Predicting the 2026 Soccer World Championship
It's almost time for the biggest tournament in the world. The 2026 Soccer World Championship is here. Get up to speed with all the players and nations and make your predictions now on OG.com.
North America will host the 23rd edition of the Soccer Championship this summer, and this year the tournament has expanded to a 48-team field. Only eight different countries have ever had the honor of winning the Soccer Championship, with Brazil being the most successful team in tournament history with five titles. Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, and Uruguay have also won multiple titles, followed by Spain and England, who have one championship apiece. You’ll find a lot of these names at the top of the odds board this year as well, but you never know what country will turn into a dark horse and flip the whole field on its head. Many countries have a compelling case to make a run this year, with a field relatively even at the top. The favorites this year come in with only a 19% chance to win it all per our prediction markets. So, who are the major players of this year’s Soccer Championship? And could someone create a Cinderella story?
The Soccer Championship 2026 Format
The tournament begins with a group stage, where the 48 countries in the field are split into 12 groups of four teams. The first match of the tournament will be in The top two teams in each group will automatically advance, and so will the top eight remaining third-place teams. Those 32 teams will advance to the Knockout round, which will be a single-elimination tournament until we have crowned a winner. 1 will host the games, with the final taking place in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on
Each match will feature two 45-minute halves to make up regulation time. If the teams are tied at the end of regulation during the knockout stage of the tournament, they’ll then play two 15-minute halves of extra time. If the score remains tied after that, the match will be settled by a best-of-five penalty kick shootout. Since instituting the rule in 1978, only 35 matches have been decided by a penalty kick shootout.
Predicting the 2026 Soccer Championship
As mentioned before, there is no overwhelming favorite that stands head-and-shoulders above the field in this year’s tournament. There are plenty of interesting names that sit atop the odds board that have a legitimate shot at winning it all this year. The de facto favorite is Spain, who is anchored by Lamine Yamal, one of the best young players in the world. He was a large part of Spain’s campaign to win the 2024 Euro Cup and has won multiple domestic titles with FC Barcelona. He has broken several age-related records in the sport, including the youngest player ever to start a Euro Cup match, win a major international trophy, score a goal, and record an assist in international play. Spain won the Soccer Championship in 2010, defeating the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time. Our prediction markets give Spain a 19% chance to win the championship, equal to +426 odds. They also give Yamal a 10% chance to win the Golden Boot award, given to the player who scores the most goals in the tournament.
Spain is tied at the top of the odds board with France, another previous Soccer Championship Champion. They’ve won two Soccer Championship titles before, once in 1998 when they were the host country and defeated Brazil 3-0, and again in 2018 when they defeated Croatia 4-2 in the final match. They sport one of the most dangerous attack units in the tournament, and have a large cast of players who just won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain. At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to Kylian Mbappe. He won the Golden Boot award in the 2022 Soccer Championship, won the tournament in 2018, and was on the runner-up squad in 2022. He bolsters as much Soccer Championship experience as anyone in the field right now, and will likely be one of the front-runners for the Golden Boot award again this season. France’s odds are equal to Spain’s with a 19% chance to win the tournament, or +426 odds. Kylian Mbappe is the second favorite to win the Golden Boot award with a 17% chance, or +488 odds.
Further Down The Odds Board
It’s been a while since England was crowned champion of the Soccer Championship, but they are regularly in the conversation. Their last and only title was in 1966, when they beat West Germany 4-2 in extra time, and they have reached the last four twice since, once in 1990 and the other in 2018. They are anchored by their duo of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Kane is the all-time leading goalscorer for both England and Tottenham Hotspur. He also won the Golden Boot award in the 2018 Soccer Championship. Bellingham has accomplished a lot in his young career as well. At just 22 years old, he’s already won the 2023 Golden Boy trophy, the League MVP award for La Liga and the Bundesliga, as well as playing large roles in England’s 2022 Soccer Championship run and the Three Lions’ Euro Cup 2024 win. England sits just behind Spain and France on the odds board, with a 17% chance to win the title this year, equal to +669 odds. Harry Kane is also the favorite to win the Golden Boot award again this year, with a 17% chance, or +488 odds.
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