DartsNews Podcast | “A lot of the top nations have weaker squads” - England’s main World Cup rivals face major question marks

England may have the strongest pairing at the 2026 World Cup of Darts, but the race behind Luke Littler and Luke Humphries already looks far less certain.

Scotland are without Peter Wright, Wales are missing Gerwyn Price, and even reigning champions Northern Ireland return to Frankfurt with a different kind of pressure after last year’s breakthrough title.

On the latest episode of the DartsNews Podcast, the panel looked beyond England’s favourite status and asked whether the tournament’s biggest chasing nations are arriving with more doubts than usual.

Cohosts Kieran Wood and Nicolas Gayer were joined by returning guest Finlay Williams for a special World Cup preview, with Williams summing up the uncertainty around England’s rivals: “A lot of the top nations have weaker squads.”

England were still treated as the benchmark across the panel, even with their own Frankfurt caveat after last year’s defeat to Germany and the crowd dynamic around Littler. Behind Littler and Humphries, several of the usual chasing nations arrive looking different.

Scotland are the clearest example. Wright’s absence breaks up one of the country’s defining World Cup pairings, with Gary Anderson now joined by Cameron Menzies. Anderson and Wright won Scotland’s first World Cup title together in 2019, reached finals as a pair in 2015, 2018 and 2023, and helped establish Scotland as a regular threat in this event.

Williams, offering a Scottish perspective on the new-look team, admitted the change has altered the feel around Scotland’s challenge. “Oh, I’m devastated, lads. I’m devastated,” he joked, before adding: “But no, in all seriousness, I think Cameron Menzies’ stage form in the last month has really picked up.”

The absence of Wright does not leave Scotland short of pedigree. Anderson remains one of the sport’s great names, while Menzies has forced his way into the World Cup picture through form and ranking position. Williams still viewed the Anderson-Menzies pairing as Scotland’s strongest available option. “For my money, Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies are probably the best combination we have,” said Williams.

Menzies brings form and emotion, while Anderson brings the history. Gayer, a long-time Anderson admirer, said the two-time world champion’s recent rhythm still left him slightly uneasy. “I am a bit worried right now about just Gary’s form and everything,” said Gayer. “But right now, I think this year he’s played, I think, two very good Pro Tour tournaments and also at the UK Open where he had two phenomenal matches, then losing out to Luke Littler. I think apart from that, it wasn’t that good this year.”

Williams also pointed to Menzies’ temperament as one of the variables around Scotland, although he has seen improvement in recent weeks. “We haven’t spoken about yet Cammy’s tendency to lose his head on these big occasions as well,” said Williams. “I’ve been quite impressed in recent weeks with his demeanour and decorum on the stage on the Euro Tours. If you look at his results with a much calmer attitude, he’s getting significantly better results on the stage.”

Wood suggested Anderson could be a useful partner in that setting, given how rarely the Scot appears to unravel on stage. Gayer agreed, adding: “I always think angry Gary Anderson is the best version of Gary Anderson.”

Scotland have enough quality to trouble anyone in Frankfurt. They also arrive without the familiar Anderson-Wright partnership that has shaped so much of their World Cup identity.

Wales sit in a different but equally changed position. Clayton and Price have been one of the modern World Cup’s benchmark pairings, winning the title together in 2020 and 2023 before reaching last year’s final, where they lost 10-9 to Northern Ireland.

Price’s absence for 2026 has shifted Wales into a very different shape. Clayton is now partnered by Nick Kenny, with Wales drawn into Group C alongside Lithuania and Thailand rather than entering as one of the four seeded nations with a bye.

That subject had already been explored on a previous episode of the DartsNews Podcast, when Wood spoke about feeling sorry for Clayton after Price’s withdrawal. Williams added a fresh angle this time, looking at how quickly the Welsh depth picture could become even more complicated. “Wales, Gerwyn Price withdrawing. Nick Kenny’s in. He’s fighting for his Tour Card,” said Williams. “If this was next year, so this was a year later and Price was withdrawn, it could be Rhys Griffin playing for Wales because Nick Kenny and Rob Owen might have both lost their Tour Cards. So there’s that aspect.”

Kenny has stage pedigree and a major opportunity alongside Clayton, but the difference from Clayton-Price is obvious. Wales have gone from a proven two-time title-winning partnership to a reshaped team with a group-stage route and a new dynamic to build under pressure.

Belgium also came into Williams’ wider assessment. Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh are both major winners, but both carry different questions into Frankfurt. “I’ve been really impressed with Dimitri Van den Bergh lately,” said Williams. “He’s playing so much better than he was even two or three months ago. He’s still not quite back there yet. And Mike De Decker has won only one game on the Euro Tour all year, and it was against Marvin Kraft in Poland.”

The Netherlands and Germany were part of the wider discussion too. Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen give the Dutch obvious pedigree on paper, while Germany’s home campaign arrives with its own Ricardo Pietreczko question in front of a Frankfurt crowd. Neither nation can be dismissed, but both add to the sense that England’s chasing pack is carrying fewer certainties than usual.

Gayer saw that pattern once he looked across the field. “I looked at the whole list of nations again. There’s just not that many teams that just blast me away from the monitor when I see them,” he said. “As you said, it looks a bit weaker this year, but let’s see what happens on stage.”

Northern Ireland are the obvious counterpoint. Rock and Gurney return as defending champions with the same pairing that transformed the country’s World Cup history twelve months ago.

Their 2025 title came at the end of a demanding Finals Day. They beat Republic of Ireland in the quarter-finals, defeated host nation Germany in the semi-finals, then edged Wales in a last-leg final against Price and Clayton. In a tournament where several big nations have changed shape, Northern Ireland arrive with continuity and evidence.

Williams had the defending champions second in his power ranking, behind only England. “I’ve gone for the defending champions, Northern Ireland, at number two,” he said. “I think the dynamic Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney had last year really impressed me. I think they both pulled their socks up when they needed it. They clearly get on. They won the title last year with arguably a stronger field, having to beat Clayton and Price in the final. And so I could see them having another really deep run this year, depending on who they get in the knockouts.”

Rock was also Williams’ pick for tournament MVP. His Premier League campaign ended with only four wins, but Williams pointed instead to his wider stage season, including a UK Open semi-final, a World Masters quarter-final and a European Tour title in Graz. “That Northern Ireland team, with Rock doing the scoring and Gurney hitting the doubles, it worked really well,” said Williams. “Outside of the Premier League, he’s actually been really good.”

Northern Ireland do not fit neatly into the weaker-squad argument. They are not reshaped like Scotland, not missing a superstar like Wales, and not searching for a new partnership. Their challenge is different: defending a title that turned them from dangerous outsiders into one of the teams every rival must now respect.

“I think we’re going to see the best out of Rock in this tournament because the event of playing for Northern Ireland really suits his narrative and I think he’ll go well here,” Williams added.

Littler and Humphries remain the clearest reason this World Cup starts with England at the front of the conversation. The pairing gives them star power, scoring power and two players already used to carrying huge expectations on major stages.

The debate behind them is more complicated. Scotland are adapting without Wright. Wales are moving forward without Price. Belgium remain hard to judge. The Netherlands and Germany both have major storylines of their own. Northern Ireland return with the trophy, the chemistry and the same Rock-Gurney partnership that changed their place in World Cup history.

England are favourites. The route behind them looks anything but settled.

You can listen to the latest episode of the DartsNews Podcast in full here.