe not every time in the next decade, but a majority of the time)

[@BurnRoddy]

I agree

[@housebeats31]

@@joshualiley When was the last time the Netherlands beat Portugal lol knocked out of Euro 2004 Semis by Portugal, Knocked out of World Cup 2006 by Portugal, Beaten in Group stage of Euro 2012 by PORTUGAL and lost in the Inaugural Nations League Final by WINNERS PORTUGAL..

[@joshualiley]

@@housebeats31 We're not talking about the past, we're talking about the future. The current Dutch team is, IMO, better than the current Portugal team, the stars coming through are much better than the current Portuguese stars coming through, and the Ajax academy is one of the best in the world to keep finding and producing those talents far into the future. Portugal vs Netherlands can be a very back and forth debate, but overall Portugal has never had the ultimate quality to win the world cup whereas the Netherlands has, and I don't expect Portugal to ever have that star power before the Netherlands does, especially without peak Ronaldo. Netherlands last 10 years haven't been great, they're turning things around though.

[@The_Antagonist07]

I played for the San Jose earthquakes u17 in 2008. I saw so many great players try out but were unable to get any further because most of them came from low income households. I always asked myself why were these players not signed if they were literally better than all of us on the team.

[@cramyt]

i will never understand why the us shot themselves in the foot with that system

[@The_Antagonist07]

@@cramyt it's literally the only thing holding the US back

[@NoonyJW]

Only thing holding the USA back, pay to play smh

[@Patrick61804]

Interesting

[@AW-zk5qb]

@@cramyt because soccer was always an afterthought in the US, it became an upper middle class suburban throw away sport, done for recreation, not for serious competition. I guarantee that if soccer had been the top sport in the US from the beginning (late 1800s), the US would have already won multiple World Cups by now

[@lucaslonchampt613]

The Netherlands one day will accomplish their destiny. They will be World Cup winners one day

[@mrmalio]

I think so too and they have a great system to do it eventually

[@krish5445]

One day many countries will win the world cup, what's your point 🤣🤣

[@lucaslonchampt613]

@@krish5445 In nearly a century, only 8 teams won the cup. I don't think it's too far-fetched to say that no, not many new nations will win world cups in the future

[@gandalf_thegrey]

@@krish5445 Given an infinite amount of time everything that is possible will happen. That said: Presumably the nation's that already won it will continue to win it and not much more teams will be added to that list.

[@desmondachocky537]

@@krish5445 Lol!no need to be sarcastic about it.

[@machinainc5812]

Almost everyone in Portugal wants Fernando Santos out. It’s ridiculous that our FA still hanging on to him to the detriment of our great youngsters. He should’ve gone when he failed automatic WC qualification. Only when on brink of failure did he actually change tactics for the better. Portugal has some great young managers that could well do a far better job then Santos.

[@derekg5889]

I wonder if Mourinho would be the special one to lead Portugal to further glory 🙂

[@wallgang]

Fax

[@pedroedsos]

People say the same about the coaches of Spain, France, England and so on. This is not a popularity contest. All these coaches know that playing in entertaining fashion will not make them win anything just because of that.

[@battistoberhoel8839]

Porrtugal should really appoint Mourinho or Ruben Amorim, when Santos is dropped

[@pedroedsos]

@@battistoberhoel8839 Considering that the ones that claim Santos is defensive and outdated also claim the same about Mourinho, I find it hilarious that you suggest him for the job. Amorim is barely starting, has as many success as upsets. Santos is defensive and outdated: wins Euro and Nations League. Southgate is poor: 4th place in WC, 2nd place in Euro. Dechamps is uncompetent: Euro 2nd, WC winner, Nations league winner. I see a pattern here and it does not look good for keyboard/couch coaches. Maybe you should also consider their players' lack of commitement at times, lack of luck at times, and mostly not diminish their opponents merit.

[@MartinParnham]

It’s astonishing really to think that The Netherlands only have one European Championship title as the sum total of their trophies, when you think about some of the players and teams they’ve had.

[@jeltevl8868]

As a dutch person the issue with the netherlands is not their player quality its the general dutch philosophy. We need to win and we need to do it with possesion. When we have less as 70% possesion everybody here considers the match a failure. A lot off coaches who had a great generation that wasn't directly good at possesion play but good in everything else fell for that trap. And thats why even tho the netherlands had so many good players in the history they never where able to bring the cup home. Currently that philosophy is evolving. But most people off the 70s generation (and thus the press as well since that generation reads press stuff the most) is still pursuing that possesion play. When in like 20-30 year that generation mostly goes away then the philosophy will likely change and the netherlands will be able to play a more total football. Till that point we probably have the best shot to win it this year since van gaal the current coach is somebody who has his own plan and completely ignores what everybody says he should do. If we dont bring it home this year then it will not happen till the 70s generation gets a change off heart (wich they wont) or when they are in the minority in like 20 years.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

@@jeltevl8868 I’ve never heard of this so thank you for explaining! Speaking of possession statistics, I just read that in the infamous 2014 World Cup semifinal which ended 7-1, Brazil had 51% possession and 18 shots on goal compared to Germany’s 14 shots on goal. Brazil had seven corners to Germany’s five and three offsides to Germany’s zero. During the onslaught of the four goals being scored, the British commentator said Brazil remarkably had 68% possession of the ball at that point in the game. I hope Netherlands figures out the strategy because you’re always a strong side.

[@kushgriffo8221]

Ecuador deserve a shout. Small nation, but their youth development has been great and their domestic clubs have performed well in CONMEBOL. They also have a lovely connection with Brighton :)

[@just-give-me-a-handle]

What connection with Brighton?

[@kushgriffo8221]

@@just-give-me-a-handle Brighton have three players from the nation (most of any EPL club ever) in Estupiñan, Caicedo, and Sarmiento! Ecuadorians are very excited and have bonded with Brighton. It’s all fairly new but promising! A fair few of the Brighton fans I’ve seen away have been Ecuador as well.

