The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. There will be around 1 billion people watching the Final on December 18th. But it is not the biggest event in America. That belongs to our football and the Super Bowl. The NFL is king in this country, and there is no doubt about it. Nearly every sports fan knows the NFL and has a general idea of what the teams in the league are all about. So I’m going to give you the World Cup teams and the NFL equivalent. Root for the team that you want to root for in the World Cup. America, Mexico, England, Germany, and Canada all have large fan bases in this country. But if you’re looking for another team to follow, it could be fun to follow the team closest to your NFL team.
I tried to find an exact comparison for all of the teams, but it didn’t always work out perfectly. The fact is the NFL has much more parity than the FIFA World Cup. So I looked at overall talent of the roster, the history of the country, and where they stand on a global or league wide look. There are many story lines around this World Cup- both on and off the field. On the field the biggest story line is the final (most likely) tournament for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Two of the all-time greats, and the best players in the generation by a wide margin. Off the field there are human rights accusations on many levels. That’s not for us. Here are the World Cup teams and the NFL equivalent.
Argentina=Baltimore Ravens
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
These teams are both very good, but not the favorites to win it all. Messi is one of the best players in the world that can take over any game. Same for Lamar Jackson in the NFL.
Australia=Los Angeles Rams
(Photo by Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
Both teams are just meh… They have yellow as well. Oh, and neither is a contender to win it all. In fact, they’re both pretty bad right now.
Belgium=Dallas Cowboys
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
I know the Cowboys are “America’s Team”, but Belgium and Dallas have amazing similarities. They are both talented rosters that have not delivered in the biggest moments. Dallas disappoints every postseason, just like Belgium has done with this “Golden Generation”. These teams are good enough to win it all, but they have to show they can do it.
Brazil=Buffalo Bills
(Photo by Javier Mamani/Getty Images)
Both are favorites to win it all with arguably the most talented roster in the field led by one of the best talents in the world. Josh Allen and Neymar are elite talents offensively, but they are by no means the only talented players on their teams.
Cameroon=Arizona Cardinals
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Both are okay, but not much more.
Canada=Detroit Lions
(Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Both teams have done next to nothing in their history, but this version of them are better than most people’s perception.
Costa Rica=Houston Texans
(Photo by Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
They’re both terrible, and should be happy to be playing.
Croatia=Cincinnati Bengals
(Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)
Two really good teams that lost in the final game last tournament. Bengals lost to the Rams and Croatia lost to France. They’re a team that no body will want to face if they make it to the playoff/knock out stage.
Denmark=Tennessee Titans
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
These are both good teams that don’t get the credit they deserve. They also play a disciplined style with few mistakes. Denmark should make the knockout stage, but then lose early on. Sound familiar Titans fans?
Ecuador=Chicago Bears
(Photo by Dolores Ochoa – Pool/Getty Images)
Both are young teams with promising talent that is too young to win right now. But watch out for them in the future.
England=New York Giants
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
England has more talent than the Giants, but they play similar styles. Both like to win low scoring games where they are not the one to make the big mistake. England under Gareth Southgate love to win games 1-0. Just like the Giants under Daboll winning games 20-17. Don’t expect either win it all, but they will get to the playoffs/knockout stage.
France=Kansas City Chiefs
(Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
Both of these teams have all the talent in the world, and have won with that talent recently. Patrick Mahomes and Kylian MBappe can light up the scoreboard. Nobody would be surprised if these are the last teams standing.
Germany=Philadelphia Eagles
(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Both teams are hard working, and can beat you up physically in a game. They will beat up on the lesser teams, but when they take a step up in competition, it still remains to be seen how they will respond.
Ghana=Indianapolis Colts
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Solid teams. Not a lot of other comparisons.
Iran=Las Vegas Raiders
(Photo by Amin M. Jamali/Getty Images)
Neither team is good. However, you don’t want to cross the fan base. They’re both rabid.
Japan-Pittsburgh Steelers
(Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
Both are disciplined teams that are well coached and want to win with defense. They will not win it all, but they are not an easy out.
Mexico=New England Patriots
(Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Two teams that are well coached, and want to win with defense. I will say Bill Belichick>Gerardo Martino.
Morocco=Carolina Panthers
(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
It’s cool they’re playing. But they won’t do much of anything.
Netherlands=Miami Dolphins
(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
These are two talented young rosters that can compete with anyone. Neither team has proven anything with this group of players though. They’re good defensively while being very good to elite offensively. The orange is a nice connection too.
Poland=San Francisco 49ers
(Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)
Both are good teams that are led by an elite offensive talent. Christian McCaffrey is one of the best offensive weapons in football, just like Robert Lewandowski is in soccer.
Portugal=Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Both the Bucs and Portugal are talented rosters led by GOATs coming to the end of their career. Brady winning a Super Bowl and riding into the sunset would only be upstaged on a global scale by Ronaldo winning the World Cup and retiring from international soccer.
Qatar-Washington Commanders
(Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images for DAGOC)
Corruption thrives in these environments. And it starts at the top. The colors are pretty close as well. Oh, and neither team as a shot in hell of winning it.
Saudi Arabia=Atlanta Falcons
(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
They’re better than most people think. They won’t win very many games, but they’re a tough out.
Senegal=Denver Broncos
(Photo by Mohamed Hossam/Getty Images)
Two teams that look really good on paper. But that talent hasn’t equated to wins on the field or pitch.
Serbia=Seattle Seahawks
(Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
These are solid teams. I don’t know if this is actually correct, but I feel like the cold wet conditions experienced in Seattle mirror those in Croatia.
South Korea=Cleveland Browns
(Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Really solid rosters, but there is not a history of winning… at all. South Korea striker Son Heung-min is one of the best in the world, just like Deshaun Watson (that’s where the comparisons end though- Son seems like a great human).
Spain=Minnesota Vikings
(Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
These are two very good team that don’t have the out and out super star leading the way. Each have one of the best rosters in their spot.
Tunisia=New Orleans Saints
(Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
I’ll be honest here. These we’re the last 2 teams. Neither team is awful, but neither is good. They’re both just below average.
Uruguay=New York Jets
(Photo by Alberto Valdez – Pool/Getty Images)
Both teams are young and talents, and not really liked by many other fan bases. Both teams experienced their most success a long time ago. The Jets won Super Bowl 3, and Uruguay won the first ever World Cup.
USA=Jacksonville Jaguars
(Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)
Both teams have young talent, but are not ready to win yet. USA features the youngest squad in the tournament. Both have small fan bases, and don’t get a ton of attention outside of their fan base. The Jags and USA can beat almost anyone… they can also lose to almost anyone.
Switzerland=Los Angeles Chargers
(Photo by Carsten Harz/Getty Images)
They’re both neutral on a lot of things. Both pretty good, but not expected to make much noise once they get to the knockout stage/playoffs.
Wales=Green Bay Packers
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Gareth Bale is a once great super star that seems to be coming to the end. Sound familiar Arron Rodgers? Each side has a solid defense while offensively they can hit stretches where they look inept.
