How coaches reacted to 2026 World Cup draw
The FIFA World Cup 2026 has taken a shape, following the final draw in Washington on Friday. Here are some key reactions from coaches of different participating teams:
"I think contenders is the right word. But I think the favorites are the teams that have won the World Cup before because there is a psychological aspect... I think we have to grow still, but we are full of hope and excitement. "The 1966 team of Eusebio is the reference point for us... We have won the European Championship and the Nations League and now I think it is very important that we should be able to fight for the dream we all have, to do something we have never done before." On Cristiano Ronaldo's longevity: "I think the secret he has is that he works every day as if it were the last day of his career... He never loses his hunger, he is an example for all of us. He is our captain, a reference for us, and very important for us."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. They are tough opponents. Austria had a great qualifying campaign, and we believe they are a very good team. Algeria, too, because of the way they play, is an opponent to be wary of. And Jordan as well, they had a great qualifying campaign. We have continued to compete at the highest level, we have tried to bring in new players who can contribute that extra bit of youth, and that is what we will continue to try to do next year.
It's a very difficult group. Morocco is very strong, and so is Scotland. Morocco did very well in the last World Cup, they've been performing very well, and Scotland also qualified for the World Cup by winning important matches in Europe. A very solid team, very strong physically. We have to be careful with this group, but I am confident in the quality of our national team.
"We're playing against one of the favorites (Brazil) right from the start, and they are playing one of the favorites right from the start," a confident Regragui said of Morocco's opening match against the five-time World Cup winners. "Whatever happens, Brazil remain Brazil. They are always potential winners. Having one of the potential winners in our group, and to play them in the first game, is never easy. They have picked up one of best coaches in the world (Carlo Ancelotti) with lots of experience -- he will give them serenity. We will try to be up to the task to make our fans proud."
"Brazil are an institution, if you like, they are one of the top teams. You always want to play against Brazil, so we have the chance to do that and I am pretty sure we will give them a good game. "It will be a tough game as always -- it will be (the) third game in the group. Hopefully we (will) have some points in the bag before we play them, but to get to a World Cup for a country like Scotland, it has taken us a long time to get back here -- 1998 was the last time, so we were determined to get there and do well... Every game in the World Cup is special –- we don't get there very often so every game is special for us."
"We want to show people who we are (and) play with heart, a good attitude and a lot of humility. It is not a matter of being afraid of Spain. I am pleased to be playing against Spain because I played in Spain for (club side) Badajoz. It is just about enjoying the game, against a team we obviously need to be very wary of. "It means a lot for us, for our country –- everyone will be watching. Our country will be better known around the world... We won our qualifying group and we are very proud to be in our first World Cup."
"Three difficult teams for us but in principle every game is difficult. It is exciting to play there at the highest level and we will see what we can do. "One thing is that we have a team with a lot of fighters and I know from experience we are always difficult to beat, so every opponent we come up against will have to play very well. It is exciting for the island, the people are so proud."
We will have the 48 best players of the world in the tournament, and it's up to us to play against England, Ghana and Panama. England is the favorite, one of the best teams in the world, and it will be the most important game for us. In the last World Cup, we won a medal, we had a fantastic tournament, and nobody expected that. Now we have a new generation coming, with the help of veterans like Luka Modric and Andrej Kramaric.
We improved a lot in September, October, November. We felt we found our energy and we found good performances and excellent results. And now it's a bit unfair because now we're fully excited, we know who we'll play against, but we have to wait until March to meet the team again, and then we have to wait until June until the tournament starts. So that's a little bit of a downside, but we'll make sure that we're ready.
We have a tough group, a very deep one. Senegal always has a bit of extra motivation when playing against France, but they also have quality players and very interesting results. Norway has had a very high level in the qualifiers, especially with [Erling] Haaland, [Alexander] Sorloth scoring so many goals... So those are quality teams, but I think they'll say just about the same thing about France.
As a European team, it's never easy when there isn't another European side in your group. You're less familiar with those teams. We're facing the Africa Cup of Nations winners [Côte d'Ivoire] and an Ecuador team with plenty of top players based in Europe. Curaçao are a real wild card. They reached the World Cup surprisingly, but fully deserved it. This is a group that will challenge us from day one.
A draw is always nice. All the groups are in really good shape, to be give some good competition. Our first match is against Japan, and it's always difficult, because they are always fit and have a very good football team. Then we have Tunisia and we will also have to wait for the other team, because it would be Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, Albania. Anyway, now we all look forward to a big tournament.
This is the seventh time Saudi Arabia has participated in a World Cup. Only once have they made it past the first round. So that's the goal. We absolutely must aim for the round of 32 first. If we achieve that, it will already be a successful World Cup for us. The World Cup is a magical event. It's a passion for all peoples. It's a huge tournament with fantastic organisation. So we can't wait to be there.
We're in the process of continuing to grow as a team, based on great individual talent that must always be at the service of the team. We have the matches in March; we'll see which matches we play, and then there's that pre-World Cup training camp, with some matches to help the players recover after a very demanding season of European competitions, so we can have as many players available as possible.
It's a really tough group because we face Portugal. It will be very tough for us, but I say to my players, being in a World Cup is a privilege. We need to enjoy the World Cup and the games and we will see what happens. Most of my players play in the Middle East, Turkey and the [Uzbekistan] league. Our league is not very intensive so we need to improve these kinds of things. It will be difficult to push the players during the season but we are going to a World Cup and everyone will be really fit.
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