The World Cup winner odds at Shuffle are sure to pique plenty of interest as the global football festival lands in North America for 2026. 48 teams will traverse the USA, Canada, and Mexico – but who will take the title?
There’s plenty of competing opinions on who’s best placed to bring football’s biggest prize back home this July, and you can be sure Shuffle will have competitive markets on the tournament from start to finish. Here we will look at what you need to know about betting on winner of the 23rd World Cup.
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There are of course countless markets at the World Cup and for fans of the game there’s interest from the first kick-off when Mexico hosts South Africa at Estadio Azteca until the final whistle blows on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium. With plenty of World Cup odds boosts on offer from Shuffle, there’s always going to be something to keep you interested as the tournament goes on.
That being said, of course most of the attention is going to be on who has the best chance of taking home the trophy. Seven of the 8 previous winners have made it to the finals this time (Italy are the unfortunate odd one out). Will one of those seven be triumphant this time? Could there be a new country etched into the roll of honour for 2026? Only time, and hopefully lots of exciting action, will tell. Below, we look at some of the strongest contenders and perhaps a few dark horses.
Ahead of kick-off, it’s hard to pin down an outright favourite to take the golden statuette when the final curtain falls. Few disagree, though, that it’s between two neighbours from the west of Europe. Spain are looking to repeat their 2010 success and are reigning European champions. With a stingy defence, Rodri holding things together in front of it, and the special talent of Lamine Yamal giving some silk to the attack, they’re well backed. France have been to the last two finals, beating Croatia in 2018 and narrowly losing out on penalties to Argentina last time out. Kylian Mbappe could become the overall most prolific scorer at World Cup tournaments if he’s firing. The absence of Eduardo Camavinga will hurt, but the tireless Warren Zaire-Emery is a fine understudy.
Thomas Tuchel was appointed manager of the Three Lions in early 2025 with one objective in mind: end the sixty-year lack of major tournament success for England. Can he do it? Maybe! There’s no doubting the quality of the squad: Harry Kane’s metronomic reliability in front of goal is amply backed by Bukayo Saka’s dribbling and creativity. Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are two of the best midfielders anywhere in the world, and Jordan Pickford in goal is Mr Reliable, particularly with John Stones and Marc Guehi providing a barrier ahead of him. But… it’s England. Questions over their big game mentality will persist until they actually win a trophy.
The last time a defending champion retained the World Cup was 64 years ago. Argentina has that little bit of history against them, with the fact it was Brazil some added salt in the wound. In the World Cup odds at Shuffle, they find themselves fourth favourites to repeat their success of 2022. Most of the old band are still here, coached again by Lionel Scaloni. But it’s another Lionel who could decide their fortunes this time. Messi, at 38, in what will be his final World Cup, is arguably the best player in football history and has led them to consecutive Copas America; could he repeat the double dose here? Maybe; there are better squads here, but few with the time-proven ability to win when it matters.
Look, nobody’s going to deny that Brazil is an iconic World Cup sight. There are few more stirring sights in world football than a stadium packed with yellow-clad fans, but… it’s been 24 years since they won one, and they have had much better squads than this in the interim. Neymar is still there in the storied 10 shirt. The burgeoning talent of Endrick and the midfield smarts of Casemiro will be very welcome sights for fans of A Seleção. For the first time ever, the CFB looked outside the nation’s borders for a permanent manager; they found Carlo Ancelotti and, largely because it’s him, they could be winners here. But as a reality check, they haven’t been beyond the quarters since 2014, and reputation alone has them this high.
It would be an uncharitable person who wrote that Portugal needs to win the World Cup so Cristiano Ronaldo can finally retire. So we won’t. But at 41, surely this is his last chance. How good a chance is it? Well, there’s no questioning the merits of the squad, drawn from some of the world’s top clubs and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos, Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes… it’s a pretty stacked team. However, it is coached by Roberto Martinez, whose mettle at this level remains questionable and who seems petrified of leaving Ronaldo on the bench. Which, based on recent records, is where he should probably be.
| 🎭 Team | 🤔 Why They Will Win It | 👀 Why They Won’t Win It |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | Best midfield in the tournament | No standout no. 9 |
| France | Deepest squad in the world | Everyone’s biggest target |
| England | Stacked with talent | History weighs on them |
| Argentina | Defending champs, lots of know-how | Ageing core |
| Brazil | They’re Brazil | It’s not 2002 |
| Portugal | Genuinely deep squad | Overfocus on Cristiano Ronaldo |
| Germany | It’s a World Cup | Not vintage Germany |
| Netherlands | Built for knockout football | Lack of goals beyond Depay |
| Norway | Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard | Big drop off after those two |
| Morocco | Solid in defence and attack | No longer a surprise package |
There is little argument over the six most likely contenders and it would be a shock if the eventual winner came from outside the list above. But shocks can happen, and there are plausible cases for a few more names if none of the above tickle your fancy.
Because they can go a long way on not very much talent; even a pretty poor German side in 2002 made it all the way to the final. But they didn’t get beyond the groups in either of the last two editions, and there’s little to suggest they’ll go much further this year.
Making their first finals appearance since 1998, Norway are considered a possible outside bet for one main reason. Erling Haaland, the human cheat code, can score goals by sheer force of will. There’s also Martin Odegaard, fresh from captaining Arsenal to a Premier League title, and a tight team ethic. Which they’ll need, because outside of them the team is short of individual brilliance.
Solid in defence, with Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake. Clever in midfield with Ryan Gravenberch and Tijani Reijnders. Skilled out wide thanks to Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo. And Wout Weghorst plays up front for them, so there’s also that.
Could the World Cup have a first African champion? It’s definitely an outside bet, but this Moroccan side is positioned to make a decent run and made the semi-finals last time. Whether they can go better this time will depend heavily on the swashbuckling right-back Ashraf Hakimi and mercurial forward Brahim Diaz as well as the veteran striker Ayoub El Kaabi.
As for the hosts? Well, they should all be able to progress from their groups and with a fair wind any could make the quarter-finals. Canada has a rich attacking contingent and might get further. But the current US men’s national team isn’t one of their strongest, and Mexico – while hard to beat – lacks a real punch going forward. So the World Cup may be coming to North America, but it won’t stay there.
When casting an eye over the great World Cup winner odds found at Shuffle, one thing stands out: France and Spain are standout contenders and will take some moving. Everyone else has their strengths and weaknesses, although if it clicks for England they’re almost on a par with the big two. And given that we haven’t even mentioned Croatia, Uruguay or Colombia – all of whom have plenty of talent in their ranks and international pedigree – it wouldn’t be a huge shock for one of the winners to come from outside the top ten.
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We could give some odds here, but as we covered in our Shuffle review, the odds inevitably shift before the tournament kicks off because that’s what odds do: they fluctuate. But don’t expect to find them much longer than 6.00 at any point; they and Spain are favoured for a reason.
Again, these odds can move as the tournament gets closer and especially once it’s underway. But tiny Curacao, the least-populated country ever to reach a World Cup, are among the longest shots at the time of writing. Along with Haiti, Uzbekistan and Jordan, they’re mostly happy to just be there.
Yes. There are individual match odds to be found, and there will also be betting on markets such as group winners, highest-scoring players, and plenty more besides.
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