| Updated: The first 48-team World Cup has widened the financial distance between the tournament’s strongest squads and the rest of the field. The expanded format has brought more debutants and lower-valued nations into the competition, but the top of the market remains dominated by the usual European and South American powers.
Sportingpedia looked at the squad values of all 48 participating teams and compared both individual team valuations and total group strength. All 48 participating squads at the 2026 World Cup are worth a combined €17.57 billion, with just four European teams – France, England, Spain and Portugal – accounting for €5.12 billion, or 29.2% of the tournament’s total squad value.
France lead the tournament with a squad worth €1.53 billion, while Group I, featuring France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq, is by far the most valuable group at €2.62 billion.
Methodology:
The ranking is based on current Transfermarkt squad values for the 48 teams participating at the 2026 World Cup. Team values were rounded as published, and group totals were calculated by adding the four teams in each group.
The Most Valuable 2026 World Cup Teams
France enter the 2026 World Cup as the most valuable team in the tournament, with a squad valued at €1.53 billion. They are €220 million ahead of England, who rank second at €1.31 billion, and €270 million ahead of Spain, who complete the top three at €1.26 billion. Portugal are the only other team above the €1 billion line, sitting fourth at €1.02 billion, while Germany narrowly miss that mark at €998 million.
The top of the ranking is almost entirely European. France, England, Spain, Portugal and Germany occupy the first five places, with Brazil breaking the European hold in sixth at €912.2 million. The Netherlands and Argentina follow at €837.2 million and €818.5 million, while Norway and Belgium complete the top 10. Ivory Coast, valued at €530.9 million, are the only African team above €500 million and rank 11th overall.
The biggest divide appears between the elite tier and the rest of the tournament. The four billion-euro squads are worth €5.12 billion combined, which means France, England, Spain and Portugal alone account for 29.2% of the total value of all 48 World Cup squads. Expanding the cut-off to teams above €500 million brings the total to €10.36 billion across only 11 nations, or 59.0% of the tournament’s entire squad value.
That leaves the remaining 37 teams sharing €7.20 billion between them. In other words, less than one quarter of the field holds nearly three fifths of the tournament’s player market value. The gap is even clearer when comparing France with the lowest end of the table. France’s €1.53 billion squad is worth 77.2 times more than Jordan’s €19.83 million squad, the lowest-valued team in the competition.
The contrast is not limited to the very bottom. France alone are worth more than the bottom 14 teams combined. Those 14 squads, from Australia down to Jordan, have a total value of €600.48 million, which is €929.52 million less than France’s squad by itself. The most valuable team in the tournament is therefore worth more than two and a half times the combined value of Australia, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Haiti, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Panama, Iran, Curacao, Iraq, Qatar and Jordan.
There is also a clear split around the €500 million mark. Eleven teams are above it, led by France and ending with Ivory Coast. The next group begins with Turkiye at €494.2 million, followed closely by Morocco at €488.2 million and Senegal at €472.9 million. All three sit just below the €500 million threshold, making them the strongest teams outside the upper valuation tier.
Brazil stand as the highest-valued non-European team, but their €912.2 million squad is still €617.8 million below France. Argentina, despite ranking eighth overall at €818.5 million, are €711.5 million behind France. Uruguay are the next South American side at €405.8 million, meaning there is a €406 million gap between Argentina and the continent’s third-most valuable squad.
Africa’s top end is more tightly grouped. Ivory Coast lead the continent at €530.9 million, followed by Morocco at €488.2 million and Senegal at €472.9 million. The difference between the three highest-valued African squads is only €58 million, much smaller than the gaps seen among the leading European and South American teams. Algeria and Ghana are the next African sides at €257.6 million and €230.88 million.
The expanded 48-team format has therefore created a tournament with two very different financial realities. At the top, four teams are worth more than €1 billion and 11 are above €500 million. At the bottom, 14 teams are below €100 million and several are worth less than a single elite European forward. The 2026 World Cup may be broader than ever, but the market-value ranking shows that financial power remains concentrated in a small group of heavyweight squads.
2026 World Cup Groups Ranked by Combined Market Value
Group I is the strongest group by market value, with France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq combining for €2.62 billion. France accounts for the largest share of that total, but the group is not built around one expensive team alone. Norway are valued at €601 million, largely driven by their elite attacking and midfield talent, while Senegal add another €472.9 million.
That makes Group I €663.54 million more valuable than Group L, the second-richest group. It is also more than four and a half times the value of Group A, the lowest-valued section in the tournament.
Group L ranks second with €1.96 billion, powered by England’s €1.31 billion squad, Croatia’s €385.7 million and Ghana’s €230.88 million. Panama are the only low-valued team in the group at €34.83 million, but England and Croatia alone lift the section close to the €2 billion mark.
Group E ranks third at €1.93 billion. Germany lead the group with €998 million, while Ivory Coast and Ecuador make it one of the deepest sections outside the very top. Ivory Coast are valued at €530.9 million and Ecuador at €376.2 million, leaving Curacao as the only team in the group below €30 million.
Groups A, B and G sit well below the rest
The three lowest-valued groups are A, B and G, all below €750 million. Group A sits last at €572.88 million, with Mexico the most valuable side at €194.6 million, followed by Czech Republic at €190.18 million, South Korea at €142.3 million and South Africa at €45.8 million. It is the only group without a team above €200 million.
Group B ranks 11th at €705.78 million. Switzerland carry the highest valuation in the section at €333.6 million, followed by Canada at €203.05 million and Bosnia-Herzegovina at €149.2 million. Qatar, at €19.93 million, are one of the three lowest-valued teams in the tournament.
Group G stands slightly higher at €745.58 million, but it is heavily dependent on Belgium’s €542.9 million squad. Egypt, Iran and New Zealand combine for only €202.68 million, meaning Belgium alone account for nearly 73% of the group’s total value.
Europe drives the top of the market
European teams dominate the upper end of the ranking, with seven of the top 10 squads coming from UEFA. France, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands and Norway all sit inside the top 10, while Belgium are also close behind the strongest tier.
South America remains highly concentrated around Brazil and Argentina. Brazil rank sixth at €912.2 million and Argentina eighth at €818.5 million, while Uruguay and Colombia are the only other CONMEBOL sides above €300 million. Paraguay are the lowest-valued South American team at €157.15 million.
Africa’s strongest squads are clustered in the middle of the ranking. Ivory Coast lead CAF at €530.9 million, followed by Morocco at €488.2 million and Senegal at €472.9 million. Algeria and Ghana are also above €230 million, giving the continent several teams in the middle-to-upper range, even without a billion-euro squad.
The gap between top and bottom remains huge
The financial gap across the expanded World Cup field is extreme. France’s €1.53 billion squad is worth almost 78 times more than Jordan’s €19.53 million squad, the lowest-valued team in the competition. France are also worth more than the combined value of the bottom 19 teams in the ranking.
That gap is also visible at group level. Group I’s €2.62 billion total is more than €2.05 billion higher than Group A’s €572.88 million. The tournament’s richest group is therefore worth more than the four lowest-valued groups combined.
While the 48-team format gives more nations a place on the global stage, the squad-value ranking shows that financial strength is still concentrated among a small number of elite teams. France, England and Spain set the benchmark individually, while Group I stands clearly above every other section of the draw.