World Cup 2026: Predictions, Odds and Surprises

Check out this breaking news lesson: “Spain wins the 2026 World Cup“!

Engage your students with this current events lesson on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they explore real-world football predictions, discuss team performance, and practise using authentic, everyday English. This ESL worksheet is a speaking and listening resource that brings the excitement of the World Cup into the classroom. It is designed for B1–B2 level learners and is ideal for developing football vocabulary and speaking fluency around predictions and statistics in sport. Other lessons you might like include “The stadiums of the 2026 World Cup”, “World Cup 2026: Economic promise vs economic reality”, “The incredible history of the World Cup trophy“, and “Phrasal verbs: football“.

Speaking: Lead-in and Discussion

The lesson begins with engaging discussion questions about the 2026 World Cup. Then, students rank the importance of key predictive factors such as team quality, experience, form, FIFA ranking, coaching, team spirit, luck, and playing conditions for winning the tournament.

Vocabulary: Football Predictions

Students learn and practise essential football prediction vocabulary such as dark horse, underdog, powerhouse, contender, upset, odds, talent pool, and outperform. They match terms to definitions and apply them in context through examples based on real 2022 World Cup events, helping them understand how these expressions are used in sports journalism and analysis. Then, they are given more useful expressions for making predictions, and are asked to make predictions about the 2026 World Cup.

Listening: Expert Predictions for the 2026 World Cup

Students watch a video featuring economist Joachim Klement, who uses a statistical model to predict World Cup outcomes, titled “Economist who predicted past three World Cup winners says this team will win 2026 contest”. Students complete guided comprehension tasks and identify key ideas.

Speaking: Post-Listening Discussion & Critical Thinking

After listening, students discuss and evaluate the economist’s predictions. They debate whether the Netherlands could realistically win the tournament, whether data-driven models are reliable, and whether factors such as talent distribution, sports culture, and team balance influence success. Students also reflect on key football sayings such as “defence wins tournaments” and analyse whether statistics or luck plays a bigger role in predicting winners.

For more pseaking practice, you can use the printable conversation cards.