[@erickc5617]

Ecuador is a$$🤣🤣 no history in south america, and no titles

[@kushgriffo8221]

@@erickc5617 You talk about about the past, but Peru has no future. Ecuador has a golden generation and you have 🗑

[@erickc5617]

@@kushgriffo8221 a golden generation that Peru beat twice in Quito last qualifier for russia and this last one🤣 Also peru has a golden generation coming up again so I would stay 🤫 Juan Pablo Goicochea 17 to Borussia Dortmund Mateo Perez 19 - Bayern Munich Paolo Doneda 16 - A.C Milan huge prospect in Italy Alessandro Burlamaqui 20 - Valencia Spain Kluiverth Aguilar 19 - Manchester City Etc The list goes on

[@jamesflynn4951]

I remember winning the world cup with Mexico in the 2014 world cup game and I really found a love for that team. Jonathan Dos Santos, Vela, Chicharito, Hector Herrera, and Guardado in particular

[@sergio260671]

Dos Santos... Brasilero Vela... mediocre Chicharito... un tronco que llego al Madrid para vender camisetas Herrera... unos de los weones mas feo del Futbol Mundial. Guardado... se cree la caca y se lo mandan a Guandar todas las noches....!!

[@kevinaldo69]

who cares

[@aaa_SLZ]

@@kevinaldo69 me

[@m.c.martin]

Vela wasn’t on that team in technicality, but he was by far the best player Mexico had at that time

[@amooayomide8110]

@Kevin we no you are sad but don't show the world

[@WichitaChiefSam]

Man, every single point on Mexico with their issues was so on point. It is hilarious how many friendlies they play in LA, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, etc. If they don't play in the Azteca, they play in the US.

[@RRaquello]

That makes it sound like there are more Mexico fans in the US than there are in Mexico. And maybe it’s true.

[@MichaelSnyder1776]

@@RRaquello it is. When the USMNT play in those southern cities, even places like Kansas City and Denver it is basically an away game for them.

[@RRaquello]

@@MichaelSnyder1776 I don't think that's a bad thing. Toughens up our guys. They don't have to depend on hysterical home fans to get them up for games.

[@robertking4645]

I think Japan should've been mentioned. It's a great team that almost knocked out 2018 tournament favorites Belgium, they have some good players featured in the best leagues on the planet and they're just overall arguably the best team in Asia. I'd rather put them in the list of potential World Cup winners than Nigeria or Egypt which are long shots at very best

[@andresmcjr]

Yeah, I'd have Poland over the USA too, its been a developed country for so long and they're hardly getting better, people just don't care about football there

[@usersixnine347]

Lmao he put the usa instead of japan on this list when usa got destroyed 2-0 by japan. The Asian bias is real in football and I’ll never understand it, especially when AFC is a tougher confederation overall than concacaf right now.

[@andresmcjr]

@@usersixnine347 exactly, they look at the USA and say they're good but who do they have? Mckennie? Lol same as Canada, David and Davis are their only good players and one of them is a refuge which is hardly homegrown talent is it, North America will never be good at football they have other sports they need to worry about

[@usersixnine347]

@@andresmcjr what I truly don’t understand is why concacaf is so much more respected than AFC. Because even statistically, they aren’t better than the AFC. The AFC has gone further than concacaf in World Cup. Is it from the flawed fifa rankings? Putting Mexico and USA higher than all afc nations? Well again the rankings are the most bs flawed calculations ever, but even then if I’m not wrong the AVERAGE afc ranking is actually higher than the average concacaf ranking. And the funniest thing is if you pay attention to football matches outside of World Cup countries, 150th ranked Indonesia just beat 80th ranked curaçao twice few months ago. The concacaf gold cups lowest ranked team is also way lower than the lowest ranked Asian cup side. And the Asian cup has 24 teams…Also when speaking of japan, I’m pretty sure they have more players in europe from their NT callup than the usmnt. I don’t mean to make everything about race, but at this point clearly there is something going on because it’s not like concacaf is a world power or anything. People clearly look down on Asians in football, and because concacaf consists of white black and Latin players, they are considered to be higher quality than the AFC despite doing worse, it makes no sense.

[@andresmcjr]

@@usersixnine347 I understand bro, be proud of ur people just as I'm proud to be white, and you're correct Asian football is disrespected too much, only reason I could see as to why concacaf and the teams in it are rated/ranked higher is because they play more meaningless friendlies which ups ur rank, but realistically Japan beats the USA any day of the week

[@MattijnPlayz]

Every time I see that picture (12:56) of Casillas' big toe stopping Robben's 1v1 chance, I feel sad.

[@BrianStorm742]

We deserved to lose though.

[@desmondachocky537]

That must have been the save of the century that for sure won spain its first ever world cup coz had that been a goal,it would have been a wrap for spain.

[@suhasguddeti2375]

@@BrianStorm742 not really, we had our chances, and we got really unlucky, Stekelenburg would’ve won it for us in penalties

[@BrianStorm742]

@@suhasguddeti2375 we had the best chance of the game, but Spain dominated the match from the beginning and got waaaaay more opportunities. Everyone keeps talking about Casillas' toe, but Heitinga's toe prevented an arguably even bigger chance for David Villa. Penalties could have been won by anyone, though there is no doubt Casillas had a better repertoire as a goalie than Stekelenburg. Besides, we should have gotten two straight reds before half time. Circumstances delayed our inevitable fate to the last possible moment, which is why we feel this weird sense of injustice, but the way we played in that final ensured everyone else in the world was rooting for Spain by the 60th minute. It's been 12 years. We HAVE to face this reality.

[@nmarcus7233]

@@BrianStorm742 Too right 😂😂😂.

[@khaitranngoc4176]

I hear this. Now you have to do the sequel for this: 7 Countries Most Likely to Make Their World Cup DEBUT.

[@defporter2540]

Freaking good idea

[@encorefootball]

Great idea. Georgia? Uzbekistan? Vietnam (as a Chinese man you thoroughly deserved to beat China)? Macedonia? Montenegro? Oman? Finland?

