The World Cup is coming to Canada! That’s right, in 2026, Canada will host the World Cup along with the United States and Mexico. It will be the first 48-team World Cup and a must-watch event for anyone interested in sports.
This guide will cover everything you need to know about World Cup 2026 betting, including the contenders, top sportsbooks, and more.
T&Cs Apply
T&Cs Apply
The 2026 World Cup is the biggest in history with a staggering 48 teams in the competition. Like every other year, though, there are really only a few teams who can win it. Here are the main World Cup favorites for 2026.
After winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Argentina and Lionel Messi are one of the big favourites to win again in 2026. It will be difficult, with Messi being four years older and his teammates not progressing as expected. As long as he’s able to play, though, the betting sites will give La Albiceleste a good chance of winning the World Cup.
France have made it to back-to-back World Cup finals. They won in 2018, beating Croatia, and fell to Argentina in 2022. Unlike Croatia and Argentina, though, France continues to churn out young talent to play alongside established stars like Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé. Barring some massive off-the-field drama, which is always possible with France, Les Bleus should be one of the favorites.
Spain under Luis de la Fuente at Euro 2024 showed the world that they were more than just pointless possession. They will get the chance to do it again in the US, Canada, and Mexico in 2026 led by rising stars Pedri, Lamin Yamal, Nico Williams, and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri.
England invented football, but they haven’t brought it home in a long time. Well, the men’s team at least. The Three Lions regularly have one of the most talented teams with stars like Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Cole Palmer. They also get plenty of support from English bettors, so they are often the favourites heading into tournaments.
England also regularly disappoint. Will they again in 2026? That remains to be seen.
Brazil are the most successful team in World Cup history. They are the only nation to have played in all 22 World Cup tournaments and they have won it five times. That success is long in the past, though. The Yellow Canary haven’t won since 2002 and will likely be without a generational star on the team for the first time in history if Neymar doesn’t play.
That said, Brazil are everyone’s second-favorite team, so they will probably be among the contenders according to the World Cup Betting odds in 2026.
Brazil are the only country who have won more World Cups than Germany. And, like Brazil, Germany have underperformed at recent tournaments. Die Nationalelf have failed to make it out of the group stage in the last two World Cups and they don’t have the star power they used to. That said, Julian Nagelsmann is a good coach and they made it to the quarter-finals of the last Euros.
With nearly 40 betting markets and a wide range of crypto and fiat payment methods, Betovo is one of the most comprehensive sports betting sites available in Canada.
Neon54 doesn't have as many sports betting markets as other top sportsbooks, but it has all the major North American sports and a wide variety of international sports, including soccer. We expect to see a full slate of World Cup betting options available in 2026.
Most of the top sportsbooks in Canada have in-play betting, but I think Rooster.bet is one of the best sportsbooks for live bets. The site’s in-play page is super streamlined and easy to use compared to its competitors’.
Powbet caught my eye because of its huge selection of 200+ esports betting markets. I don’t want to overlook its soccer betting though. Powbet is much more geared towards soccer bettors with promos and sportsbook features than it is towards the other major sports.
Cashed is a relatively new sportsbook on the market compared to some of the other sites I like. That said, I was really left impressed with its betting odds and will definitely check Cashed for value World Cup bets.
Supabet is another massive sportsbook with a huge range of sports available to bet on. In addition to soccer, you can bet on the NBA, MLB, and dozens of other top sporting competitions all around the world.
Dazardbet doesn’t have a huge reputation, but I consider it a soccer bettor’s dream. The sportsbook regularly has over 300 bets available per game for major soccer matchups, including tons of team props.
Beonbet is a little limited in some ways compared to other betting sites. For soccer, though, Beonbet is a premier sportsbook. It has close to 1,000 unique different soccer betting markets every season.
With soccer-specific promos, like its 2 Goals Ahead Early Payout and Parlay Boosts, Spinsy is a rewarding sportsbook for soccer bettors and will have more to offer for the World Cup than other sites.
Founded in 2018, 10bet is a well-respected betting site with a huge reputation in international soccer. For me, though, its standout feature is its Loyalty Club, which allows you to earn points for prizes with every bet.
