The FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will be the undisputed standout sporting event in the 2026 sporting calendar. 63g26
Read on as we look at the schedule, teams and betting for the prestigious tournament, before assessing which nation will emerge victorious.
World Cup 2026 – Schedule v535b
There will be 48 teams split into 12 groups of four during the opening stage. Thirty-two teams qualify for the knockout phase. The schedule is as follows:
- June 11-27 – Group stage
- June 28 – July 3 – Round of 32
- July 4-7 – Round of 16
- July 9-11 – Quarter-finals
- July 14-15 – Semi-finals
- July 18 – Third-place play-off
- July 19 – Final
World Cup 2026 – Teams 525p4r
The increase in the number of teams from 32 to 48 has opened the door for more smaller nations to book a place on the grandest stage in football.
Each FIFA confederation has been allocated the following number of places:
- 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
World Cup 2026 – Outright Betting 1l6j5l
Only eight nations have previously won the World Cup and they inevitably feature heavily towards the top of the betting for the 2026 edition.
, Spain and Brazil are the t-favourites with the bookmakers and it would be no surprise if one of them added to their tally of World Cup wins.
England, Argentina and will also be well backed by punters, while Portugal, Italy and Netherlands should also be competitive.
The chances of a surprise World Cup winner are fairly remote, although teams such as the US and Morocco will fancy their chances of making a deep run.
The Middle East could produce a noteworthy story in 2026, with 501.00 shots Iran expected to at least progress to the knockout stage after impressing during qualifying.
Arab punters will likely avail themselves of the generous odds available Payeer sports betting sites on Iran to book a place in the round of 32. Here are the latest outright odds:
- – 7.00
- Spain – 7.00
- Brazil – 7.00
- England – 8.00
- Argentina – 11.00
- – 11.00
- Portugal – 17.00
- Netherlands – 21.00
- Italy – 21.00
- Uruguay – 34.00
- Belgium – 34.00
- Colombia – 41.00
- United States – 51.00
- Mexico – 67.00
- Croatia – 67.00
- Denmark – 67.00
- Norway – 67.00
- Japan – 101.00
- Morocco – 101.00
- Switzerland – 101.00
- Austria – 101.00
- Serbia – 101.00
- Sweden – 151.00
- Canada – 151.00
- Egypt – 151.00
- South Korea – 151.00
- Ghana – 151.00
- Bar – 201.00
World Cup 2026 – Preview 1e2f4y
Argentina claimed their third World Cup title in 2022 and look desperate to retain the trophy having produced some impressive performances during qualifying.
However, with legendary forward Lionel Messi now in the twilight of his illustrious career, they may find it difficult to record back-to-back World Cup successes.
finished runners-up at Qatar 2022 and will expect to go one better to give outgoing head coach Didier Deschamps the perfect send-off.
Les Bleus have an extremely talented squad, but there is a suspicion that they lack the mental fortitude needed to become world champions.
England and will be keen to make an impression in North America, and could be worth backing in the ‘reach the semi-finals’ market.
The most likely winners of the tournament are Spain, who were hugely impressive on their way to claiming the 2024 European Championship title last summer.
Their squad is extremely well balanced and they look an extremely good value bet at odds of 7.00 to win the World Cup for the second time.