[@defporter2540]

@@encorefootball india, Kongo, Gambia

[@huykim4663]

@@encorefootball Mali and Burkina Faso are more likely than those UEFA teams u mentioned imo. The number of slots for CAF (like other continents except the big two) nearly doubles, so chances for a debut team in that zone are much higher than in UEFA.

[@khaitranngoc4176]

@@encorefootball UEFA: North Macedonia, Finland and maybe Albania all have reasonably successful teams, that finished top 3, or made the playoffs. All could be dark horses. AFC: Syria, Lebanon, Oman and Vietnam all qualified for the final QR of World Cup last time and depends on how the new era unfolds with Syria, and Vietnam's turn after the supreme Park Hang Seo era, then they can be leading the charge in the continent. India could also hope to make a return, if their reign turns out right and Uzbekistan can return too, if their young gen turns out right. CAF: Maybe Mali who qualified for the final round of WCQF, or Burkina Faso and Gambia who made deep AFCON runs. CONCACAF: All 8 final qualifiers have made the WC before (yes, including El Salvador), so look elsewhere. CONMEBOL: Not like Venezuela is gonna qualify anytime soon, so skip. OFC: Tahiti, maybe? not likely... That's my though so far...

[@mrgreatbritain]

Morocco soon ended that record of African teams falling in the quarters!

[@lutaayam]

Nigeria showed a lot of potential in the 90s. I don’t know where all the talent disappeared

[@arturowagner4728]

Hello, Alfie! Greetings from Mexico! Your Mexico analysis was spot on! I would like to mention a few countries and why I think they may be World cup champions or at least make it to the semifinals sometime in the near future: Australia and Switzerland: Have succesfuly tapped into it's migrant communities that are mad about the beautiful game and have improved greatly. I don't think it's a coincidence that both teams are full of players with Croatian, Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, Italian and African surnames. Sout Korea. Consistently has been the top side in Asia and have qualified for every World Cup since 1986 Japan: had a great run in 2018 WC and nearly knocked 3rd place Belgium out. Would really like to hear your opinions! Adiós! AW

[@NXTLevelTraining]

Hola! As an Australian I would like to let you know that we are further away from winning the World Cup than Greenland! We have similar problems to the USA but a fraction of the population size. We have a relatively easy qualification coefficient but have only just scraped through to the last 2 World Cups. We will be lucky to score a goal at this upcoming World Cup.

[@mujeebahmed7940]

Belgium really have to deliver with the talent they possess.

[@Dre3010]

Their best chance was in 2018

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

Their golden generation is getting old now this year is probably their last with a world class squad in a major tournament

[@user-vr8fs8gg6h]

Its too late for us 😢

[@DoomsdaySlayer]

Their golden generation is drying up.

[@zoeysiddiqi1532]

too late for this generation now

[@manolodequeretaro]

Coolest topic I’ve seen in a while… GREATLY DONE!

[@dariokabas7427]

Can't believe there's no Croatia on this list. They have missed only 1 WC since their independence. In 1998 were 3rd, could've gone all the way if they had a bit more luck, 2018 reached the finals. They have reached the Euro quarter finals 3 times as well,in which they got beaten by Turkey in 2008 on penalty shootouts and 2016 lost to Portugal in Extra times and were very close to scoring first (Perisic hit the post). Keep in mind,they started playing in the competitions in 1996 on the Euro that year.

[@vj9492]

Croatia has the biggest chance to be the 9th candidate

[@rashidadams8327]

I love your Greenland take 😂🔥

[@hyperrat12]

The youth development has actually come leaps and bounds in the US with academies being free to any kid who is good enough to be in them. FC Dallas is a shining example of probably the best academy program in all of North America and can even rival many teams in South America. For the past 10 years or so the vast majority of our men's team has been academy graduates and even some of the best on the US national team right now have all come through FC Dallas 👍🏽

[@melodiclogic9904]

if they won it as well, im sure there would be a new interest in football in the country like there has never been before. i'm english so i obviously want us to absolutely smash them in the group stage, but i'd like them to do well. also as an arsenal fan seeing Matt Turner and potentially Aaron Ramsdale in opposing goals would be a great watch, hopefully folarin balogun gets a look in at this world cup too.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Even as little as 5 or 6 years ago if you had told me so many younger American players would be moving to teams in Europe I wouldn't have believed you. Obviously young Americans in European leagues doesn't mean the US is a new power in world soccer or anything, but even teams being interested in them at all shows they see *something* that makes believe US youngsters are worth giving a chance to. It's been quite a change in a relatively short amount of time.

[@hyperrat12]

@@BiggieTrismegistus absolutely mate! I would say about 10 years ago just because of the FC Dallas academy, but I completely agree otherwise

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

@@melodiclogic9904 Given how bad the US has historically been many Americans have a second team they root for. It's usually based on where your family came from. People with Mexcan ancestors follow Mexico; those with Italian ancestry choose Italy. A lot of my family came from England way back in the day so when the US isn't playing I'm an England fan. Thus I hope England can recreate their Euros form on an even bigger stage. I'll be cheering your team on when they aren't playing the US. I'd imagine a good USMNT would become the team other countries love to hate because Americans are really good at a lot of other sports. It seems like the Americans doing well in soccer wouldn't go over too well with the rest of the world. I may be wrong but that's the way I think things might go down. "Who do they think they are? They can't even proid the game by its correct name!"

[@xavier1752]

Leaps and bounds is a massive stretch. Youth development hasn't come far enough

[@Shukden]

Super well done video! Keep it up!

[@dvdv8197]

25:10 Glad you said it. You're absolutely right. Santos DEFINITELY must go. Will be so after this WC I guess.

[@strasbourgsteve]

Day 7: You should make a video about Kardemir Karabükspor 🇹🇷, Georgia National Team 🇬🇪, FC Vaduz 🇱🇮, or FC Ballkani 🇽🇰

[@hanyuzhu7276]

Didn’t Karabukspor just dissolve?

[@narendrapanse7844]

If there was a world cup for "Suspect Football Federations" - India would win it hands down without any shadow of doubt. We are in a different league entirely.

