Week 449 was posted by Charanjit Chana on 2026-06-07.
The World Cup is now days away, I had been collating images of the various kits to be worn at the World Cup to continue my tradition of posting my favourites. (See the 2018 and 2022 editions.)
After the tournament kicks off, I will post my favourite kits of 2026, but until then I wanted to pick out some teams I'll be rooting for. There are 48 to pick from and it would be rude to follow just one team so here's who I'll be following most closely.
Europe
I should support England but find it hard to given the poor team selections they make constantly. Could they win this time? I doubt it. I will be watching though.
Netherlands, and Italy (who did not qualify), are my favourite European team to follow. I would love to see Virgil van Dijk lift the trophy. I have soft spot for Czechia too and continues to be a place I'd love to visit.
I'd also like to see Germany's Wirtz have a great tournament after a difficult first season at Liverpool. I followed Spain closely as the dominated International football from 2008-2012 but have little reason to get behind them now other than to watch Lamine Yamal play.
Africa
Mo Salah may have left Liverpool but following an injury just before the 2018 World Cup, Egypt never really had a chance. I don't expect them to go far, but I do want to see a Liverpool legend do well at what will probably be his last World Cup.
Asia & Australasia
Liverpool's Wataru Endo captains Japan so I'll be rooting for them.
North America
It seems odd that a World Cup that follows Russia and Qatar as hosts might actually be the most hostile and intolerable.
Given there are actually 3 hosts, I've picked Mexico as my north/Central American team to follow.
South America
I have beef with Vini Jr. because his goal defeated Liverpool in the 2022 Champions League Final against Real Madrid and I have no idea why Neymar is involved. Brazil might be turning into the England of South America... I'll follow them but I'm not rooting for them like I have in the past.
Darwin Nuñez is in the Uruguay squad and Luis Diaz plays for Colombia so these are my top two South American teams to get behind.
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