The 2026 World Cup will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July 2026. In this article we would like to give you a taste of the big event and present the best bets and odds for the 2026 World Cup.
Who is the favorite at the 2026 World Cup? Where will the 2026 World Cup be held? Who will be the 2026 World Champion and what are the best 2026 World Cup betting strategies?
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2026 World Cup favorites
Who will become the 2026 World Cup winner? Let’s take a closer look at the big favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. There is plenty of time before the tournament starts, which brings risks on the one hand, but also opportunities on the other. The odds of the 2026 World Cup long-term bets will change frequently, so the opportunity is there for all sports bettors to predict these movements through detailed research and analysis of the team squads.
Betting tip: When it comes to long-term bets, where the event is still several years in the future, it is particularly important to look at the age structure of the squad and get an idea of how the team is going to develop in the upcoming years. Will key players retire and promising talents move up?
The 2026 World Cup top favorite France:
There is a good reason why France are the big favorites among the best bookmakers. Unlike some other nations, where top performers such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo will either no longer be playing at all, or at least will no longer be able to carry their team as they did in the past, the Équipe tricolore’s many top performers will be at a great age.
French superstar Kylian Mbappé will be only 27 years old by the time the tournament kicks off and is not expected to have lost any of his speed and dynamics. The same applies to key players such as Aurélien Tchouaméni, Theo Hernández, Eduardo Camavinga, Dayot Upamecano and Randal Kolo Muani.
Only centre-forward Olivier Giroud will be out of the squad. Antoine Griezmann will be 35 years old at the start of the tournament, and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to keep up his extremely run-intensive and team-serving style of play.
There is another factor at play with the French team. Apart from Brazil, there is hardly another nation that constantly produces so many young talents. So it wouldn’t be surprising if, when the tournament starts, new talents are added to the already very strong squad, who can’t even be considered yet.
Brazil at the 2026 World Cup: Will the Seleção win title number 6?
No other national team in the world has been more successful than the Seleção. The Brazilian selection has won the World Cup five times, but has been waiting for a World Cup title for more than 20 years, since the last time they triumphed was in 2002. At the last World Cup in Qatar, they were surprisingly beaten by Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Brazil has some key young players in its ranks who can even improve by the time the 2026 World Cup comes around. In contrast to the French team, however, there are still a few star players who have already retired or for whom it remains to be seen how they will cope with their advanced age.
Thiago Silva and Dani Alves, for example, are two players who announced their retirement immediately after the World Cup exit. Neymar and Casemiro will be 34 years old at the 2026 World Cup, and especially Neymar, who thrived on his explosive dribbling, will have to wait and see to what extent he will still be a valuable asset in 2026.
Nevertheless, there are some young players in the squad who are already among the best players in the world and who can become even better by the time the finals come around. We are talking about Vinicius Junior, who was only 22 years old in Qatar and has incredible potential. The same goes for Rodrygo and Antony.
England at the 2026 World Cup – is Football coming home this time?
The Three Lions have been waiting much longer than the Brazilian national team to win a title. The last and so far only triumph came at the 1966 World Cup at home when England defeated the Germans in extra time in a historic encounter. However, there is every reason to believe that the English will really shine at the 2026 finals, as the national team will hardly lose any key players and some top talents will be at a great age.
Let’s have a look first at those players who could be replaced for that World Cup. The two right-backs Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier could take part in the 2026 World Cup, but could also easily be replaced by Reece James or Trent Alexander-Arnold. Jordan Henderson is another candidate who might be too old by the time the finals come around.
On the plus side, young players like Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount and Declan Rice will be in their prime at the 2026 World Cup. But also, veterans like Harry Kane, John Stones and Jack Grealish will still be at an age where they can still contribute much to their team.
In addition, some young talents like Harvey Elliott, Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, or even lesser-known promises like Jobe Bellingham and Samuel Iling-Junior could play their way into the limelight by the 2026 finals and offer the team boss additional options.
Argentina at the 2026 World Cup: How strong are the title holders?
Lionel Messi currently wants to leave a back door for himself. “Because of my age, it will be difficult to play in 2026,” says the Argentine superstar. At the very least, it is safe to assume that if, contrary to expectations, Messi does take part in the 2026 World Cup, he will not strengthen the Argentine national team in the way he did at the tournament in Qatar. Nicolás Otamendi and Ángel Di María are two other key players who cannot be counted on because of their age.
Apart from that, there are definitely some players who can do even better at the World Cup finals. Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez, for example, are two young talents who have already won a World Cup title and will once again be key players at the upcoming finals.
With Alexis Mac Allister, the two centre backs Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez and striker Lautaro Martínez, there are also numerous experienced players who will, however, still be under 30 years old at the 2026 World Cup finals. It will also be interesting to see if there are any new talents who will strengthen the team until 2026 – Facundo Buonanotte, for example, would be one such candidate.
Spain at the 2026 World Cup: Gambling on tomorrow’s stars?
The Spanish national team can be expected to undergo a radical change. Since the World Cup title in 2010, things have not gone according to plan for the football nation that has been so accustomed to success. In 2014, they were eliminated in the group stage, and at the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar, they were defeated in the round of the last 16. Since their last World Cup title, Spain have not won a single knockout match at a World Cup.
Spain will, however, have an interesting squad to draw on at the upcoming World Cup. The goalkeepers Unai Simón, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Robert Sanchez and David Raya will all be between 29 and 31 years old and will provide a lot of experience. At right back, the young talents Carmona or Porro could replace the established players Carvajal and Azpilicueta, who, however, can still fancy their chances of a place in the squad.