[@gabrielmayorga6972]

It's been a long time since I haven't been able to fall asleep so fast, man. Thanks.

[@Nextraker]

Portugal will win the World Cup with Ronaldo as the manager 💪

[@bruhman2962]

NEXTRACKER?!?!?! Yeah maybe, that'll be so cool. Maybe messi as manager of Argentina?

[@wish]

based

[@Argenswiss]

Which would add nothing to the now outdated goat debat. But would give him a shot of overtaking Mou as the best Portuguese coach

[@theneweraofmusic5578]

I doubt it

[@MrFFHN]

Ronaldo would be an horrendous coach

[@Rollface1]

You’re overthinking this imo. There’s a clear top 4 in Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia. Ukraine or Egypt? No disrespect to them but come on now

[@aaronleonard641]

One of my friends is from Nigeria and he says that similarly to Ireland, they focus on recruiting foreign-born Nigerians as opposed to actually adequately nurturing the talent in the country and invest in it because it's far easier and cheaper to do, my country, Ireland is an other country that could genuinely do thing on the international stage if there were actual proper backing by the FAI, 2 nations with massive potential but fall flat on their face in their search for money

[@adamdickinson2894]

I laughed way too much at the thought of the entire world burning but Alfie laughing and screaming I told you so as Greenland beat Svalbard in the 2086 World Cup final 😂😂

[@evilmerchant1000]

The Netherlands and Portugal are the obvious answers, particularly in the short term. Apart from the great football players they produce, they also produce great managers which I think is important unlike Belgium.(who I'm not sure can produce great footballers on a constant basis) In the future I see the USA, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, and Nigeria as being great footballing nations in the long term.

[@alessandrodelrio1272]

Portugal just appointed Martinez, ec Belgium coach 😂😂

[@Ale_LSH]

I appreciate the optimism for Mexico, you had very adequate analysis, Alfie. My only disagreement is that the growth of the US and Canada might force Mexico to step it up as it might be harder to qualify. I don’t see this happening due to the expansion to 48 nations at the next WC and the amount of new spots it will give CONCACAF. Currently the CONCACAF qualifiers give 3 direct spots and 1 to international playoffs. That’s already fairly easy unless Costa Rica, Panama or Honduras step up, add the possible 2-3 extra spots given by a 48 man WC and it becomes a cake walk even if any of the center American nations mentioned happen to hit above their weight. The US and Canada improving might be a blessing in disguise, but sadly the 48 nation World Cup might be a bigger curse that’s too hard to overcome.

[@rejectivity]

This is why I don't like the 48 teams world cup. it's just making qualifying to the world cup so much easier.

[@tiji905]

Then again, smaller countries who usually wouldn’t have the opportunity to make the WC may be given a better incentive and better income to improve their performance…We may see some smaller countries develop players they wouldn’t/couldn’t have before.

[@desmondachocky537]

They should just let it remain at 32.u have to be amongst the 32 best nations in the world to qualify and that's what makes the wcup special.I have a feeling by extending the qualification to 48 teams,it will now dilute the quality of the tournament.What will stop them from extending to 64, a hundred in preceding years and before we know it the whole world will now be participating in the worldcup.This nonsense of expansions and I dono holding the world cup after every 2 years as proposed by imbeciles like Infantino should just stop.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

I disagree since that logic applies to everyone

[@Ale_LSH]

@@samplingmastersxlr8660 It applies to everyone bcuz a 48 nation is a horrid idea, it will take the excitement out of many qualifiers unless it’s the very first rounds of qualification

[@TheBallProphet]

My dream is to help my country Nigeria win the World Cup and have a Balon d’or winner Hopefully one day you’ll make a video about us winning the World Cup 😁 Thank you for the Nigerian segment It brought tears to my eyes, especially because today is the anniversary of the lekki massacre❤️

[@chidon1113]

Our football governing body is very corrupt at least to forge ahead

[@TheBallProphet]

@Deez Nhutz still means a lot in the history books bro Having someone like osimhen be the second African to win a balon d’or will be massive not only as a motivation for Nigerian kids but for African kids too

[@JF1908x]

Never going to happen 😂

[@Eayala17]

Good luck to you my friend! I wish you the best in your football career!

[@derekg5889]

@Deez Nhutz I agree with you! Journalists shouldn't decide the winners, leave it to the coaches and players to decide! 🤠

[@ttvtlar2113]

I honestly think that the MLS has helped the US and Canada grow in soccer and has helped make people in the countries hold it higher, which has helped make them better

[@lobosfelipe1]

missed a few south american countries in this list. I do agree with your top spot, Portugal has a very talented group but the way they are playing isn´t smart. I do think there is a chance they don´t advance on the group stage, Uruguai is a tough team to play against. I would add a South American nation into this list but i´m not sure on which one I would add. It would probably bee Colombia since they have the biggest population and a tendency to produce talented players, but it is a fact that Chile, Equador and Paraguai also have potential to grow in the next few years. Our club league in Brazil is probably going to get stronger in the next 5 years and I do think it is going to promote talent around our continent. Anyway, great video congrats.

[@kevinfranco8335]

As a Mexican, I agree with all you said about our national team. Cheers, lad

[@DiceBviewssecondsago]

Tristemente, todo lo que dijo es nuestra realidad 😢

[@53rdand3rdShows]

Canada has a brighter future than Mexico and better players currently.

[@chrissao_502]

Really excited to see CONCACAF competition in the future as an American with Canadian, Mexican, and Central American friends. Especially since the US and Canada are catching up to Mexico. Hopefully we can push each other up and help each other achieve great things on the World Cup stage.

[@Ese96Agoaye]

Mexico are the Ireland of football. (Ireland’s rugby team has never got past the first knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup, like Mexico, they’ve also never qualified past the first knockout stage, hence the comparison).

