After each qualifying round, we'll be ranking the 10 sides that look in the best shape to reign supreme in the United States, Canada and Mexico based on their form and the strength of their squad.
Here's how things stand with under a year to go.
10. Norway
Norway remain in our top 10 after maintaining their perfect qualifying record in style in the most recent international break.
They put 11 (!) past Moldova, with Erling Haaland scoring five of them and Martin Odegaard getting one goal and two assists. And while they have only been facing Moldova, it's a Moldova side that headed into the game on the back of respectable 2-0 defeats to Italy and Poland.
Thanks to the goal difference that win gave them, Norway are now hugely likely to top their group ahead of Italy and return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998. And with how they're playing, they may do more than just make up the numbers.
9. Germany (-3)
Germany's most recent qualifiers were hugely concerning, with Julian Nagelsmann's men suffering a 2-0 defeat to Slovakia and then having to recover from a poor first-half to beat Northern Ireland.
Their performances at Euro 2024 and the quality in their squad keep them in our top 10, with just two wins in their last seven games, they need to step things up.
8. Morocco (new entry)
Morocco became the first African side to seal their spot at the World Cup with a 5-0 victory over Niger, and have now won 21 of their last 23 matches.
Included in that run was an African Nations Championship that may not be hugely relevant to their World Cup chances given sides could only consist of domestic-based players, but it did show they have some depth beyond their star names.
With those star names, including Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz, playing well for their nation too, the 2022 semi-finalists will fancy their chances of going on another run next summer.
They move into our top 10 in place of the Netherlands, who were held by Poland and narrowly avoided humiliation in a 3-2 win over Lithuania.
7. Ecuador (+1)
Ecuador have been one of the surprise packages of qualifying, ending their campaign with just two defeats - against Argentina and Brazil - in their 18 matches.
The main reason for that is their simply remarkable defensive record. They conceded just five goals on their way to the World Cup and kept 13 clean sheets, including five in their last five. Sure, they may not have scored in four of them, but hey, if you can take penalties, that's a recipe for success in knockout football.
Ending qualifying with a 1-0 win over Argentina that ensured they finished second, behind the world champions, made it clear that they're a force to be reckoned with.
6. Brazil (-1)
While Ecuador secured second, Brazil ended up in fifth after being dominated and beaten by Bolivia in their final qualifier.
That's not a great sign for Carlo Ancelotti, but he'll take some comfort in the fact that he'd put out a rotated XI and had seen his first team secure an impressive 3-0 win over Chile a few days earlier.
Ultimately, Brazil remain a fairly unknown quantity under their new manager, but with Ancelotti in the dugout and numerous world-class players on the pitch, their quality is undisputed.
5. England (+2)
After a really poor first few matches under their new manager, Thomas Tuchel's England finally sprang into life with a 5-0 thrashing of Serbia, despite missing key players Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham through injury.
Morgan Rogers and Noni Madueke added a real spark in attack, new face Elliot Anderson made the side look a lot more balanced, and things are looking good at the back with five clean sheets from their five qualifiers so far.
There are still a lot of problems for Tuchel to solve in his search for a best XI and the hugely unimpressive wins over Andorra (1-0 and 2-0) that preceded the Serbia match remain a concern, but things look to be moving in the right direction.
4. Portugal
Nations League champions Portugal made the perfect start to their qualifying campaign, getting two wins from two and scoring eight goals in the process.
Their 3-2 win over Hungary wasn't as comfortable as they would've liked, but the scoreline reflected harshly on them, with Roberto Martinez's side dominating the match in Budapest.
Cristiano Ronaldo also scored three goals across the two games, which Martinez will be delighted about given he looks set to keep faith in the veteran in their quest to win the nation their first World Cup.
3. France
France also picked up two wins from two and also overcame a bit of a scare in one of them, scraping past Iceland in a 2-1 win.
That being said, they have 10 men for the final 30 minutes or so of that match, and generally looked good when at full strength in both that clash and the one against Ukraine.
2. Argentina (-1)
Argentina lose top spot in our rankings, partly because they were beaten by Ecuador in their final qualifier and partly because Lionel Messi has increasingly expressed doubts about competing in the World Cup.
Even without him though, their squad remains full of world-class players and knows how to win. Whether Messi is there or not, taking their title from them won't be easy.
1. Spain (+1)
While the above issues for Argentina are partly why Spain move to the top of this list, the European champions have very much earned it themselves too.
They made a simply stunning start to qualifying, following a 3-0 win over Bulgaria up with a 6-0 demolition of Turkey away from home in which star players Pedri and Lamine Yamal were unstoppable.
It's now been well over a year since they last lost a match outside of penalty shootouts, and you'd be a brave man to bet against that run ending soon.
