2026 FIFA World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic snubs France, Argentina, names strange favourites

Legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has emphatically declared that the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) can win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, urging supporters to throw their full weight behind the soaring host nation. 

Ibrahimovic’s endorsement came after Mauricio Pochettino’s squad secured a convincing 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle on Friday, June 19. 

The win, fuelled by an early Cameron Burgess own goal and an Alex Freeman header, mathematically guaranteed the Americans the top spot in Group D with a game to spare, allowing them to qualify for the knockout rounds in dominant fashion. 

When asked by Fox Sports presenter Rebecca Lowe for a one-word answer regarding whether the United States could genuinely lift football's most coveted trophy, the typically hard-to-please Ibrahimovic unequivocally replied, "Yes." 

The USMNT’s blistering start has earned them favourable placements on many power rankings, including Pulse Sports’, while the Opta supercomputer currently assigns them a 4.6% probability to win the tournament outright, the eighth highest. 

The sheer magnitude of the USMNT's opening performances cannot be overstated, as they have been widely celebrated as one of the most consistently impressive teams in the competition so far. 

Prior to completely neutralising Australia, the Americans brutally dismantled Paraguay with a 4-1 thrashing in their opening fixture. 

By securing these two emphatic results, the United States incredibly recorded back-to-back World Cup victories for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1930. 

Ibrahimovic was particularly quick to highlight the presence of an unyielding home support fueling this historic run. 

"If you didn’t believe before, I will repeat; start believing," Ibrahimovic stated during his broadcast. 

"They have the country behind them, and when you have this support, it’s difficult to beat you. They had a good performance today. To be honest, Australia was not a threat today.

"I said it before, that whatever happened before the World Cup doesn't matter. It is important what happens now. Now, the momentum they have, that is what they need... The third game, let's see what happens now, they can rest some players now that they have qualified. It is looking good." 

They will next look to extend their six-goal tournament tally when they navigate their final group stage match before preparing for their Round of 32 clash slated for July 1, 2026, at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.