Returning to its traditional summer slot in 2026 across North America after the first-ever winter FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022 , this international football tournament is quite unlike any other. Punters can expect a wealth of World Cup betting markets available around this global mega sporting event. Whether it’s an outright winners bet or a bet on the Golden Boot, we have got you and all of your World Cup 2026 betting needs, covered.
Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
Brazil | 6/1 | QuinnBet |
France | 6/1 | BetUK |
England | 8/1 | William Hill |
Argentina | 10/1 | BoyleSports |
Germany | 11/1 | betway |
Spain | 11/1 | betway |
Portugal | 16/1 | Coral |
Netherlands | 20/1 | betway |
Italy | 22/1 | 888sport |
Belgium | 33/1 | bet365 |
Uruguay | 50/1 | BetVictor |
USA | 50/1 | betway |
Mexico | 66/1 | LiveScore Bet |
Croatia | 66/1 | QuinnBet |
Denmark | 66/1 | BetGoodwin |
Bar | 150/1 | N/A |
It’s been 20 years since we saw a non-European winner of the World Cup. That was back in 2002 in Japan and South Korea when Brazil, the World Cup’s most successful ever team, won the tournament for a record fifth time. While the Samba Boys haven’t enjoyed too much success since then, they are going into this year’s event with one of the strongest sides that they have been able to put together in decades that is literally packed with talent in all areas of the pitch.
Doubtless, that is why they have been installed as favourites to lift the trophy once again. However, everything could change between now and when the first ball is kicked. Luckily for you, you can follow which teams are fancied and which teams are not with this handy tracker that will show in real time what punters are thinking of each teams chances of success in Qatar.
Following a disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign that saw them relegated to League B, England fans will hoping the Three Lions can bounce back with a strong showing at the World Cup. This, after all, is their first tournament outing since losing the Euro 2020 final to Italy at Wembley last year.
In all, it will be more than 56 years since England lifted their one and only World Cup which also came at Wembley. Things haven’t been going too well for Gareth Southgate’s boys going into Qatar, with players collectively and individually showing poor form and there are many questions that need to be asked and consequently answered. Will the boss find a place in the squad for Trent Alexander Arnold? Will there be a starting place for Harry Maguire? Should Southgate call up James Maddison at the last minute?
All of these questions prove that this is the most talented Three Lions squad in decades. If England can even consider leaving out such stellar talents then they really do have many quality options. And this from a team that reached the last four at the last World Cup four years ago.
England will go into the group stage as the clear favourites to win Group B. Iran, USA and a home nations clash with Wales shouldn’t, on paper at least, cause the Three Lions too much trouble before a likely second clash with one of The Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador or Qatar suggests the last eight should be the minimum expectation. This is certainly reflected in the England World Cup odds and below we have highlighted some of the main England World Cup betting odds.
Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
England to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 | 8/1 | SBK |
England to reach the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final | 7/2 | 10 Bet |
England to reach the FIFA World Cup 2022 Semi-Finals | 6/4 | QuinnBet |
England to reach the FIFA World Cup 2022 Quarter-Finals | 7/4 | Live Score Bet |
England to win Group B | 1/3 | QuinnBet |
England to qualify from Group B | 1/20 | Sporting Index |
Harry Kane to be top FIFA World Cup 2022 Goalscorer | 8/1 | BETUK |
Of course, when it comes to placing a bet on the World Cup, punters aren’t just limited to betting on England. There will be a whole host of betting markets available to bet on and most of them will be open right now. By the time the tournament comes around, there will be betting markets for each of the 64 individual matches as well as group betting options too. But there will also be odds available for tournament long markets such as player and team performance. Below, we have outlined some of your FIFA World Cup betting 2026 options.
This is simply a bet on the national football team that you believe will win the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup betting markets such as this one have been open since the last World Cup was won by Argentina back in 2022. Of course, if you see a team performing well during the tournament, you can still bet on them while the event is ongoing. However, the best value is often betting on the team you like before the tournament has got underway. We have found that some of the best outright winner value can be secured at SpreadEx.
