World Cup Winner Odds 2026: Spain Favourites For Final Against Argentina

Q: Can I bet on World Cup winner antepost?

Betting on World Cup winner is always available months and even years before the World Cup kicks off. You can get early prices for any team, and some bettors are able to back a country at a big price before it shortens closer to the tournament.

Q: Who are the favourites to win the World Cup?

Spain are favourites to win the World Cup. They've conceded just once en route to the final. However, the defending champions Argentina await in the final and won't make things easy.

Q: Has a team ever won two World Cups in a row?

Italy won successive World Cups in 1934 and 1938, although the Azzurri have failed to qualify for the past three tournaments. Brazil landed their first-ever success in 1958 and quickly followed this with another triumph in 1962. They were the last back-to-back winners.

Q: Is there a dominant continent in World Cups?

There have only ever been winners from Europe and South America when it comes to World Cups. Argentina’s success in 2022 ended a four-tournament run where European sides had been successful. However, Brazil remain the most decorated nation in World Cup history with five triumphs to their name.

Q: Does the expanded 48-team format change the World Cup winner odds?

Having 48 teams doesn’t really affect the World Cup winner odds. It simply adds more outsiders to the market. Teams who rarely qualify aren’t likely to feature in the latter rounds. With the favourites dominating the betting market, it has a similar look and feel to previous tournaments.

By Mark Fordham

Jul 19th, 2026 4:05 AM EDT

Fact Checked By Oliver Lines

The 2026 World Cup started on 11 June and it all comes down to two teams in Sunday's final, Spain and Argentina. The US, Mexico and Canada have staged the biggest ever tournament. An additional 16 teams meant 48 nations were competing across 12 groups for the first time.

32 sides progressed to the knockout stage to battle it out for major honours. Extra teams should, in theory, have meant a greater pool of potential winners to pick from, but the final four teams were pretty much as expected.

It’s been an absolutely huge tournament at football betting sites, and many football fans are already speculating over who might win the famous trophy. There are lots of viable contenders, and many Bookies.com readers are now looking to wager on the winning team.

Each of our recommended betting sites have priced up the outright market, and you can either bet win-only or each-way. These are among a huge number of betting opportunities on multiple markets.

With just two left in contention - Spain and Argentina - who do you fancy to win the trophy? Spain are the favourites, but the defending champions Argentina can't be ignored, particularly with the magician Lionel Messi still pulling the strings.

World Cup Winner Odds

Every betting app has the World Cup Winner market priced up. That means each of the 32 remaining teams have odds available for them to win the tournament. Favourites such as Argentina, England and France have the shortest prices. Then you have rank outsiders like Cape Verde and South Africa, whose odds go into the hundreds, showing it’s generally unfeasible that they will even make too far.

Regularly comparing World Cup odds is important, as they can change daily and sometimes multiple times a day at top betting sites based on a number of factors, which is why it is important to keep checking back with Bookies.com as our odds update in real time.

With just two teams left, let's take a look at their chances:

Spain

Spain only have one World Cup to their name, but they were victorious at Euro 2024. La Roja have a winnable group featuring Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Indeed, the Group H odds have Spain as overwhelming favourites to win their group. Manager Luis de la Fuente can call upon plenty of experienced and world-class players.

That includes Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal along with his clubmates Ferran Torres, Pedro, Fermin Lopes and Dani Olmo, comprising a nation of attacking talent. They should go deep and haven’t lost a match since March 2024, and whilst they didn't exactly showcase their talents in the group stage, an extremely comfortable 3-0 win over Austria in the Round of 32 put other teams on notice. They ground out a 1-0 win over Iberian rivals Portugal and bagged a late winner against Belgium to advance to the semi finals where France await.

A semi-final win over France gave Spain the first spot in the final. They've made it this far by conceding only one goal. They're sure to prove tough competition for Argentina on 19th July.

