Betting Guide for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

For soccer fans, it is one of the biggest events on the calendar. In fact, the FIFA World Cup only comes around every four years, so the tournament is always eagerly anticipated. For the first time in 32 years, the 2026 finals will be held in US – as well as Mexico and Canada – so looking into how to bet on the event now will act as good preparation.

As with any sports betting, some basic knowledge, at the very least, is required. But, even if you are used to backing favorites and making predictions for football, basketball, and hockey, you may need to do a little revision on the different bet types offered for a soccer tournament as big as this.

All the big Las Vegas betting sites will be offering markets on each of the 104 games at World Cup 2026, as well as a whole host of other options. Here are a few basics about World Cup betting that we think you should know, as well as some tips to help with your picks for one of the biggest sports events on the planet.

Before you start backing the USMNT to win the World Cup, or Messi or Ronaldo to score the most goals, you should take a look at the actual tournament structure itself. This will be the biggest finals of all time, after FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams. That’s 16 more nations sampling the finals atmosphere than at the previous seven tournaments.

Those 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with each nation playing each other once. The top two will automatically progress to the knockout rounds, while the best eight of the 12 third-place teams will also qualify. From there, it will be a straight single-game eliminator knockout format, with the two finalists battling it out for the ultimate glory in the 104^th game on the 39^th day of competition.

There will be a huge amount of betting opportunities when it comes to his expanded World Cup finals. But the most obvious place to start – even if you do not have that much experience with soccer – is picking an outright winner. This is the team that you think will end up winning the whole thing in the World Cup final.

The final list of qualifiers is not even known at this point, as we are still awaiting the outcome of the European and inter-confederation playoffs taking place next March. All the favorites are already known, however, so there is already the possibility to get a good price, months ahead of the first ball being kicked.

As much as it would be extremely satisfying to pick the World Cup winner months ahead of the tournament, there will also be plenty of other betting options throughout the event’s 39 days. There will always be something to bet on, but many fans enjoy weighing up the options of the individual game markets.

The main market here is the 1×2 bet, with 1 denoting the nominal home team to win, X being the draw (or tie), and 2 representing the away team. Most of the prices won’t be too big for these, as there will be a lot of evenly balanced games. It might actually be better to avoid any bets with especially long odds, as it probably means it is a much smaller team up against one of the favorites.

Many sportsbooks will offer around 100 markets on each game, with opportunities to pick goal scorers, corner totals, and even whether a player will be red-carded. You should obviously keep a close eye on your bankroll if you are planning to go big on these markets, but there may well be some good value to be found away from the biggest games.

This is another hugely popular betting market when it comes to World Cup finals. This, as the name suggests, requires punters to predict who they think will score the most goals in the entire tournament. The favorites will be world-class players like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. But there is more to this pick than just going for the icons.

The first thing to note is that the winner of this award has not come from the World Cup-winning team at any of the last three tournaments. You should be backing an athlete whose team will go far, but it might be more important to look at who the team will play in the group stage. The draw for those groups hasn’t been made yet, but a top player set to face much weaker opposition might be able to stake an early claim for the top goal scorer award.

There is a temptation to get in early on your World Cup betting to make the most of some favorable odds pricing. But, even with the format largely known, there is still a lot that needs to be finalized about World Cup 2026. Temperatures in some places, in the US and Mexico especially, will be very high, and that might cause FIFA to rethink kick-off times. It may also make some games a bit slower-paced – and that could affect some of the bet options available.

There will be so many options available to soccer punters during this tournament that there is no need to make risky bets. Take into consideration all factors, including athlete fatigue and time of game, before placing a bet. You should also think very carefully about betting on match day three in each group, as some teams may have already qualified, resulting in roster rotation and the potential for some surprise scores.

Figure 2 Many fans will be thinking of placing bets on the World Cup – Source: Pexels

Bet on the Favorite…Mostly

One final piece of advice when it comes to betting on FIFA World Cups is that it usually pays to go with the favorite. There will undoubtedly be a few surprise results – especially in an expanded tournament – but the best teams usually end up winning. Morocco may have made it to the semifinals of the last World Cup, but it was Lionel Messi’s Argentina that ended up lifting the trophy.

Talent and skill will usually show through in the eventual outcome. But there is no doubt that there will be a lot of excitement – and betting opportunities – along the way.