The World Cup is finally here, and while its monstrous ticket prices have dominated much of the build-up, the actual football is finally set to take over. So, which teams are you likely to see should you stump up enough cash to secure your spot at MetLife Stadium on July 19th? 

Well, online betting sites have had their favourites priced up for months, and it’s the usual suspects who find themselves at the top of the odds lists. The latest World Cup betting at Bovada odds currently make Spain the 9/2 outright frontrunner, with France just behind at 5/1. Then there’s England at 7/1, third favourites. But what could each of their routes to the biggest game in world football potentially look like? Let’s take a look at their most likely path to glory. 

Spain

Spain famously stormed to a record-breaking fourth European championship crown in Germany two years ago. Now, their talented young squad attempts to take their talents from the continental stage to the global one. Lamine Yamal was just 16 years of age for much of that tournament in Germany in 2024. Now aged 18, he has matured into arguably the best player on the planet, and flanked by his loyal Barcelona cohorts, such as Pedri, Gavi, Dani Olmo, and Pau Cubarsí, he is now tasked with bringing the famous gold trophy back to Spain for the second time. 

His side has been handed the perfect group to do exactly that. Luis de la Fuente’s men will face debutants Cape Verde in their opener in Atlanta on June 15th, before then facing Saudi Arabia in the same stadium five days later. Those two games will almost certainly yield six points and a slew of goals, before a clash with Uruguay in Guadalajara on June 26th brings their group stage commitments to an end. 

The bookies make Spain a whopping 1/5 favourite to top Group H, and if they don’t, it would be a monumental shock. Presuming that they do, then La Roja would likely face either Austria or Algeria in the stunning SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on July 2nd for another clash that they will be heavily favoured to win. Win that, and they have a Round of 16 clash against either Croatia or Colombia to look forward to, again a contest they’ll be well backed to win. 

Spain could well emerge at the quarterfinal stage without breaking a sweat. There, the USA, Turkey, and Belgium are considered their most likely opponents, arguably the weakest of any of the tournament favourites at that stage. In the semi-finals, second-favourites France will likely lie in wait. 

France 

France have reached each of the last two World Cup finals, and this summer, they aim to reach a record-equalling third straight. They beat Croatia in the first of those two showpieces in Moscow before losing a thriller on penalties to Argentina in Qatar four years later. However, if they are to reign supreme this summer, they will have to do so without two men who threaded the team together for over a decade: Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud.

Even without those two, Les Bleus still have quality right across the pitch, but it’s in attack that they’re truly deadly. Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, and Desire Doue make up arguably the most fearsome attacking quartet at the entire tournament, and they will strike fear into each and every defence they come up against. But even so, they do have a much tougher run to the final than frontrunners Spain. 

Didier Deschamps’ side has been drawn into arguably the most difficult group at the tournament alongside both Norway and Senegal. Still, the bookies make them a clear 2/5 favourite to head Group I, and if they do, they will head to MetLife Stadium on June 30th for a clash with one of the best-placed third teams. 

From there, they will head to Philadelphia for a crunch round of 16 clash against fellow heavyweights Germany, before embarking upon a potential quarterfinal against the Netherlands in Boston on July 9th. After already running the gauntlet, a well-rested Spain side will then likely lie in wait in the semis, with July 14th in Dallas the date for that monster showdown. 

England 

Pretenders or contenders? That’s always the question with England. Their runs to each of the last two European Championship finals suggest that they are firmly the latter as opposed to the former, while the appointment of proven winner Thomas Tuchel only aids their case. Add to that the blistering form of Harry Kane, whose 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich this season have positioned him as the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, and it’s clear that the Three Lions could well roar. 

Heartbreak for England is a constant on the big stage…

+700 to bring home a World Cup for the first time since 1966 ??????? pic.twitter.com/oO0cPRYomD

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) June 4, 2026

They must navigate perennial banana skin Croatia in their opening game, before then facing Ghana and Panama in Group L, a quartet that they’re 1/4 favourite to top. They will also face one of the best-placed third-place teams in Atlanta on July 1st, before gearing up for a likely clash against tournament co-hosts Mexico in front of thousands of Mexicans at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

The task gets no easier in the quarterfinals as the Three Lions will likely gear up for a clash with Brazil in a repeat of their 2002 quarterfinal. They will then probably face one of their two modern rivals in the semi-finals, either Argentina or Portugal, with those two set to square off in the quarterfinals and the winner facing England in the semis.