[@Delboy0]

Mexico are not going to get any better than they are and that have failed to be good enough for 80 years. Yes they football crazy but the problem for Mexico is the population is not diverse enough. South America has greater mix of people from Africa, Europe, Arab and indigenous populations, Mexico is basically indigenous people and Spanish descendants. They do not have athleticism to be a top nation. I would say USA and Canada are better long term bets because they are nations with better athletes and diverse. If you look at Europe The big nations there have become more skilful and athlete due to their African immigrant populations like France, England, Holland, Germany, Belgium and Portugal

[@Alex44343]

As an American I'm just proud to see my team play in the world cup for the first time since 2014, I just hope they play good and give it all they got.

[@planetarybeat473]

They fumbled 🥲

[@4567fffu]

@@planetarybeat473 did they?

[@jamiedoyle1754]

Another great video as always Alfie. Just wondering if you heard about the controversy surrounding the celebrations of the Ireland's Women's National Team qualifying for the World Cup? Would love to hear your opinion. Scottish police have been involved and English politicians have talked about it as well. Seems extremely overblown to me.

[@phillipsanchez4192]

As. US football fan, I really liked learning from this analysis. I hope your wise advice does lead to a better youth program in the US going forwards, but I lack the influence to make the powers that be watch this awesome video. Here's to hoping it gets to the right viewers in some other way!

[@safi882]

The (current) big 10 is Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium. So top 3 is Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium for this, although I wouldn't bet on any of them now. I could imagine Croatia or Denmark with a miracle but non of the others.

[@dyseskytten1]

What is your parameters for you current top 10? Can't be the world rankings since Germany is below Denmark.

[@aynamehd7455]

I would put morocco in the honorable mentions or even into the top 7 as their youth development is becomeing better and better and them having good teams

[@younusbendame742]

I am shocked he put in Egypt instead of us. Our domestic league is miles better than Egypt's, and we have far more representation in European leagues. Our league dominates Africa, and we have many players in each top European league. I am honestly confused as to what Egypt is doing in the list.

[@adbaz455]

@@younusbendame742 and what's even more frustrating is that he mainly uses population as an indicator of a potential world cup triumph

[@younusbendame742]

​@@adbaz455 Yes... one should be able to see from past years that population does not have a correlation with success in the world cup. lol

[@aynamehd7455]

@@younusbendame742 yes for sure considering the depth of top players many having great seasons behind and ahead of them

[@jonjones3841]

Morocco is trash. Win an Afcon 1st

[@cardphins68]

I think it will be a UEFA team. I also realize I'm hardly going out on a Limb here, lol. My guess would be either Portugal or The Dutch. This was a really good video and well done. I liked the way the Narrator touched on Youth Academies and Youth development. I bet you the next first time winner will be a nation that has invested or grown their talent by plowing resources into Academies & Youth Development.

[@shiori7544]

So much Respect he was the player I always wanted to see Play he was Brilliant on many aspects Of the Game

[@jorgetwo4279]

Mexico currently has a terrible association because they really don't want to give other players a chance to play for the national team.

[@rasmusjrgensen8056]

I think you are completely right about Portugal. 3 big clubs and the whole league concentrating on development of talent. But also the "Brazilian connection" helps them. Deco and Pepe were born in Brazil as far as i remember, but there are a lot of other players with potential dual citizenship. But this could also help Brazil though. Great video.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

One point about Mexico, they have already had a prolonged run where they couldn't beat the USA. Between 2000-2009 the USA had their number. They have emerged from that spell a more focused team. However, still didn't help results at the WC.

[@wilhelmdietz4023]

It was definitely a penalty.

[@paulshort1027]

I dont care about soccerball. Now i have binged a few of these HITC videos i feel i can bullshit my way through a few Saturday nights in my local pub. Nice one.

[@MrForest1865]

I’d love to see a video on the Fawaz years at Nottingham Forest, from directors asking why we weren’t buying balls from Asda because they were cheaper to them being confused why we couldn’t have a red away kit

[@encorefootball]

200k per week for hot youngster J Lingz 🤣

[@GoTPLATANOS]

I think the US has the biggest potential. Last time I checked, we have the most kids before the age of 13 playing youth soccer. With the rise of the MLS and better pay, a lot more kids will keep doing it once they get to high school because there's a big pay day at the end. This in turn will make the National Team better....

[@TeeJayMillz]

USA ain’t winning no World Cup until they stop thinking that Pulisic is “ the Lebron James of soccer “😅😅😅

[@baronvonjerch]

I was holding out hope for Australia featuring on this list. I'm a massive optimist after all :)

[@deanoss777]

it’s damn near unacceptable that netherlands haven’t won a WC

[@Darkscenes-jp4ge]

Netherlands won the euro's once before and there's England that won the world cup once before but never won the euro's

[@josecastel7163]

I agree with this list I do think Japan and Australia could also be there in the next 20 years

[@mellowado6184]

Every team that has won the World Cup had World Class players. The USA has never produced one in football history. So much for them winning the World Cup.

[@rezairawan88]

i'm shocked you've never mention Japan, they consistently overachieved in the last 3 world cup

[@areebsiddiqui758]

Netherlands and Portugal are the two obvious shouts. With the USA it feels like it just has to happen at some point. Turkey are my left field pick. Part of UEFA, huge population, football mad country, Besiktas, Fenerbache and Galatasaray are giants. The standing of the domestic league needs to improve and so does the infrastructure and youth development but their ceiling is obviously very high.

[@gandalf_thegrey]

While I agree, the US will probability ein the WC in the next few decades, at this point their are ridiculously overestimated. The team consists of Pulisic, Reyna and 20 NPCs.

[@areebsiddiqui758]

@@gandalf_thegrey Weston Mckennie, Sergino Dest, Tyler Adams, Brendan Aaranson, Matt Turner and a few others are all talented youngsters playing in Europe's top leagues. The USA has some quality players all in their teens or early 20s. They'll only get better by the time they host the world cup in 2026. In Qatar, they have a decent chance of getting to the Round of 16.

