From Matthew Tkachuk’s French connection to Sasha Barkov’s Spanish loyalty, Florida’s hockey stars weigh in on which soccer powerhouse will hoist the trophy at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup began this week, with soccer fans across the globe locking in for what is arguably the biggest sports tournament there is.
Fans here in the United States are flying high following a resounding 4-1 opening match win by the U.S. on Friday night against Paraguay.
With the games just getting going and a bigger field of teams than ever before, this year’s World Cup is poised to be one of the best and most exciting yet.
Over the past few days, as we continued to gear up for the start of the tournament, the Florida Panthers decided to jump in on the fun.
The Panthers polled several of their players on who they thought was going to win the World Cup, and then posted the answers on social media.
Panthers captain Sasha Barkov and his Finnish teammate Anton Lundell, both of whom just took home gold medals at the IIHF World Championship, are taking Spain to win it all.
Matthew Takchuk, who also won a gold medal this year after skating with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, said he thinks it will be France that claims World Cup glory.
Another Finnish Panther, Eetu Luostarinen, dissented from his countrymen.
Eetu is going with Inter Miami’s superstar Lionel Messi and Argentina to take home the World Cup crown.
Finally, the Panthers reached out to their Latvian defenseman Uvis Balinskis for his World Cup winner.
Balinskis was quick to respond with “Lamine Yamal and Spain, Vamos!”
How do you see the World Cup playing out? Let us know in the comments below.
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Photo caption: [Subscription Customers Only] Jun 23, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers player Aleksander Barkov celebrates with the Stanley Cup on the pitch with the trophy with teammates at half time during a group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup between SE Palmeiras and Inter Miami CF at Hard Rock Stadium. (Marco Bello-Reuters via Imagn Images)