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Article excerpt · target grammar marked

"Argentina, who had been written off by many experts before Qatar, lifted the trophy brilliantly. History suggests that by July 2026, at least one certainty will have collapsed — and at least one outsider will have proved the analysts completely wrong."

Grammar Reference · Modal Perfect Forms

must have + past

Use for strong deduction about the past. Germany must have changed their tactics after two group-stage exits.

will have + past

Use for actions completed before a future point. By July 2026, Mbappé will have played over 100 games for Real Madrid.

could / might have +

Use for weaker speculation about the past. Morocco might have surprised stronger teams than people expected.

Common error

Never use of instead of have. They must of won... ✗ → They must have won... ✓

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Modal Perfect Forms

1.Brazil every South American qualifier before the 2026 tournament.

2.The coach the problem — he changed the entire formation at half-time.

3.By the final, Vinicius Jr the best player of the tournament.

4.England a better strategy — they lost every penalty shoot-out last year.

5.The squad together for six months before the opening match.

6.Morocco's manager something different from all the other coaches.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.I'm sure Brazil changed their training methods.

2.I think the USA will finish their preparation before the opening game.

3.It's possible that England saw this problem before the tournament.

4.I expect France to eliminate all their group-stage opponents.

5.I'm certain the analysts got something wrong in their calculations.

6.By the semi-finals, Morocco will finish at least four matches.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

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