[@matija5555]

@@areebsiddiqui758 Croatia has better talents but not mentioned…

[@vivelafrance6357]

@@gandalf_thegrey I disagree. I think the U.S. can win it in 2026. Besides Pulisic and Reyna, they have players with really high ceilings such as Dest, McKennie, Aaronson, Musah and Weah. They’ll be even better when they host at home.

[@srnigromante9214]

@@vivelafrance6357 You gotta be high as fuck if you really think the USA has any chance of winning the next world cup

[@ejyounggun08]

Mexico definitely plays friendlies in the US for the cash grab but also to keep in touch with their fanbase. Many dual nationals and potential future players for the US and Mexico in those stands. Apart from Columbus, Mexico can play all over the US and have a massive crowd so yeah, it's important they play some games here.

[@clique1579]

*some*. The amount of games being played in the US is a total insult for the actual mexicans

[@luisfelipecamacho8412]

But they should also play away games, go to copa America, friendlies in Europe, etc. And the worst problem of the US based friendlies is that the quality of the visitor teams is usually very low, with B, C teams, or very low ranked teams. This is obviously just about the business: bad teams charge less, and also you ensure your team looks better in the field, it's just fan service. But terrible for your teams preparation for serious tournaments, which you already are not participating in most of them (copa America, Eurocup, confederations cup does no exist anymore)

[@midlifecrisistheportugalye6682]

Your greatest work ever

[@Tennis932000]

Man you come up with such good ideas, I would be fully down to watch you discuss anything outside of football to see what you have to say. Politics, history, books, movies, video games anything. Irish guy branched out a bit why not you? Anyways i doesnt matter ill keep watching, just a thought.

[@filipbolanca7979]

What about Croatia? They have great football culture and they always play for their country with pride which motivates them hugely. Also they have better squad then in 2018 and more than few rising stars. No matter how good players are good individually they will always play better for Croatia because of their patriotism and that makes them a very dangerous team.

[@gooner72]

The Netherlands are the best national team never to win the World Cup, the teams they've had in my 49 years have been unbelievably talented but they bottle it every time. Even though I'm English, I'd be more than happy for Holland if they won the biggest prize in World football.

[@battistoberhoel8839]

I was honestly surprised that the Netherlands only came in 4th, especially since they don't just have great players, but contrarily to most nations on this list, they also have great coaches. They are favorites in my book and I wouldn't be surprised if Portugal or Netherlands reach the the semi-finals this year and one of the two win the whole thing in the next 4 World Cups

[@LancePuns]

I had most of the same seven, though I didn't have Ukraine, Mexico, and Portugal, and instead had Japan, Belgium, and Switzerland. Really enjoyed your USA and Mexico segments, as they're the teams I am most familiar with. Love the idea of this video, and your videos often have interesting ideas or topics. Keep it up!

[@RainXbox]

Very good. Please do a video about Northern Irish football :D we have a lot of teams in our small but very old league making the jump to full time football. Hopefully that means our national team can get another good run in the future

[@gandalf_thegrey]

I want to say 26+6 so hard and I'm so sorry for it :P

[@All-Outta-Bubblegum]

@@gandalf_thegrey Ulster is British

[@davidfiggins16]

I've been doing an FM22 career with Ballinamallard United. Got them promoted, but staying in the Prem is difficult with the financial constraints.

[@RainXbox]

@@davidfiggins16 love the Mallard's it's a fantastic away day and one of the most welcoming clubs I've ever been to. Would love to see them back in the top flight

[@omargaminghd1730]

What would happen if a Nation like Mexico (my home nation) won the World Cup? Will it have any affect on the league? Would it improve? Will it increase in popularity? What happens?

[@jaymax200studios2]

We’re going to find out this next month of November 2022 and throughout the years

[@LegendNinja41]

21:51 The Turkish domestic league is doing quite alright in UEFA competitions at the moment, already having their highest points tally in the Coefficient since 16/17 and look to establish themselfs again in the Top15 leagues, maybe even Top10 and it looks likely that atleast 3 of the Turkish teams will make it to the knockout stage.

[@lucaslonchampt613]

But back in the day, the Turkish league was far more formidable than that

[@LegendNinja41]

@@lucaslonchampt613 for sure, and given Turkey's population, size of economy and love for football, the Süper Lig should be as good as the Dutch or Portuguese league. but atleast things are looking back now than a year ago.

[@archipiratta]

Portugal are fast turning into Belgium of 5 yrs ago. They are probably one world class coach away from winning it all! With all due respect to the incumbent who got them a Euro.

[@hugofernandes2930]

They have more depth than Belgium and many of these players will be around for next two world cups

[@slayerus23]

The golden generation of Belgium is already drying up, while Portugal has several years left and upcoming talent to take the spot. Santos and Ronaldo are indeed holding Portugal back at this point.

[@lprgeddes2017]

I would have to say that the criteria for this video for once was reasonably poorly defined in this video. In terms of timeframe, it was unclear exactly what timeframe we were talking about. Given that whilst they're not odds on favourites to win the World Cup, Belgium and Croatia's short-term hopes are by far the best, and I think they do have a genuine shot at winning if they can get through the Round of 16. Whilst the likes of Nigeria and Egypt possibly have the capability of turning it around, it is highly speculative and in my view slightly optimistic that either can genuinely position themselves as genuine title challengers. Even getting to the extent that the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal and to a lesser degree Denmark are to winning the World Cup would be extremely difficult. I think the likelihood of these European nations realistically increasing their resources, investment and monopoly is quite high and far higher than 4th, 3rd and even to a smaller extent 2nd place in the video ever becoming genuine World Cup hopefuls.

[@1998Cebola]

These european countries, with the best facilities possible, are competing at the same level as third world countries with barely functioning footballing infrastructure. It is much harder for a country like Denmark to imrpove their national team than Mexico, and Mexico are already in the knock out stages consistently. Even Brazil has a third world level football federation. If other continents get their shit together we would need a EU federational team to compete with the big global nations. Football was not a professional game 100 years ago, in 10-15 world cups we could see european nations erradicated from the later stages of the WC with some good management from the African and American federations.