Aymeric Laporte and Pau Torres could become a strong duo in centre back and Alejandro Balde could replace Jordi Alba at left back. Rodri will follow in Busquets’ footsteps in central defensive midfield, with the greatest hopes surely resting on Gavi and Pedri, who have plenty of time to improve between now and the World Cup and will shape the Spanish midfield in the years to come.
The best underdog bets at the 2026 World Cup
Is there a profitable 2026 World Cup underdog betting tip? We would like to recommend a betting tip that revolves primarily around an exceptional player.
Will Norway become world champion with Erling Haaland?
Erling Haaland at the 2026 World Cup. If Norway qualifies for the finals, we will be able to watch the centre forward for the first time at a World Cup.
No other player has developed so well in recent years. The forward has broken one record after another and is also proving his scoring prowess in the Norwegian national team. Haaland is extremely difficult to defend against and single-handedly wins games at both club and national team level. The Norwegian also has an incredible mentality and willpower, so we can really look forward to his performances at the World Cup.
Players such as Ryan Giggs (Wales), George Best (Northern Ireland) and George Weah (Liberia) have already established that individual star players cannot lead their country to the title of world champion on their own. However, the Norwegian national team has gained enormously in quality in recent years, and not only because of Haaland.
With the attacking midfielder Martin Ødegaard, there is another world-class player in the squad who can provide his teammates with perfect assists. With Mohamed Elyounoussi, Sander Berge, Fredrik Aursnes there are certainly other interesting players in the squad, but in comparison with the two top performers, they are clearly falling behind.
The best World Cup 2026 betting strategy
Which types of bets are particularly suitable for major events such as World Cups? We would like to give you an idea of the best types of bets for the 2026 World Cup:
– Long-term bets: As long as the teams and the group matches have not yet been determined, long-term bets are our only choice. In this article we already introduced you to the favorites and underdogs of the 2026 World Cup. Choose a bookmaker that offers a cashout option on your bet – this way you can already collect a profit if the odds of your team change due to a favorable squad development.
– Over bets: At the last World Cup, we favoured under bets rather than over bets. This time you should consider over-betting on certain pairings. Since 48 instead of 32 countries are taking part in this tournament, there will also be teams that are somewhat lower-ranked in terms of quality. Here, the top teams will want to improve their goal difference during the group stage. So handicap bets or even asian handicaps could be the right choice in such cases!
World Cup records and statistics
- Most World Cup titles: Brazil holds the record with five World Cup titles (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002).
- Most World Cup participations: Brazil is the only country to have participated in every World Cup since the tournament began in 1930. Up until the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the South Americans took part in 22 tournaments.
- The longest period between two titles: Italy won a World Cup for the second time in 1938 and had to wait a whole 44 years until the next title in 1982.
- The longest period between two appearances: Wales qualified for a World Cup in 1958 and then had to wait a whopping 64 years before competing again in 2022.
- Most goals scored by one player in one tournament: Just Fontaine from France holds the record with 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup. He has a goal average of 2.17 goals per World Cup match.
- Most assists by a player in a tournament: Pele contributed six assists at the 1970 World Cup.
- Most goals scored by one player in all tournaments: Former German international Miroslav Klose holds the record with 16 goals in the tournaments between 2002 and 2014. It took him 24 games to score 16 goals, giving him a goal average of 0.67 goals per game.
- Most assists by a player in any tournament: Pele contributed 10 assists between 1958 and 1970.
- Fastest goal: Hakan Şükür from Turkey scored a goal in the 11th second of the match against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup.
- The player with the most World Cup titles: Brazilian Pele is the only player to win three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970)
- The youngest player to play in a World Cup: when Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside came on against Yugoslavia in 1982, he was only 17 years and 249 days old.
- The oldest player at a World Cup: Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary was already 45 years and 161 days old when he played against Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup.
- Most goals in a World Cup match: Russia’s Oleg Salenko scored five goals against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup.
- Scored in most tournaments: Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to score at least one goal in five different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022).
- The youngest World Cup goal scorer: Pele scored a goal against Sweden in the 1958 World Cup and was only 17 years and 39 days old at the time.
- The oldest World Cup goal scorer: Roger Milla enchanted the hearts of all football fans at the 1994 World Cup. He was 42 years and 39 days old when he scored his last goal against Russia.
- The highest victory in a World Cup match: Hungary won 10-1 against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup. The Magyars also won 9-0 against South Korea at the 1954 World Cup. Yugoslavia also achieved the same result against Zaire at the 1974 World Cup.
- Most goals scored in a World Cup final: Brazil won the 1958 World Cup final against Sweden 5-2 and twelve years later they beat Italy 4-1. France also achieved a three-goal difference at the 1998 World Cup, when they won the final against Brazil 3-0.
- Most goals in a World Cup match: The Austrian national team beat the hosts Switzerland 7-5 in the “Battle of Lausanne” in 1954.
- Most goals in a World Cup: Hungary scored a whopping 27 goals in the 1954 World Cup and thus holds the record for the most goals in a World Cup. No team has scored 20 goals or more since the 1958 World Cup, when France scored 23.
- The World Cup with the highest goal average: in 1954, an incredible 5.38 goals were scored per game. This is a record that will never be reached again without massive rule changes.
- The World Cup with the lowest goal average: In the 1990 World Cup, only 2.21 goals were scored per game.