With this bet we are simply looking to back the player who will finish the tournament as the top goal scorer. However, make no mistake, there is a difference between top goal scorer and the winner of the golden boot. Put simply, a World Cup can finish with shared top goal scorers but there can only be one recipient of the golden boot so make sure you know which one you are betting on. This golden boot winner will be determined by other factors such as which player has weighed in the most assists, or which footballer has accumulated less playing time while scoring the same amount of goals.
The criteria for the Golden Boot was introduced for the 2010 World Cup where there were four shared leading goal scorers. To make this bet, have a look at the leading goal scorer markets. These players will probably be playing for the best teams so have a look at their group opponents and route to the final to see how many games they are likely to play. This should give you some pointers on how well they are likely to do when it comes to goal accumulation. Check out the goal scorer markets at Virgin Bet today.
Just as you are able to bet on the top goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup, you are also able to make a wager on the leading goalkeeper. Although it has changed a bit over the years, it was for the 1994 edition of the World Cup, which was held in the United States of America, that this award was introduced as the Lev Yashin award. After three tournaments, the award was renamed as the Golden Glove and was introduced in time for the 2010 World Cup that was held in South Africa. Since then, the award that has been handed out to the best performing goalkeepers. As ever, Betfred is a great site for FIFA World Cup betting.
There is also the Golden Ball award which is awarded to the best performing players at the FIFA World Cup. The winner is chosen from a shortlist that has been drawn up by the FIFA technical committee, then voted on by representatives from the media. For the record, the winning player has come from Brazil on seven occasions. You can find some top World Cup betting markets at 888sport.
Bettors are also able to bet on the winners of each or any of the eight groups. All of these groups will have an elite team that will be the short priced favourite – unless it is a group of death of course – so it can be a good idea to bulk out your betting slip by making this a multiple bet. England and France have relatively easy groups, but Spain and Germany have been drawn in the same group so place your bets cautiously. You can do this at LiveScore Bet.
This bet is a simple match bet on which team will win a one versus one game of football. If you think the team billed as being the ‘home’ team will win you would back the 1 option. 2 indicates the ‘away’ team and X stands for a draw. BoyleSports regularly display the best prices when it comes to single match results and the 2026 FIFA World Cup is unlikely to be any different.
Another bet that is limited to one match is the Half Time / Full Time wager. Here, punters are looking to back the right result after both 45 and 90 minutes. If you think that the game might be tied at half time, but might have a winning team by the finish, then this is the bet for you. You can find such markets at BetVictor.
Another popular market at football betting sites is the Over / Under market. Here, bettors are wagering on the total amount of goals that will be scored in a match. The online betting sites will present a range of options, for example over / under 2.5 goals, and punters bet on which of the two possible outcomes they think will happen.
If you fancy a particular player to score either the first or last goal of the match, then there will be a market for that. You are also able to make a wager on a player scoring at any time during the match as well as backing a player to score more than one goal. Obviously, backing a player on the anytime goal scorer market gives you a greater chance of winning but nominating a player to be the first or last player to find the back of the net will give you higher odds. QuinnBet is a great site for high odds in the goal scorer markets.
While there are many other football betting markets that will be running for the World Cup, our final bet recommendation is the BTTS market which stands for both teams to score. This bet does exactly what it says on the tin so there is nothing complicated about it. Simply decide if you think both teams will get on the scoresheet or not. Find this betting market at xxx.
Competition for your betting custom is as fierce as ever between long established bookmakers and the increasing amount of newly opening bookies. Because of this, bettors like you are able to take advantage of a wealth of promotions, bonuses and football betting offers that can greatly enhance your betting experience.
As we draw nearer to the 2026 World Cup of football, more and more bookies will be basing their offers around the World Cup in Qatar. Here is what you can expect to find when it comes to online World Cup betting.
With an acca boost, sites such as Kwiff will boost the odds of your accumulator. This is the whole purpose of Kwiff, who even call it kwiffing your bet, but other sites also do this. All you need to do is put your selection, or in the case of an acca selections, in your betting slip and hit the Kwiff button to see your odds boosted.