[@vinkobarisic253]

You pointed most of what i was about to write. I'd like to add that criteria seems to be different in many cases. Nigeria or Egypt team are nowhere near the standards needed to even compeete at high level, and Nigeria infrastructure is negligable - as evidence by most good players coming from Europe. So this means their inclusion calculates 30-50 years in the future. Same video, Belgium is dissregarded because of aging squad? Ukraine added because of Shakhtar getting a point with Real, while Club Brugge qualifiyng from their CL group without conceeding is not considered? If population is a factor, why don't Russia or China feature? Massive countries with infrastructure needed to make the step up. In reality, any of the notable inclusions is far more likely to win a WC than 5 of the video, with Portugal and Netherlands being only objective inclusions.

[@1998Cebola]

@@vinkobarisic253 Denmark needs the stars to align to win the WC, Nigeria needs better infrastructure. I'm betting my money on the one that is possible to control every time. I do get your point with China though, if they got the hosting rights they would most likely be able to brute force in the same way they did in the 2008 olympics.

[@encorefootball]

I can't imagine many fans supporting an EU federation team lol apart from the bureaucrats sitting in Brussels and Strasbourg

[@timhefty504]

Also he included Ukraine even though they were knocked out by Wales

[@dariogutierrez6716]

I won the 2030 WC in FM2019 with a nation of 18 million people. A miracle to be sure, and we beat Mexico in the final. They seem to progress a lot in football manager

[@bryantrejo5467]

The mexico situation was spot on

[@LuigiLuigi728]

I’m really surprised Japan 🇯🇵 was not even mentioned in the honourable mentions. Obviously the biggest problem that all East Asian countries suffer from is that we’re on average not tall enough or physically strong enough. This has to do with genes and almost certainly cannot be changed for hundreds of years. But still, Japan has a very large population, their national team has great chemistry, its football is really well managed (as compared to the African nations you’ve mentioned or even USA in my opinion), and it has an incredible youth system where even high school games attract crowds of over 10000. Also don’t forget they almost defeated Belgium in the 2018 World Cup, which really showed how despite much weaker star power, their team chemistry could work wonders against much stronger teams. I don’t think they’re gonna win the World Cup in the next three tournaments, but I genuinely think they have a chance before 2050. As much as I love Ukraine, I think Japan should be in front of them. Nonetheless, great video as always!

[@chrisfrank2664]

Maybe the Genes/ DNA makeup was a factor in past. Watching Japan 🇯🇵 beat USA 🇺🇸 in friendly last month, it was very clear that team has been together for years and works very well together. Opposed to countries just calling up their “ best players”,and in some cases over the years the same core of players do become a proper team longer they’re together, basically growing up together after starting at young ages. Plus Sports Science and technology nowadays, an area I know Japan 🇯🇵 leads the way with, or has some of the best technology to use. But most importantly,the solidarity of a team, even if lacking superstars & most talented players that other countries have, it’s a team sport and with most games played in a pragmatic approach. Unless you advance and play USA 🇺🇸, I wish you best of luck. But my underdog pick, don’t even know if they count as underdog status because they are so good, is Denmark 🇩🇰. I think they make Semifinals , maybe final? I’m typing this before he reveals his number 1 , so wonder if he is thinking same as me?

[@ML3180]

I honestly don't believe its a case of height that affects Japan. Its probably the lack of footballers in top level leagues in Europe that affects the team.

[@usersixnine347]

1. You’re blaming short genes in a sport where short players like lionel Messi is considered to be the greatest of all time. You’re blaming Asian genetics in a sport where the Japanese womens team has won the women’s World Cup and reached multiple finals. I’d understand if it was basketball to be honest, it’s a sport where you’re shooting a ball into an area in the air, height is one of if not the biggest parts of the game. It’s also a sport mainly dominated by black people. But football? Don’t make excuses for your inferiority complex. Japan hasn’t reached the level of the top simply because there are better countries. Yet they are still better than the overwhelming majority of the football world. So why aren’t they on this list? Because 2. HITC Sevens and many of the football world have a bias against Asian football, whether intentionally racist or not. It’s laughable how japan destroys the US 2-0 yet they are on this list but not japan. The US has zero shots on net against Japan lmao

[@usersixnine347]

@@chrisfrank2664 except japan did not simply beat the US only from teamwork and working well together. The Japanese national team literally has better players overall than the US. I’m pretty sure Japan has more players playing in europe on their NT than the us does lmao..not to mention (and yes this is arguable) I really think if there would be without foreign players in the MLS even the j league would be a better league. I think the US is definitely overrated but even more so is how underrated japan is. The disrespect and bias towards Asians and the AFC in football is absolutely real, and it is absolutely mind boggling how the US and Mexico is ranked above every single AFC side. Also the AFC has gone further in the World Cup than CONCACAF has..

[@chrisfrank2664]

@@usersixnine347 I thought this was where I wrote about it, but It must have been somewhere else. But I specifically wrote how the asian players are really good, and hopefully if Japan and Korea advance to knockout stages and upset a few bigger name countries, more attention will be on them leading to more of them being signed across Europe and the world. Even in MLS! Which by the way, making a point about Japan/Asian countries & their players being perceived a certain way, but then saying the opposite about USA, Mexico, & Canada ( have to include them now) is hypocritical. If the Premier League didn't have any foreign players you think it would be as good? It certainly wouldn't be making Billions from TV rights in other countries, and wouldn't have interest if just English/British players. Watch some of the MLS playoffs as season is almost over, with open mind, and then come back and tell me it hasn't improved drastically in past 15 years. Judging players based on what continent they play is really judgmental. I don't watch much soccer from South America so I can't say who is better or not. Its ok to admit you don't know much about an area of the world, No One Knows Everything! And maybe Japan does have better players? The US team is so young we get to find out who will be on the team. Turner ( GK for Arsenal) is 27 i think , and if they include him Tim Ream, Captain at Fulham is near or just above 30. We need a couple veterans, even if only for presence with the team in practice and all they do together.

