In 2026, the best men’s national soccer teams from across the globe will meet in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to battle for the FIFA World Cup. This is the most highly anticipated sporting event in the world, so it’s a great time to think about best soccer bets.
OddsTrader takes an in-depth look at this exciting FIFA tournament. Read on to learn more about the format and how you can bet on the most important soccer tournament by breaking down the 2026 World Cup futures odds of the leading contenders.
FIFA World Cup U.S., Canada & Mexico 2026 Key Details
• Dates: June 11th – July 19th 2026: The Finals’ kick-off time is TBD, but expected at 3 PM local time (AEST)
• Location: Host cities in United States, Canada & Mexico
• TV Broadcasters: FOX Sports
The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious international men’s soccer tournament. Held every four years, it brings together the top national teams from around the globe to compete for soccer’s ultimate prize: the title of world champion.
The tournament features 48 national teams starting with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, expanding from the previous 32-team format. Those 48 teams will qualify through continental competitions organized by FIFA’s six confederations:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, marking the first time the men’s tournament will be staged across three nations. Matches will take place in 16 host cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, and Mexico City, among others.
This expanded format will introduce more teams and matches than ever before, giving emerging soccer nations new opportunities to compete on the world stage. The North American event will also mark the first men’s World Cup held in the United States since 1994, showcasing the sport’s rapid growth and rising popularity across the region.
The 48 teams are divided into 12 groups of four. Each team plays against the other three teams in its group, earning points based on performance:
After all group matches are played, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, advance to the knockout stage, a single-elimination playoff. The knockout rounds begin with the Round of 32, followed by the Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finally, the World Cup Final, where the last two teams compete for the title of world champion.
Currently, qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is still going on, so we don’t have the full list of teams that have made it so far.
As of October 2025, here are the teams that have already qualified (note that the three host countries are automatically in) for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
This list is not yet final, as additional nations will qualify in the coming months, particularly from Europe (UEFA) and through intercontinental playoffs.
You will be presented with hundreds of 2026 FIFA World Cup best bets at the highest-rated sportsbooks. They fall into four key groups:
A futures bet is a long-term wager that does not focus on a single game. These are the FIFA World Cup futures markets you can bet on:
It is easy to place one of these bets by following these steps:
You will find hundreds of pre-game betting options on a FIFA World Cup match. These are some of the most popular options:
Player props mainly focus on which player will score first, last or at any time in the game, but more exotic markets can include “to score a header” or “to score a hat-trick.”
Most of the markets listed above will be available as live, in-play bets when the game gets underway. You can also roll picks together for parlays, round robins and same-game parlays.
Group stage games and knockout stage games can end in a draw (tie). However, if a knockout stage game finishes in a draw after 90 minutes, it will go to extra time.
That means the teams will play another 30 minutes. If they still cannot be separated, the match will be decided in a penalty shootout.
As such, you will find a betting option called “To Qualify” on knockout stage games. If you bet on the qualification market, it will include extra time and penalties. Other bets will be graded after 90 minutes.
For example, let’s say you bet on a team to win a quarter-final game. It finishes 1-1 and the team then wins 2-1 in extra time. If that is the case, your moneyline bet will be graded as a loser. Only the “To Qualify” bets will be graded as winners.
When it comes to the FIFA World Cup final, you will simply be able to bet on a “To Win The FIFA World Cup” market, which includes extra time and penalties.
You can bet on the 2023 Women’s World Cup at a licensed, regulated online sportsbook in your state. These are the best options for betting on the Women’s World Cup, including mobile users:
Make sure you use the OddsTrader grid to find the best soccer odds on the wagers you would like to place. These sportsbooks all have numerous betting choices available to bettors, including props (bets on teams and individual players) and futures bets.
The group stage draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place on December 5, 2025 in Washington, D.C. This is when we find out each of the groups and matchups for the first round.
There are three main favorites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. You have the defending World Cup champions, Argentina, who have dominated their CONMEBOL qualifying group, showing no signs of slowing down. Then there’s the Euro 2024 champions, Spain, who are stacked with young talent, led by Lamine Yamal. But we can’t forget about the 2022 World Cup finalists, France, as they still have a star-studded roster.
Some of the other contenders to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup include England, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, and Portugal. Each of these teams has either won this tournament in the past or is showing strong form during qualification.
While it’s hard to say longshots until we know the finalized list of qualified teams, here are some squads who have performed well during qualifying, putting them in a position for a nice run:
Do note that we rarely see a dark horse win the World Cup. It’s more likely that a surprise team would merely advance to the semifinals rather than win the entire tournament.
You can compare the 2026 FIFA World Cup betting odds at the leading online sportsbooks in your state by using OddsTrader.
Download the OddsTrader app today or use the website to maximize your profits when betting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
FIFA stands for “Fédération Internationale de Football Association” in French, which translates to “International Federation of Association Football” in English.
The next FIFA World Cup in 2026 will be held by co-hosts United States, Canada, and Mexico. This is the first time the tournament is co-hosted by three countries.
In the FIFA World Cup 2026, 48 total teams will be participating in the tournament.
The teams that have won the FIFA World Cup are:
Brazil: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002
Germany: 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014
Italy: 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
Argentina: 1978, 1986, 2022
France: 1998, 2018
Uruguay: 1930, 1950
Spain: 2010
England: 1966
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with special centenary celebration matches held in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The centenary matches for the 2030 FIFA World Cup refer to special opening games that will be played in South America — specifically in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay — to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first-ever World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.
Here’s how it works:
This setup makes the 2030 World Cup the first in history to be hosted across three continents: South America, Europe, and Africa.