World Cup 2026: Chelsea legend names 'surprise' nation who could win the tournament

The World Cup is set to kick off in less than a week, and fans around the globe will be watching eagerly to see who will lift the trophy on July 19.

Several of the familiar old names have been touted as favourites to win the World Cup this year, with Spain, France, and England among this group.

Argentina are the holders of the competition and will be aiming to become only the third nation to win consecutive World Cups, following in the steps of Brazil and Italy.

Fans are not the only ones aiming to predict the winners of the competition this summer, pundits are trying to demonstrate their expert footballing knowledge by also naming who will lift the trophy in the middle of the summer.

One name that has given his view is former World Cup winner Marcel Desailly, who has named who he wants to see win the tournament and why.

Marcel Desailly hopeful Portugal will win the 2026 World Cup

In 1998, Desailly was famously part of the France squad that won the World Cup for the first time in the nation's history, beating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

While this was arguably the pinnacle of his career, a serious low came while captaining Les Bleus at the next iteration of the competition, as he captained France in a dismal defence of the trophy at the 2002 World Cup, with the side finishing bottom of Group A.

Having experienced the highs and lows of World Cup football, Desailly had an exclusive conversation with Sports Mole thanks to BetVictor to discuss who he wants to win the 2026 iteration of the competition.

He said: “Portugal could be the surprise.

“I want Cristiano [Ronaldo] to win, as I love both Cristiano and Messi equally, but I would like Portugal, which has a strong team, to win the World Cup so that Cristiano can receive the same reward as Messi did in 2022.”

Is Cristiano Ronaldo set to join an elite group of footballers by winning the World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo and his fans will know that he can only be considered the best player to ever grace the game if he lifts the World Cup, with 2026 being the last realistic chance he has of achieving this feat.

Portugal’s captain would be among the conversation with Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi if so, but the only thing that he is missing when it comes to this debate is a World Cup.

Portugal are seen as one of the favourites for the tournament, yet their best finish in the competition came in 1966 when they placed third.

They have qualified for every World Cup since 2002, with their best finish in the 21st century being fourth in 2006 with Ronaldo as part of that squad.

However, since that run to the semi-finals 20 years ago, Portugal have never been past the quarter-finals of the World Cup, progressing that far in 2022 before being sent home by Morocco.

Marcel Desailly was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetVictor - check out our best betting sides for the World Cup here.