[@olowookerebabatunde8992]

You are so right about Nigeria

[@yunggekyume5393]

Imagine not including the top Dutch prospects like Brian Brobbey, Wouter Burger and Xavi Simons at 12:28 🇳🇱💪 The Netherlands have a huge future

[@kris5885]

Those names sound made up, I almost didn’t believe you 😂

[@myvidaloka]

Xavi Simmons is overrated.

[@naj_z]

@@kris5885 Hahaha. To be fair, these names are a bit weird for Dutch people as well haha.

[@khalidqawdhan3265]

@@naj_z wauter and simons are real Dutch. Names

[@khalidqawdhan3265]

Brobery is horrible

[@ludvigglhasseris]

i think Denmark will a Trophy during the next 20 or 30 years. The Youth systems in Denmark have improved so much doing the last 10 years. FC Copenhagen, FC Nordsjælland and FC Midtjylland, are teams who are producing so many great talents at the moment. And the rest of the Danish teams are going into the development right now. The future of the Danish national team is really bright right now!

[@JesseTate]

agreed. they’re also just fun to watch and have a fresh and unique style and passion

[@grobariza]

Danmark is a dark horse that must be written off at teams own peril.

[@mrmalio]

yup

[@Jonathan2342]

Canada won concaf and have a player who is tied for first in league 1 scoring and the best LB in the world. I don’t see them winning this year but they definitely have a punchers chance in every game.

[@GavinWoods]

Japan and Morocco would make my list. Not just because of their recent performance but Morocco are meant to have the best league in Africa with recent investment. Not to mention, they have players who are based in top European leagues. They have just missed out on hosting the competition a few times. Hosting it there maybe the catalyst for having the first African winners.

[@Jason-gq8fo]

No way is Egypt above Mexico. Also Japan has the blue lock project so surely they’ll win soon! ;)

[@carinamurillo2150]

you certainly meant the anime right 😂👍🏼

[@canonicstory]

🇵🇹❤ Vamos meu Portugal

[@dariomestre4814]

Desperdicada no comando do Santos

[@t.xaviersalgado4106]

e o Cristiano tem que bancar... o gajo tem razão

[@supersasukemaniac]

the saying you where lookin for in the Mexico segment was "The Sharpest blade is forged in the hottest fire."

[@chrismattravers5434]

The Netherlands are the most likely! Amazed who you've placed above them!

[@beaware354]

These are my 7 Mexico, USA, Belgium, Croatia, Portugal, Netherlands, Nigeria

[@hallo23779]

am i the only one that things that japan will pass on the world cup alongside spain?

[@cmenomore8119]

Yes you are

[@lewisrichards2662]

Can you do a vid ranking the Kopa rankings and who you think should of won👍🏽 personally I think it should of been Bellingham

[@notyourrealname75]

Can you please do one of these but with debutants?

[@tfender4957]

Netherlands or Portugal are the two that spring to mind!

[@thetruth586]

Norway deserve an honorable mention given that this will be their golden generation with haaland and odegaard but also a load of other young talents who if develop well could be quality players

[@matejmamba2546]

Norway, what are you talking about. Can you please name any of their players except haaland and odegaard?

[@DoomsdaySlayer]

Norway? Not a chance. The only players they got are Haaland and Odegaard. Their whole team is no where near good enough.

[@madsdalsgaardthomsen5781]

Norway isnt even close to being the best chance for a World Cup in Scandinavia. Denmarks team and youth devolopment seems waaay better than the norwegian one. Haaland is amazing though. Him on the Danish side would be a very mean side to go up against.

[@LuigiLuigi728]

I love Haaland but there’s no way he can single handedly win Norway the World Cup...

[@WERTYUIO821]

@@matejmamba2546 Hansen, Larsen and Olsen, easy! I probably just named one third of their team! If any Norwegian is reading this. I apologize for the joke. I know Elabdellaoui and Elyounoussi.

[@SpartanChief2277]

8:22 shout out to Caramelo, he is at every single Mexico team game

[@grahamgiancola6477]

If something happens this World Cup it will be wicked crazy

[@TylerAven10]

Alfie, you should make a video about the USWNT and if they’re in decline. I’ve been following this team for a while and really don’t view them as the force they were in the last 10 years anymore

[@ThreeRunHomer]

There may be interesting parallels to Portugal (aging stars and a meathead manager).

[@TylerAven10]

@@ThreeRunHomer Yeah, this is just my opinion, but I think the biggest element is simply that the rest of the world is catching up in women’s football and we haven’t really done anything to drive the women’s game forward here and maintain dominance. Most USWNT players are in the NWSL as that league stagnates, and even the ones who went to Europe came back. This aging core is also (understandably to an extent) quite arrogant and while most casual Americans who only watch the World Cups will just expect it to be another cakewalk, Spain, England, Germany, France and Sweden are much better than they’ve been in the past and an early knockout exit isn’t as unlikely as I expect people to believe.

[@pabloapostar7275]

@@TylerAven10 France has a meathead manager and just typically meatheads throughout their Federation. So maybe Alfie should do a vlog about teams that could vastly improve if they got rid of meatheads (e.g., Spain)? The best "get rid of meathead" move by a women's national team has got to be England.

[@ryansmith1044]

It's not so much the decline of the USWNT so much as the growth of women's football in Europe. The US was dominant because, quite frankly, few other countries cared. Now that that is changing, I see the USWNT gradually dropping to the comparative level of the USMNT until they solve the issues Alfie mentioned in this video.

[@AW-zk5qb]

@@ryansmith1044 it's the opposite. The only reason why the US men haven't won the World Cup many times is because the US never cared. It's much easier to be from a country with maybe a little less funding for the women's game, but a proper soccer culture (germany, Spain etc) than to be from a country with more funding but no proper soccer culture (US) and get better

[@michaelay4900]

Day 3: 7 less known/competitive top-flight leagues that saw world class players played in there, and talk about why the league is attractive to them. (For example the Hong Kong Premier League) (Preferably those who attracted these players throughout a longer time, rather than the oil money leagues that only do so in recent years)