The calendar flips almost instantly, and while club activities go under midseason hibernation, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost here. It's time to see how many of the 48 teams performing at the United States, Canada, and Mexico are really high caliber and stand a chance at hoisting the cup.

While the finals in 2022 took place between two former winners in Argentina and France, they both had to get through surprise upstarts Croatia and Morocco to do so. the expanded field probably makes it harder for a Cinderella team to reach similar heights, but it also means there's a higher chance at a newcomer reaching stages they've yet to access.

So how does this cycle shape up? We bring on CST's own Jose Guerra and Jacob Holton to discuss the distant and recent past of the World Cup. We also have Kenta Hagiwara from the Asian Football Show help us dissect the group stages and predict who gets into the knockout round. While we're at it, just why did they pick the teams they picked in the CST 2026 World Cup Draft?

REMINDER: Cincinnati Soccer Talk will be at Oakley Greens on Friday June 12th for a prematch live show! Join us with FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano at 7:30PM to discuss the upcoming USA vs. Paraguay first-round matchup!

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