‘Chaos v calm’ – Sutton’s World Cup final and third-place predictions
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup final and third-place play-off, BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has given his verdict on both matches, alongside predictions generated by AI and by users of the BBC's predictor game. Argentina face Spain in Sunday's final in New York, while England meet France in Saturday's bronze final in Miami, a fixture Sutton notes neither side particularly wants after two gruelling tournaments.
Sutton expects Spain, unbeaten and never behind in any of their seven games, to overcome an Argentina side he views as fortunate to reach the final, predicting a French win over England 2-1 in the third-place match. Of the BBC's 17 named pundits, nine picked France to win the tournament, seven backed England and only Micah Richards went for Spain. On overall prediction accuracy across 102 of 104 games so far, users of the BBC predictor game lead with 71%, narrowly ahead of AI (Microsoft Copilot) on 65% and Sutton on 64%.
In short
- Sutton predicts Spain to beat Argentina in Sunday's World Cup final
- France tipped to beat England 2-1 in bronze final
- BBC predictor game users lead AI and Sutton on prediction accuracy
Explained simply
The World Cup is football's biggest international tournament, held every four years with nations competing to be crowned world champions. The 2026 edition is approaching its conclusion, with just two matches left to be played in the United States.
Argentina will meet Spain in the final on Sunday in New York, whilst England face France in Saturday's third-place match in Miami. Each of these four teams has worked through earlier rounds of the tournament, defeating opponents to reach these final fixtures.
As major sporting events unfold, predictions emerge about likely outcomes from various sources. Football experts, artificial intelligence systems and members of the public using prediction games are all offering their forecasts for these final matches.
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