The 2026 FIFA World Cup outright market has changed at the top this week, with France overtaking Spain as the bookmakers’ favourite to lift the trophy. France has now passed Spain following a very convincing-looking win over Senegal, while Spain stunned by finishing a scoreless draw against World Cup debutants Cape Verde.
France now sit at +426 to win the tournament, with England and Argentina also now climbing past former third-choice, Portugal, who were held to a draw by Congo DR.
Cape Verde, appearing at their first ever World Cup, were expected to concede multiple goals against the on-form Spanish side, but they stunned viewers around the world by managing to hold onto a 0-0 draw in their Group H opening match in Atlanta.
Sure, Spain dominated possession and had 27 shots compared to just six for their opponents, but despite this, they were simply unable to find a way past 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, who produced some world-class saves to deny Oyarzabal, Laporte and Torres.
Interestingly, the 0-0 draw made Cape Verde just the seventh team in World Cup history to avoid defeat on their tournament debut, and it’s a result that will be discussed around the football world for years to come.
The group stage rolls on today, Friday 19th of June, with an action-packed schedule that includes Brazil facing Haiti, Turkey taking on Paraguay, and Scotland against Morocco. There’s also one of the biggest fixtures of the group stages of the tournament – the United States against Australia – and, with the co-hosts looking to build momentum on home soil, there’s expected to be a lot of market interest in the USA’s match throughout the day.
With the Round of 32 not kicking off until June 28th, there’s still plenty of time for odds to fluctuate – and there’s still some great value to be found, so don’t be afraid to compare odds; there’s always value when backing your favourite team!
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Alex Smith