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Global internet connection benchmarking firm Ookla (Accenture), which operates the popular broadband Speedtest.net tool and Downdetector service (among other things), has decided to publish their own ranking of the last 32 countries participating in the FIFA World Cup 2026 – but it’s based on fixed broadband speeds rather than football.
The data, which is based on speed tests recorded across each country during May 2026, provides another way to compare the countries that reached football’s biggest stage. But how much you can really gleam from this that’s useful, when compared with a general country comparison, is likely to be a matter of some debate. So we’ll skip the usual context setting and get right to the results.
Overall, France recorded the fastest median average download speed (352.77Mbps) and median upload speed (276.67Mbps) among the 32 knockout-stage countries. At the other end of the table, Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) had the slowest downloads of 39.57Mbps and poor uploads of 15.15Mbps. Finally, England (United Kingdom) sits in the upper middle of the table with downloads of 181.59Mbps, uploads of 56.57Mbps and median latency times of 12ms (milliseconds).
Scotland isn’t included because Ookla has only considered the 32 knock-out stage countries and not the total of 48 from the initial group stages. Make of all this what you will (here).
32 Knock Out Stage FIFA World Cup 2026 Countries Ranked by Broadband Speed
| Country | Global Index Ranking (May 2026) | Median Download Speed (Mbps) | Median Upload Speed (Mbps) | Median Latency (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 5 | 352.77 | 276.67 | 8.0 |
| USA | 9 | 306.86 | 57.5 | 12.0 |
| Switzerland | 10 | 300.7 | 112.66 | 7.0 |
| Spain | 17 | 273.81 | 221.76 | 11.0 |
| Canada | 18 | 272.69 | 100.92 | 10.0 |
| Portugal | 21 | 251.79 | 115.98 | 6.0 |
| Japan | 24 | 232.02 | 140.68 | 13.0 |
| Netherlands | 26 | 230.13 | 100.8 | 9.0 |
| Brazil | 27 | 227.66 | 124.44 | 5.0 |
| Colombia | 32 | 220.25 | 97.05 | 7.0 |
| Sweden | 35 | 213.87 | 138.62 | 7.0 |
| Ecuador | 39 | 200.15 | 182.31 | 5.0 |
| England (United Kingdom) | 43 | 181.59 | 56.57 | 12.0 |
| Norway | 49 | 171.54 | 152.58 | 7.0 |
| Australia | 52 | 157.56 | 40.42 | 9.0 |
| Belgium | 54 | 142.8 | 27.6 | 13.0 |
| Croatia | 58 | 131.72 | 65.51 | 8.0 |
| Paraguay | 59 | 129.59 | 38.93 | 6.0 |
| Austria | 63 | 117.77 | 29.2 | 11.0 |
| Mexico | 64 | 117.03 | 94.52 | 5.0 |
| Argentina | 65 | 115.36 | 77.38 | 10.0 |
| Germany | 69 | 103.6 | 37.55 | 12.0 |
| Egypt | 80 | 92.73 | 17.03 | 9.0 |
| Algeria | 98 | 72.09 | 30.54 | 8.0 |
| Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 103 | 59.53 | 21.48 | 6.0 |
| Morocco | 104 | 58.34 | 54.26 | 9.0 |
| South Africa | 111 | 49.74 | 40.24 | 7.0 |
| Ghana | 112 | 48.72 | 23.16 | 26.0 |
| DR Congo | 116 | 47.39 | 10.85 | 143.0 |
| Senegal | 118 | 46.11 | 14.09 | 6.0 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 124 | 40.08 | 10.3 | 10.0 |
| Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) | 125 | 39.57 | 15.15 | 22.0 |