Following on from using Football Manager 26 to predict the 2026 World Cup group stages, we continued the simulation for the rest of the tournament.
The results were certainly interesting, with several big nations crashing out early and a final that makes the mouth water with possibilities.
Here’s all the results that FM26 predicts will happen this summer in United States, Canada and Mexico.
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Round-of-32
- South Korea 3-1 Canada (AET)
- Ecuador 0-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (AET)
- Netherlands 1-2 Scotland
- Japan 0-2 Brazil (AET)
- Turkey 3-7 Norway
- France 3-0 Ivory Coast
- Mexico 0-0 Morocco (Morocco win on penalties)
- Germany 0-3 England
- Tunisia 3-3 United States (United States win on penalties)
- Senegal 2-1 Belgium (AET)
- Portugal 1-0 Ghana
- Austria 0-4 Spain
- Switzerland 4-0 New Zealand
- Argentina 2-1 Uruguay
- Colombia 1-0 Panama
- Australia 0-1 Egypt (AET)
After their poor group showing, Germany bowed out at the first knockout stage, beaten 3-0 by England — meaning they went winless in their four matches. Two of the three co-hosts also went out at this stage, with United States the last one standing. Defending champions Argentina made it through, joining the likes of Brazil, Spain, France and Portugal. But there were also exits for Netherlands and Belgium.
Round-of-16
- Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-4 Norway
- South Korea 2-1 Scotland
- Brazil 0-2 France
- Morocco 2-3 England
- Portugal 0-1 Spain
- United States 1-0 Senegal (AET)
- Argentina 2-2 Egypt (Argentina win on penalties)
- Switzerland 2-0 Colombia
There were a couple of big matchups in our FM26 simulated last-16, with Brazil taking on France and Portugal facing Spain. The 2018 champions and 2022 runners-up France got the better of Brazil, with a 2-0 victory. Spain won the Iberian derby 1-0, continuing their hunt for the title. Argentina needed penalties to beat Egypt to keep their defence going, while England beat Morocco. Co-hosts United States remain after being Senegal, while Switzerland, South Korea and Norway made up the rest of the quarter-finalists.
Quarter-final
- Norway 5-0 South Korea
- Spain 2-1 United States
- France 1-0 England
- Argentina 2-3 Switzerland (AET)
Any accusations of a lack of realism in this FM26 simulation go out the window after England were knocked out in the quarter-finals. They were beaten by France, a repeat of the showing in 2022. But Argentina’s defence ended at this stage, with a shock 3-2 win for Switzerland after extra-time. Spain finally put paid to United States’ dream, while Norway continued to blow everyone away with a 5-0 thrashing of South Korea.
Semi-final
- Norway 3-0 Spain
- France 0-1 Switzerland
With the semi-finals set up, many of the virtual fans will be ready — with mouths watering — for a World Cup final between France and Spain. But much like the 2012 Champions League — when a Clasico final was a possibilty — both sides lost. Spain were routinely beaten by the growing dark horses Norway, with a 3-0 victory. And France fell to Switzerland, having had to play 60 minutes down to 10 men.
Final
- Switzerland 0-2 Norway
A final nobody will predict, or guess if you gave them 100 guesses. But our FM26 World Cup simulation brought a final between Switzerland and Norway. And Norway emerged victorious. Shock horror, Erling Haaland scored both goals in the final, his 16th and 17th of the tournament. In one World Cup, he overtook Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament goals return (but misses out on the record), and also smashed Just Fontaine’s for most strikes in a single edition. This win would also make Norway just the third nation after Germany and Spain to win both the men’s and women’s World Cups.
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