After each international break, we'll be ranking the 10 sides that look in the best shape to reign supreme in the United States, Canada and Mexico based on their form and the strength of their squad.
Here's how things stand with qualification now done and dusted, and just two months to go.
10. Senegal (new entry)
A lot has happened to Senegal since these rankings were last updated, to say the least. They've gone to AFCON, made the final of AFCON, won the AFCON title and then been stripped of it.
While they may no longer officially be the African champions, though, that doesn't change the fact that they looked excellent in Morocco and would've won the final fair and square if two very contentious refereeing decisions hadn't gone against them. They then followed that strong tournament up with wins over Peru and Gambia.
Sadio Mane's men come into the top 10 in place of Norway and Morocco, with the former producing two disappointing displays in the March international break and the latter much more of an unknown quantity now that manager Walid Regragui has resigned.
9. Japan (+1)
Japan have climbed up a place thanks to two 1-0 wins in the March friendlies, a dominant one over Scotland and a relatively comfortable one over England.
They've now won five in a row, with victories over the Three Lions and Brazil coming in that run, and claimed their last two wins without key man Takefusa Kubo.
With real quality all across the pitch, they're looking like the most likely side to cause the European and South American giants problems this summer.
8. Germany (new entry)
After a poor run of results from late 2024 to the start of World Cup qualifying, Germany have quietly got back on track, claiming seven wins in a row since then.
Their two most recent, a 4-3 victory over Switzerland and a 2-1 win over Ghana, may not look like much to shout about, but they were comfortably better than both sides.
With Florian Wirtz looking his old self in a Germany shirt, Lennart Karl only getting better, and Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav on fire, Julian Nagelsmann's men are moving in the right direction again.
7. The Netherlands (+2)
There were a lot of positives in the most recent international break for the Netherlands, with them comfortably beating Norway despite being without key men Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay.
The 1-1 draw with Ecuador was less impressive, though, with their performance a little disappointing even when you factor in that they went down to 10 men in the first half.
They lack firepower even with Donyell Malen and Brian Brobbey playing well at club level, but the Dutch have as much individual quality as anyone in defence and midfield, and their only loss in their last 14 matches was a defeat on penalties to Spain.
6. Brazil
Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil remain a work in progress, as shown by the fact that they lost 2-1 to France despite playing against 10 men for the last 40 minutes. However, their 3-1 win over Croatia that followed was their best result since the Italian took over, in which Endrick dazzled, and Igor Thiago scored his first international goal.
The Selecao have room for improvement, but a side full of world-class players led by Ancelotti is always going to be a contender.
5. England (-3)
England produced two hugely disappointing displays in the first international break of 2026, drawing 1-1 with Uruguay before losing 1-0 to Japan, and not playing particularly well in either match.
That being said, Thomas Tuchel was experimenting with his lineups, and there is a sense that he and his players will step things up when there's more at stake.
Even so, they just don't look as good as the other favourites right now.
4. Portugal (+1)
Deciding to cross the Atlantic to experience the conditions they'll be playing in this summer, Portugal drew 0-0 with Mexico and beat the USA 2-0 at the end of March, in two games that didn't really tell us anything new about them.
They have as good a squad as anyone, and while it definitely feels like there's more potential waiting to be unlocked in that squad, there's little doubt that they're good enough to beat almost any side they face on their day.
3. France (+1)
France's first matches of 2026 could hardly have gone better, with their first-choice XI holding on after going down to 10 men to beat Brazil 2-0 before their second-string side produced some top football as they put three past Colombia.
They lack a bit of quality in midfield, as shown by the fact that Ngolo Kante has forced his way back into the picture, but the matches showed just how frightening they are going forward, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Hugo Ekitike and Desire Doue all looking good.
2. Argentina
Speaking of firepower, Argentina followed up a fairly drab 2-1 win over Mauritania with a 5-0 thrashing of Zambia in which Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi - in what was most likely the last ever Argentina match he'll play on home turf - both dazzled, while Nico Paz's performance in the former match was another exciting sign for the world champions.
They're not conceding many at the other end of the pitch either, so they look all set to make a good go of defending their title.
1. Spain
Spain's 2026 hasn't gotten off to the perfect start, with the European champions drawing 0-0 at home to Egypt days after dismantling Serbia in impressive fashion, but they were playing without key forwards Mikel Oyarzabal and Nico Williams, while Rodri and Pedri only came off the bench.
They showed against Serbia that, when at full strength, they remain the best team in the world.
