Video: Bruno Fernandes labels teammate’s side as surprise package of World Cup 2026

The World Cup got underway last night as Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0. The tournament will run until 19th July, when the final will be played in New Jersey. Numerous Manchester United players have been involved in international friendlies, and 12 have been called up to represent their nations at the prestigious tournament. The United squad were asked by the club’s official website to comment on who they thought the underdogs of the tournament would be. Underdogs Joshua Zirkzee opted for his teammate Noussair Mazraoui’s Morocco to impress as an underdog. Perhaps it would be harsh to refer to the North African team in this way, as they are AFCON champions and reached the World Cup semi-final in 2022. Portugal’s Diogo Dalot went for the Netherlands, and Senne Lammens picked his own nation, Belgium. He stated, “Belgium is a bit of an underdog so I’ll take us.” Portugal captain Bruno Fernandes then pleased numerous UK-based fans by labelling Scotland as the surprise package of the tournament. Carrington youth product Tyler Fletcher was recently called up to the senior squad to replace the injured Billy Gilmour. Manuel Ugarte was also asked, and he chose fellow South American team Ecuador as the side who could pull a few surprise punches. Fernandes’ opinion Fernandes was then asked to predict who would win the World Cup, and he somewhat unsurprisingly chose his own nation. When asked who he would like to face in the final, he claimed, “I don’t mind. I’d pick anyone if I get into the final, that’s another problem that I have to think after [about].” After having a moment to think more about the question, he replied, “Morocco. My friend Nous Mazraoui is there. We have something still inside us from the last World Cup. I want to beat him this time to get the better of him!” Who’s winning the #FIFAWorldCup? 👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/IbJQSaQTWj — Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 10, 2026 Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.