Argentina

Argentina finished top of CONMEBOL qualifying, boasting lots of goals and a strong defence. This tournament will surely be Lionel Messi’s swansong and we shouldn’t forget that La Albiceleste are the reigning champions. Messi has stamped his name on the tournament with a hat-trick in his first game of the tournament and a brace in the second, putting him amongst the World Cup Golden Boot favourites.

They were handed a favourable group alongside Austria, Algeria and Jordan, which means the star players can be kept fresh for the later rounds. Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez can play supporting roles to Messi, but retaining the crown is a big ask as no team has done this since 1962. Regardless, they are among the favourites to win the World Cup again at top fast withdrawal betting sites.

The defending champions appear to have one of the easier paths to the semi-finals and are amongst the favourites to win the tournament after winning all three group games convincingly, but they required extra time to see off a resolute Cape Verde and a 10-man Switzerland, and had to come back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt.

They snatched victory from the jaws of defeat again in the semi-final against England to reach the final, once again showing their tremendous attitude. Do Argentina and Messi have one more huge performance in them?

World Cup Betting Sites

The team at Bookies.com judge World Cup betting sites using specific criteria. The first port of call is to make sure our readers can claim a generous new customer betting offer. This should be available in the form of free bets or alternatively a matched deposit. If there’s enhanced odds instead, that will also do the trick.

For the World Cup, we want to see daily odds boosts available. Customers want to get some value on their selections. You should expect to see daily trebles given the boost treatment along with the chance to get extra winnings on multiple bets. An acca boost is fairly common and means a percentage of bonus can be added if you manage to win, or sites might offer acca insurance instead.

It’s important that customers get plenty of choice with their markets. Beyond outright winner and top goalscorer, we also want to see lots of ante post options, specifically focusing on the 12 groups and each individual team. You can back a side to win their section along with how far they will go in the World Cup. There should also be the chance to bet on top team scorer.

The in-play coverage should be spot on and that means hundreds of betting options when a match kicks off at top in-play betting sites. These markets should tie in nicely with cash out, which is something that’s important to our readers. We also want to see quick and fast payment methods on hand to facilitate deposits and withdrawals. Top-drawer customer service is a must.

World Cup Free Bets

The best World Cup free bets are when customers get plenty of free bets or bonuses without having to stake too much of their own cash. Something like “bet £10, get £30 in free bets” is an ideal way of getting started, and a number of recommended World Cup bookies are running with this welcome offer.

It’s always good to get a meaty bonus and ideally you can break this down into several free bets. There shouldn’t be a wagering requirement so customers can keep any winnings made from the bonuses. We also like it if you don’t have to specifically use a free bet on a market and can basically choose whichever World Cup selection grabs your fancy.

Watch out for other terms and conditions such as payment method eligibility and time limit. If you can use a free bet to place multiples, that’s a big tick. It’s also good if there’s no maximum win amount that can be landed with a bonus. Don't miss out on the huge number of enhanced World Cup offers that sites will be providing too - some of which are on this page.

How Does World Cup Winner Each-Way Betting Work?

You’ve got a nice big list of teams featured in the World Cup Winner market. You can either place a win-only bet on a nation or alternatively go each-way. If you bet £10 each-way on England at 6/1, you are essentially staking £10 on England to win and £10 on England to place.

The £10 England win bet would pay out £70 (£60 profit + £10 stake). The £10 England place part would pay out if they reached the final. That’s because the each-way terms cover the first two in the betting. You would typically get a quarter of the odds for your £10 bet which would be a return of £25 (£15 profit + £10 stake).

The reason why punters bet each-way on World Cup winner is because they have some insurance if a team reaches the final and loses. You may find that some bookies increase the place terms to three or four as we get nearer the start.

A team such as USA could use home advantage and a favourable draw to great effect to go into the business end of the World Cup. A quarter of 66/1 is just over 16/1, so an each-way bet would clearly be more beneficial here. Switzerland did really well in qualifying and 80/1 is an eye-catching price if you think they’ll continue their strong form.

Norway, with the likes of Erling Haaland in tow, and Morocco, 2022's semi-finalists, look like dark-horses to consider. That's not to forget Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, who are seen as the best of the rest by many.

