A World Cup is never just a tournament. It is a stage where old scores get settled, where grudges simmering for decades suddenly boil over in 90 minutes, and where a single fixture can carry the weight of history, politics and heartbreak all at once. And in 2026, with 48 teams playing 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the bracket has never been wider, the collision course never more crowded. More games mean more chances for the game's greatest enemies to meet again.
Some reunions are already locked in. Others are tantalizing possibilities, waiting for the knockout draw to fall just right. Either way, here are the iconic feuds that could define this summer.
FRANCE vs SENEGAL — THE REUNION ALREADY WRITTEN
Start with the one that is guaranteed. France and Senegal have been thrown together in Group I, the so-called "group of death," and for older fans the fixture carries an unmistakable echo. Cast your mind back to the opening match of the 2002 World Cup: Senegal, many of whose players had grown up in the French system, stunned the reigning world champions 1-0 in one of the greatest upsets the tournament has ever seen. France went home without scoring a goal.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, the colonial history, the shared football heritage and the raw competitive edge are all still there. Senegal arrive with a frightening attack and nothing to lose; France arrive as one of the favorites, desperate to avoid a repeat of the humiliation that still stings. Throw Norway and Iraq into the same group and you have the most combustible pool in the tournament. This is the feud you can already circle on the calendar.
ENGLAND vs ARGENTINA — THE HEAVYWEIGHT GRUDGE
No rivalry in world football carries more emotional baggage. The roots run back to the 1982 conflict over the Falkland Islands, but it was Diego Maradona who turned politics into footballing legend at the 1986 World Cup: first the "Hand of God," then, minutes later, a slaloming solo run still regarded as the greatest goal ever scored. In 1998 the two met again in a classic, David Beckham sent off and England eliminated on penalties. Four years on, Beckham had his revenge from the spot.
England, drawn in Group L, and Argentina, in Group J, cannot meet until the knockout rounds. But if the bracket aligns, the prospect of Lionel Messi chasing a final farewell against a hungry England side carrying 60 years of hurt would be box office unlike anything else in the draw. Few fixtures stop an entire continent. This is one of them.
ENGLAND vs GERMANY — FOOTBALL'S OLDEST WOUND
If Argentina is the grudge of passion, Germany is the grudge of pain. England's lone World Cup triumph came against West Germany in the 1966 final, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick sealing a 4-2 win at Wembley. Almost everything since has cut the other way. West Germany broke English hearts on penalties in the 1990 semifinal. Germany did it again at Euro 96, on home soil at Wembley. And in 2010 came the cruelest twist of all, a clear England goal wrongly ruled out before Germany ran riot in a 4-1 demolition.
For English supporters, beating Germany on the biggest stage is almost more important than the trophy itself. With Germany in Group E and England in Group L, a knockout reunion would reopen a wound that has never properly healed. Whisper it, but this is the match England fans want, and fear, in equal measure.
NETHERLANDS vs GERMANY — TOTAL FOOTBALL'S BITTER NEIGHBOR
Cross the German border the other way and you find a rivalry every bit as venomous. The Dutch have never forgiven Germany for the 1974 World Cup final, when Johan Cruyff's revolutionary Total Football side took the lead inside two minutes and still somehow lost. The hostility peaked in the famously ugly meetings of the late 1980s and early 1990s, a feud thick with spitting incidents, red cards and genuine loathing between two neighbors who simply cannot stand to lose to one another.
The Netherlands sit in Group F, Germany in Group E, so once again the stage is set for a potential knockout collision. When these two meet, tactics and reputations matter less than pride. Neither nation needs a trophy on the line to treat this as a war.
ARGENTINA vs BRAZIL — THE SUPERCLÁSICO ON THE WORLD STAGE
South America's defining rivalry rarely gets to play out at a World Cup, which is exactly what makes the prospect so mouthwatering. Argentina, the defending champions, and Brazil, the record five-time winners, are the twin giants of CONMEBOL, and their meetings carry a fierce, almost familial intensity that blends artistry with outright hostility.
Drawn into different groups, Argentina in J and Brazil in C, they could only meet deep in the knockouts, most likely in a semifinal or, dare we dream, the final itself. A Messi-led Argentina against a Brazil side eager to reclaim its throne, with a place in football history on the line, would be a fitting climax to any tournament. The whole of South America would hold its breath.
USA vs MEXICO — THE DERBY ON HOME SOIL
For the host fans, no rivalry matters more. The clash between the United States and Mexico has grown into one of the most heated in the global game, defined for a generation by the "Dos a Cero" scoreline, the 2-0 results the Americans repeatedly inflicted on their southern neighbors in qualifying. With the tournament being staged across both nations, the stakes and the atmosphere would be electric.
The USA are in Group D, Mexico in Group A, so a meeting would have to wait until the knockout stage. But the thought of these two settling their continental quarrel on home turf, in front of a deafening, divided crowd somewhere in North America, is the kind of storyline this World Cup was practically designed to deliver.
The Stage Is Set
What makes a rivalry truly iconic is not just the history but the stakes, and a World Cup raises both to their absolute peak. Some of these feuds, like France against Senegal, are already inked into the schedule. The rest hang on the unpredictable swing of the knockout bracket, where one result can throw two old enemies back into the same arena with everything on the line.
From June 11 to July 19, somewhere across three nations, at least one of these grudges will reignite. And when it does, it will remind us why football's oldest rivalries never really die. They just wait for the next World Cup.