SC Power Index — Live · Updated April 5, 2026

Your 45-second World Cup superpower.

Before every match — the teams, the players, the hidden stories, backed by real data. All 48 teams ranked. 34,000 players analysed. Presented so simply, even your grandma will sound smart at the watch party.

See the full Power Index → Explore all 48 teams
Live
48
Teams ranked
34k+
Players tracked
10
Leagues analysed
67
Days to kickoff
SC Power Index — Top 10

The contenders,
ranked by data

Spain lead. Argentina defending at #7. Morocco outperforming their score. Every ranking has a story behind it.

See all 48 teams with full breakdowns →
The Methodology

Four factors.
One honest score.

The SC Power Index measures what data can measure. We track every player likely to be called up across 10 professional leagues, rate them by position, and build each team's score from the ground up. We also tell you what the model misses — because the gap between a number and a result is where the most interesting conversations live.

01
Squad Quality
Every player rated relative to their position — a goalkeeper isn't penalised for not scoring goals. Market value as a baseline, adjusted for current season form. This captures the ceiling of what a team can produce on their best day.
50% of total score
02
Squad Depth
Seven games. Injuries, suspensions, fatigue. A World Cup breaks squads. We measure the quality drop-off from starting XI to bench — the steeper the cliff, the more vulnerable a team becomes in the knockout rounds. Argentina's 53.5 is the lowest of any top-10 team.
20% of total score
03
X-Factor
U23 stars and rising players who could become the story of this tournament. Spain's Lamine Yamal at 88 and Turkey's Kenan Yıldız at 80 both meaningfully lift their team's ceiling. This is where the next generation changes a ranking.
15% of total score
04
Recent Form
International and club form weighted by opponent strength. Designed to capture who is peaking right now versus who peaked two years ago.
15% of total score
Pre-tournament note: Recent Form is currently set to a neutral baseline (50.0) for all 48 teams. This keeps pre-kickoff rankings grounded in squad structure rather than partial data. From June 11 — kickoff day — Form updates live after every match. Teams that win convincingly rise. Teams that struggle fall. The Index becomes fully dynamic once the World Cup begins.
SC Power Index = Squad Quality × 0.50 + Squad Depth × 0.20 + X-Factor × 0.15 + Recent Form × 0.15 Player Rating = Market Value Percentile × 0.60 + Current Season Form × 0.25 + Age Factor × 0.05 + Club Strength × 0.10  ·  Data: Transfermarkt · football-data.org · 10 professional leagues · Updated April 5, 2026

The Index captures individual player quality and squad structure. It doesn't measure collective identity, tactical cohesion or tournament mentality — which is why Morocco (#13) and Japan (#20) may be more dangerous than their scores suggest. That gap is the conversation, not a flaw in the model.

All 48 nations

Every team. Equal coverage.
No nation left behind.

From Spain's elite squad to Panama's debutants. Click any team for their full Power Index breakdown, best XI, rising stars and group context.

Team Intelligence

Every team gets a deep dive

Each of the 48 nations has a dedicated page — full squad breakdown, best XI, rising stars, group rivals and the story behind their Power Index score. A number without context is just a number.

Explore team pages →
Full squad with player ratings — every player in the predicted 26-man squad scored by position. See who's carrying the team and where depth falls off.
U23 stars and rising players — the next generation who could become the story of the tournament. From Lamine Yamal (88) to Ecuador's Kendry Páez (49, age 19).
Group rivals compared side by side — every team in the group ranked by the Index. Know who's favoured before a ball is kicked.
The story behind the score — Morocco at #13 isn't the full picture. Each page explains what the data sees and what it doesn't.
WC26 Intelligence

Questions the data
actually answers

Who is favourite to win World Cup 2026?
The SC Power Index places Spain #1 (68.75), France #2 (67.92) and England #3 (67.59). Spain combine Lamine Yamal's ceiling-raising X-Factor (88) with strong squad balance across all positions. Defending champions Argentina are ranked #7.
Which team has the best squad depth?
France lead at 64.5, ahead of England and the Netherlands (both 62.5). Argentina's depth score of 53.5 is the lowest of any top-10 team — their biggest structural vulnerability across a seven-game tournament.
Who are the dark horses for WC26?
Turkey (#9, highest X-Factor outside the top 8 at 72.7), Morocco (#13, 2022 semi-finalists), Senegal (#12) and Japan (#20, who beat Germany and Spain at 2022) are the most dangerous teams the Index may be undervaluing.
Can Argentina defend the World Cup title?
Argentina sit #7 with squad quality of 69.5. Lautaro Martínez (84) and Enzo Fernández (80) are world class. But their depth score of 53.5 is the lowest of any top-10 team, and they arrive at 2026 without the singular emotional motivation that powered their 2022 campaign.
Who is the best young player at WC26?
Lamine Yamal (Spain, 17) is the highest-rated U23 player at 88. Turkey's Kenan Yıldız (21) scores 80, Portugal's João Neves (22) scores 78. Ecuador's Kendry Páez (19) at 49 is the most intriguing emerging talent to follow.
Which African team has the best chance?
Senegal rank highest at #12 (56.64), led by Iliman Ndiaye (75). Morocco at #13 may be more dangerous in practice — Achraf Hakimi (79), four years of continuity under Regragui, and the psychological edge of their historic 2022 semi-final run.

Ready to own every WC26 conversation?

Your 45-second pre-match superpower. Free. Data-led. Built for fans who want more than the highlights.

See the full Power Index → Follow @squadcheck.club
— days to kickoff
Get your WC26 superpower — free
Drop your email — we'll notify you before every match
You're in.
We'll find you before kickoff on June 11.