Although they can differ from site to site, acca insurance promotions usually give you money back as a free bet if one leg of your accumulator lets you down. This takes some of the frustration out of an acca near miss which can be very annoying. Betfred offer regular acca insurance promotions on the football and can be expected to do the same during the Qatar World Cup too.
Enhanced odds, or price boosts, let you get a better price for your selection than has officially been billed. These can work in a number of different ways but will often come as a ready made offer for each of the day’s matches, all of which will be televised so you can watch your bet play out and even cash out if you need to. Other sites might let you boost your bet once you have put your pick into the betting slip through the use of a button. You should be able to find lots of great World Cup online betting offers at Live Score Bet.
There are a number of ways that bettors, both new and old, can earn free bets to use when betting for the World Cup. The first of these is the welcome offer free bet. This can be unlocked when a player signs up to a new betting account and follows the steps outlined in the offer. Usually this means making a deposit and placing a bet. Just make sure that you have read and understood the terms and conditions involved. There are going to be a lot of Qatar football World Cup 2022 welcome offers by the time the tournament rolls around.
Another way to earn free bet deals is to join a free bet club where you will need wager a certain amount to unlock a free bet. Also, as we have already discussed, acca insurance can reward existing customers with free bets when one leg of their acca ruins the bet. Betting on the World Cup at William Hill can be very rewarding so if you don’t already have an account here’s how you can get £30 in free bets when you wager only £10.
This is a very common way to unlock a welcome offer free bet and is one of the best promotions around. However, here are some other nice free bet promos that you might want to consider to use on your World Cup betting games.
Due to the size and prestige of the Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar, the event is classified as being one of the ‘Crown Jules’ of live sport. What this means is that it is protected so that it remains only available to be broadcast on terrestrial TV. As such, all of the 64 games will be shown live on the BBC and ITV with coverage shared equally between the two.
However, if you wish to see how players are performing prior to the event so that you know what kind of form they are in going into the 2022 World Cup as pointer to how they might perform out in the Gulf, then we recommend the following bookies when it comes live streaming the football.
Bookie
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Live stream requirement
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Watch now
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Be logged in and have a funded account. A minimum bet of £1 is required to watch some horse & greyhound races. | Visit Betfred | |
A bet must be placed upon an event for it to be streamed. | Visit BetVictor | |
Minimum £1 bet must be placed on an event for it to be live streamed. | Visit 888sport |
So, now you know what kind of types of bets you are able to place and have a sound knowledge of where you can place them. We have also taken you through all of the various offers and promotions that you can exploit on your bets on the World Cup. Now it is time to run you through some tips and pointers that can help to make your FIFA World Cup betting as profitable as possible. Before placing any World Cup bets, you should really consider the following advice.
This doesn’t normally apply to betting on the FIFA World Cup, but because of the 2022 FIFA World Cup location, this year’s tournament will be played in the winter which has never been the case before. What this means is that the domestic football season for most leagues around the world will be put on hold temporarily while the players fly out to the Middle East to represent their nations at the World Cup.
For example, the Premier League’s final weekend of play for almost two months will take place on November 12th and 13th, resuming on December 26th. The overwhelming majority of players taking part in this year’s World Cup will have completed close to 15 matches already without having much of a break which means that injuries are very possible. To this end, it would be wise to wait for the squad announcements before making your tournament predictions. Imagine placing a Golden Boot bet on Harry Kane to be the tournament’s highest goal scorer, only to see him get injured playing for Spurs, ruling him out of the tournament. As captain of his national team this would also have a negative impact on England at the World Cup so be patient.
These days, World Cups are typically high goal scoring events which hasn’t always been the case. These tournaments are bigger than they used to be as well meaning that there are more games being played than in the past. However, there is a wealth of data that you can harvest online that can help you predict what could happen at the Qatar football World Cup 2022. For instance, we know that, in 2014 in Brazil, there were 171 goals scored at an average of 2.7 per game making it the highest scoring World Cup of all. This was nearly eclipsed four years later at the 2018 FIFA World Cup where there were 169 goals scored creating an average of almost 2.7. Stats like these can help make informed decisions when it come to World Cup betting.