Favourites Usually Teams To Follow In World Cup Winner Odds

Modern World Cups have nearly always involved one of the favourites winning. Argentina were the 11/2 market leaders before triumphing in 2022. Four years previously, France were sent off as 6/1 third-favourites before landing a second World Cup trophy. It was a similar story when the 2014 World Cup was contested in Brazil, with Germany obliging as the 13/2 third-favourites.

Italy were the last country to win at double figure odds when scoring on home soil at a tasty 18/1, but that was back in 2006. Since then, it’s been a spate of shorter-priced winners and there’s clearly a gulf in class when the teams line up for each renewal. However, Croatia were 33/1 when getting to the 2018 World Cup final, and Uruguay were a massive 100/1 in 2010 before getting as far as the semi-final stage.

If you’re looking to try to side with World Cup outsiders at football free bet sites, then it might be worth looking beyond the winner market. It’s not certain that the favourites will win each of the 12 groups. After all, no team recorded three wins at the group stage of the 2022 tournament. There were some notable shocks, too, and none bigger than Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against eventual winners Argentina.

England were also held to a draw by the United States in that tournament, and Spain were usurped at the top of their group by Japan. La Roja followed a 7-0 win over Costa Rica with a 1-1 draw against Germany before losing 2-1 to the Japanese. It’s therefore worth looking closely at outsiders for the group stage, with Morocco winning their 2022 World Cup group ahead of Croatia and Belgium.

World Cup Winner Betting Tip

The 2026 World Cup comes hard on the heels of a long domestic season. We know that favourites at £5 deposit betting sites have a good record in the tournament.

At this point, it's incredibly difficult to see past Spain. They've reached the final having conceded just one goal in the tournament and looks to have the kind of fluidity about their game that we expect from a top Spain team. Lamine Yamal provides a real X-factor too, and could well be the difference between the sides in the final.

Previous World Cup Winners

Year	Host	Winner	Runner-Up
1930	Uruguay	Uruguay	Argentina
1934	Italy	Italy	Czechoslovakia
1938	France	Italy	Hungary
1950	Brazil	Uruguay	Brazil
1954	Switzerland	West Germany	Hungary
1958	Sweden	Brazil	Sweden
1962	Chile	Brazil	Czechoslovakia
1966	England	England	West Germany
1970	Mexico	Brazil	Italy
1974	West Germany	West Germany	Netherlands
1978	Argentina	Argentina	Netherlands
1982	Spain	Italy	West Germany
1986	Mexico	Argentina	West Germany
1990	Italy	West Germany	Argentina
1994	USA	Brazil	Italy
1998	France	France	Brazil
2002	Japan & South Korea	Brazil	Germany
2006	Germany	Italy	France
2010	South Africa	Spain	Netherlands
2014	Brazil	Germany	Argentina
2018	Russia	France	Croatia
2022	Qatar	Argentina	France

2026 World Cup Winner Odds - TL;DR

The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, featuring 48 teams competing across 12 groups.
Leading teams such as Spain, France, England and Argentina were among the early favourites to win, while Brazil and the USA also seen as strong contenders, with the latter being one of the co-hosts.
Bookies.com provides updated World Cup Winner odds, with options for win-only and each-way betting.

World Cup Winner Odds FAQs

What are World Cup winner odds?

World Cup winner odds enable you to bet on the team that wins the tournament. The best odds reflect their chances of success in the 2026 tournament. Your stake is combined with the betting price to create a potential payout. The odds change as the competition continues.

Can I bet on World Cup winner antepost?

Who are the favourites to win the World Cup?

Has a team ever won two World Cups in a row?

Is there a dominant continent in World Cups?

Does the expanded 48-team format change the World Cup winner odds?

About the Author

Mark Fordham

More About Mark

Mark spent over a decade as a sports reporter and editor with Goal.com and Bleacher Report. He is now a Content Manager at Bookies.com covering all manner of sports from the Premier League and cricket to the NBA and NFL. Mark also has years of experience working in the online casino industry and knows how to rate a good one over a bad one.