The eyes of the sporting world will be on the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026 as the first-ever 48-team World Cup takes place.
The tournament will spark a worldwide sports betting frenzy as punters strive to cash in on what promises to be a truly memorable football showpiece.
Read on as we look at the latest betting, format and qualification process for the World Cup, before assessing which teams are most likely to emerge victorious.
World Cup 2026 – Outright Betting
France are the bookmakers’ favourites to rule the world in 2026 despite their gut-wrenching 2022 World Cup final defeat in Qatar. Here are the current odds:
- Spain – 6/1
- France – 6/1
- Brazil – 13/2
- England – 13/2
- Argentina – 10/1
- Germany – 10/1
- Portugal – 16/1
- Netherlands – 20/1
- Italy – 20/1
- Belgium – 33/1
- Uruguay – 33/1
- Colombia – 40/1
- United States – 50/1
- Bar – 66/1
World Cup 2026 – Format
FIFA has opened the door for 16 more nations to compete in the World Cup, thus increasing the number of matches from 64 to 104.
The tournament will feature 12 groups of four teams. The top two sides from each group will advance to the knockout stage, alongside the eight best third-placed teams.
The tournament becomes a straight knockout after the group phase and culminates with the final in New Jersey in July 2026. The format is as follows:
- Group stage – June 11-27
- Round of 32 – June 28 – July 3
- Round of 16 – July 4-7
- Quarter-finals – July 9-11
- Semi-finals – July 14-15
- Third place play-off – July 18
- Final – July 19
World Cup 2026 – Qualification
The allocation of qualification spots for each confederation is as follows:
- UEFA (Europe) – 16 teams
- AFC (Asian) – 8 teams
- CAF (Africa) – 9 teams
- CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) – 6 teams
- CONMEBOL (South America) – 6 teams
- OFC (Oceania) – 1 team
A six-team play-off tournament involving two teams from CONCACAF and one each from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC will determine the other two spots.
World Cup 2026 – Preview
Only eight nations have won the World Cup – Brazil (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (3), Uruguay (2), France (2), England (1) and Spain (1).
Argentina are the reigning champions but may find it difficult to defend the title if legendary playmaker Lionel Messi decides to quit international football.
Italy (1934 & 1938) and Brazil (1958 & 1962) are the only nations to retain the World Cup, highlighting the size of the task facing Argentina.
Brazil are one the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy for the sixth time despite producing several underwhelming performances during qualifying.
France are also prominent in the betting after narrowly missing out in 2022 and they are undoubtedly one of the teams to beat in North America.
Germany and England will also fancy their chances and the former appeal as a decent each-way bet at odds of 10/1 after showing improvement at the 2024 European Championship.
The Three Lions will come in for plenty of support from their long-suffering fans, but their track record of failure at major tournaments undoubtedly counts against them.
Spain stand out as the most likely winners after sweeping to an impressive success at Euro 2024 and their supremely talented squad can follow up at the World Cup.
They rattled off seven consecutive victories to claim the title in Germany and look a solid wager at odds of 6/1 to add another World Cup success to their tally.