Team form can be a very good indicator of what we might expect from a team once the World Cup gets underway. You will probably be fully up to speed on how well your own nation’s team did in qualifying or the recent UEFA Nation’s League. What you might not know though is how in or out of form other countries are. Take a look at how well the teams have been performing in recent months to maximise your chances of success.
It is not often the case, because usually a manager or coach that qualified a team for a tourney stays in the job, but there are times when this doesn’t happen, and a new managerial team has been installed. This can have either a negative effect and unbalance team harmony or a positive effect and give the team a much needed lift before the big event. Make sure you know everything you can about the team or players that you are considering backing in a market.
However well you think your team might do in the group stage, they might have a very hard second round match. For instance, if England win Group B but The Netherlands finish second in Group A then they will face off in the round of 16 stage. This is obviously a much harder tie for both teams so make sure you are fully aware of what team’s potential path might be.
When we get into the tournament itself, it is quite a regular occurrence that, by the third and final match of the group stage, some teams have already qualified for the next round and have nothing left to play for. They might even be guaranteed the top spot. What we often see in such cases is that coaches choose to rest their key players and give some much needed game time to some of the other members of the squad. Depending on the quality of the incoming players, teams can, and have, dropped points against teams that you wouldn’t expect them to. If you see this is about to happen, and you wait for the team news to be announced, you might be take advantage of some decent odds.
Live betting, or betting in play, can offer up some opportunities for punters to make real time decisions based on what is happening on the pitch right there and then. The best thing about this is that bettors have a lot more information about the event after it has started then beforehand. This can really help with making a fully informed betting decision. One example of this is if a holding midfielder picks up an early yellow card and you think it wont be long before he gets another meaning that he gets himself sent off.
There will be a great deal of coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, online, on TV and in the press. A lot of this will be the opinions of experts and ex pros who have spent their whole life working in the game and know it inside out. Some of these might have even played in a World Cup or more. These guys have a vast amount of knowledge so it is definitely worth listening to what they have to say. They should be confident about who they are tipping to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy or at least reach the Qatar World Cup final.
Year | Hosts | Winner | Runner up | Score |
2022 | Qatar | Argentina | France | 3-3 (AET), 4-2 pens |
2018 | Russia | France | Croatia | 4-2 |
2014 | Brazil | Germany | Argentina | 1-0 (AET) |
2010 | South Africa | Spain | Netherlands | 1-0 (AET) |
2006 | Germany | Italy | France | 1-1 (AET), 5-3 pens |
2002 | South Korea/Japan | Brazil | Germany | 2-0 |
1998 | France | France | Brazil | 3-0 |
1994 | United States | Brazil | Italy | 0-0 (AET), 3-2 pens |
1990 | Italy | West Germany | Argentina | 1-0 |
1986 | Mexico | Argentina | West Germany | 3-2 |
1982 | Spain | Italy | Germany | 3-1 |
1978 | Argentina | Argentina | Netherlands | (AET) |
1974 | West Germany | Brazil | Netherlands | 2-1 |
1970 | Spain | Brazil | Italy | 4-1 |
1966 | England | England | West Germany | 4-2 (AET) |
1962 | Chile | Brazil | Czech Republic | 3-1 |
1958 | Sweden | Brazil | Sweden | 5-2 |
1954 | Switzerland | West Germany | Hungary | 3-2 |
1950 | Brazil | Uruguay | Brazil | 2-1 |
1938 | France | Italy | Hungary | 4-2 |
1934 | Italy | Italy | Czech Republic | 2-1 (AET) |
1930 | Uruguay | Uruguay | Argentina | 4-2 |
While this may be a unique World Cup, due to it interrupting the regular domestic season, being played in the winter and taking place for the first time in the Middle East, it is still certain to provide all the drama and memories that the FIFA World Cup typically does. You can add to the excitement further by betting on this global mega event and if you choose to do so then we hope and trust that this online World Cup betting guide has given you all the tools you need to make a success of it. By now, you should have a clear idea of what type of bets you might want to lay and where to place them as well as a history of this fantastic celebration of the beautiful game.