7 AI models predict the 2026 World Cup: Here’s what artificial intelligence has to say

Last update at 12 June, 2026⏲️ Reading time: 4 minutes

Artificial intelligence has also made a big impact on the 2026 World Cup. It’s no longer just about comparing 2026 World Cup odds, favourites or statistics; now various AI models are analysing the entire tournament, from the group stage right through to the potential winner.

At BetBrothers, we have created an AI prediction hub for the 2026 World Cup, where different models make their predictions on matches, groups, standout players and potential surprises of the tournament. The idea is to compare what various artificial intelligence systems are saying and see if their predictions end up being more accurate than those of the bookmakers.

Brazil, favourite to win the World Cup according to AI

The finding that has surprised us most, based on the AI consensus, is that Brazil is the clear favourite to win the 2026 World Cup.

The most common overall prediction has been this:

Champion: Brazil
Runner-up: France
Third place: Argentina

Although Brazil leads the consensus, France remains among the top favourites. Three AI models see them as winners and others believe they could reach the final

Mbappé, favourite to be top scorer

Let’s now turn to the top scorer. There are no major surprises here. Kylian Mbappé is the favourite to be the top scorer at the 2026 World Cup. According to the panel’s data, 4 out of the 7 models pick him as the leading candidate. The projected average they have calculated is 7.3 goals.

The bookmakers also have Mbappé as the favourite (albeit very close to Harry Kane), so this is a fairly plausible prediction on the face of it.

Spain, clear group leaders

Although Spain (the bookmakers’ main favourite) is not tipped to reach the final, the models do agree that they will be winners of Group H. Furthermore, the consensus is unanimous: 7 out of 7 models place Spain top of the group. Uruguay comes second, also with unanimous agreement among the models.

Predictions for the 2026 World Cup groups

The AI panel also reaches several consensus predictions for the group stage, which are useful for preparing your 2026 World Cup predictions. Many teams are clear favourites, with all 7 models agreeing on the same outcome.

Here are some of the main predictions:

Group A: Mexico first and South Korea second.
Group B: Switzerland first and Canada second.
Group C: Brazil first and Morocco second.
Group D: United States first and Turkey second.
Group E: Germany first and Ecuador second.
Group F: Netherlands first and Japan second.
Group G: Belgium first and Egypt second.
Group H: Spain first and Uruguay second.
Group I: France first and Senegal second.
Group J: Argentina first and Austria second.
Group K: Portugal first and Colombia second.
Group L: England first and Croatia second.

There are groups where there is total consensus, such as those involving Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Argentina, Portugal and England. In other cases, such as Mexico, the United States, Ecuador, Japan or Senegal, there is somewhat more division among the models; we believe the prediction could be less reliable there.

Morocco emerges again as a potential dark horse

One of the most interesting insights is in the ‘dark horse’ section, i.e. the team that might perform above expectations. Here, the name we see most frequently is undoubtedly Morocco. ChatGPT, Grok and DeepSeek highlight it as a team that could surprise us by defeating opponents who might seem stronger. This wouldn’t surprise us given Morocco’s track record in recent years – it would make perfect sense!

Can AI get the World Cup right?

Of course, artificial intelligence predictions don’t guarantee anything, but they do offer a different way of analysing the 2026 World Cup that hasn’t been possible before. And as well as being fun, it gives us a lot of information that we can then compare with the results.

The question here is clear, at BetBrothers, we’re doing this to see what we can rely on most when making predictions: our intuition and experience, the bookmakers themselves, or artificial intelligence models? Perhaps the answer is a mix of all three? We’ll find out when this World Cup is over!

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