If you’re someone like me who always shops around for the best odds possible, I recommend 20bet. The site’s overall odds are competitive compared to other sportsbooks. It also has tons of great boosted bet offers that you won’t get at many other sports betting sites.
Bankonbet stands out for its wide selection of over 30 different sports available to bet on. I also really like its live betting options. Most sportsbooks’ live betting pages are clustered and difficult to navigate. Bankonbet’s is simple and even has a handy live streaming button you can click to see which games are available to watch for free.
Hot.Bet is a classic online betting site with a simple, streamlined layout and a solid 100% deposit match welcome bonus worth up to $150. It’s not as basic as it looks, though. In my opinion, Hot.Bet is one of the most comprehensive betting sites in Canada. It has over 70 different betting markets and a good selection of bonuses and free bet offers.
Like, Hot.Bet, BetOspin has a very old-school feel compared to some of our other top betting sites, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it entirely. I found BetOspin to have a huge selection of nearly 2,000 soccer betting markets. It also has a $2,500 welcome bonus, which is one of the biggest in Canada.
For a major tournament like the World Cup, you’ll see plenty of familiar betting markets along with some uncommon ones. Each market has its own quirks so let’s take a look at the most popular World Cup 2026 betting markets in detail.
Betting who will win the World Cup is always one of the most popular markets. This is a simple bet. All you need to do is accurately predict the winner. What makes it complicated is that the favourites, i.e., the teams most likely to win, aren’t always worth betting on. On the other hand, the underdogs have no chance of winning.
The best outright winner wagers are on a dark horse with long shots, but not unrealistic chances of winning. Croatia were a good example of this at the 2022 World Cup.
Match result, or moneyline bets, are classic wagers on the outcome of a single match. You can bet on Team 1 to win, Team 2 to win, or on a draw. Whatever the case, if your prediction is right, you win. Keep in mind during the knockout rounds that match result bets only apply to the first 90 minutes. If a match goes to extra time, the result at full-time is usually what decides your bet.
If you’re not sure who will win but think that there will be goals, you can bet on both teams to win. As long as both national teams in the game score a goal before the full-time whistle, you will win.
Over/under bets are wagers on the number of goals in a game scored by both teams. They are something called totals bets because you wager on the total number of goals scored. Sportsbooks set a line and you wager whether the score will be over or under that line (e.g., over/under 2.5 goals).
If you’re confident that a game will end exactly 2-1, you can bet on it. The correct score market allows you to wager on the specific score of the game after 90 minutes. Payouts for this market are usually much higher than simple moneyline bets.
World Cup betting sites allow you to bet on all the major tournament award winners. The Golden Boot, the player who scores the most goals, is usually the most popular World Cup award to bet on and sure will be in 2026 too.
While betting on which team will win the 2026 World Cup is the most popular futures betting market, you can also bet on at which stage a specific team will go out. For example, if you think Canada will make it out of the group stage, you can bet on Les Rouge to qualify for the Round of 32 or to be eliminated in that same round.
Live World Cup betting hasn’t always been easy in Canada because of the time difference between the host nation in Canada. With the World Cup being in North America in 2026, though, you can watch every game easily and bet on them while they’re live using our top sportsbooks.
Most of the same pre-match betting markets are available as live bets (e.g., moneyline, over/under, handicap, etc.). You will also find tons of fun new markets, like whether a team will score in the next five minutes.
There’s no guaranteed way to win money betting on the 2026 World Cup. However, there are some World Cup betting strategies you can use to increase your chances of winning or, at the very least, extend your bankroll for as long as possible.
Here are my top tips that you should keep in mind before you place your World Cup bets:
As fun as the Canadian Men’s National Team are to support, Les Rouges are not one of the favourites heading into 2026. Most soccer betting sites have Canada right around the middle of the pack for World Cup betting odds.
With all this being said, Canada have some real star power that a lot of nations around them in the FIFA rankings don’t have. Most countries would kill to have players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David in their ranks. This quality alone is probably enough to guarantee that Canada get out of the group stage.
When you add to this star power the fact that Canada are co-hosts, our team here at Bettingtop10 think the Canucks have a chance of going further than many expect. It might be worth taking a punt on Canada making it to the Round of 16 or the quarter-finals.
