Football betting tips: World Cup
1pt Marcus Rashford top England goalscorer at 17/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
1pt e.w. Declan Rice to provide most assists at World Cup at 33/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4)
England World Cup odds (Sky Bet)
- Winner - 7/1
- Runner-up - 8/1
- Reach the final - 10/3
- Reach the semi-finals - 9/5
- Reach the quarter-finals - 8/11
- Reach the round of 16 - 1/4
- Reach the round of 32 - 1/100
What is England's route to the final?
Group L fixtures
June 17: England 21:00 Croatia (Dallas)
June 23: England 21:00 Ghana (Boston)
June 27: Panama 22:00 England (NY/NJ)
England have a fairly middle of the road group that they are rightly expected to top; whether that's a benefit or not will become clearer in a couple of weeks.
Should they do so, they will then meet GROUP E/H/I/J/K 3RD PLACE in the round of 32 in Atlanta. Like several other leading nations on their side of the draw, England will hope to avoid Group K's lucky loser, likely France, Senegal or Norway.
WATCH: RANKING THE WORLD CUP HOME SHIRTS!
If the draw plays out as forecast, there would then be a daunting high-altitude round-of-16 tie with co-hosts MEXICO in Mexico City.
The quarter-final in Miami is set up to be against BRAZIL, a repeat of 2002. The semi-final in Atlanta would most likely be against ARGENTINA (or Portugal) and predicted to prevail from the other half of the draw, and therefore awaiting in the final in New York/New Jersey, are FRANCE/SPAIN.
What if England finish second in Group L?
We won't go as far as calculating with a third-placed finish, as that is near enough impossible, but should England finish as runners-up in Group L their path would be very different; round of 16 and 32 TV times are all over the show for a UK audience, too.
COLOMBIA, who are in Group K with Portugal, are the Three Lions' most likely round-of-32 opponent should they qualify in second place. SPAIN, who are expected to edge Uruguay in Group H, would be next.
It gets trickier to forecast from here, but on rankings alone BELGIUM are the most likely quarter-final opponent. Their Group D rivals Egypt may have something to say about that though, as might co-hosts USA should they meet in the round of 16.
A semi-final meeting with FRANCE - who may well have to beat Germany and the Netherlands to get this far - would then be most likely. And a final with ARGENTINA... or Portugal... or Brazil.
Can England win the World Cup?
Since Gareth Southgate brought hope back at the 2018 World Cup, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to write England off at a major tournament, and the appointment of Thomas Tuchel has only stoked the fire further.
Southgate's shortcomings were tactical, and his pragmatic approach at crucial moments left us wondering what if on a couple of occasions. His replacement is an elite manager who specialises in knockout football and never shies away from the big decisions.
England didn’t concede in qualification, scored at least two goals in all bar one of their eight games and the squad has balance with a sprinkling of world-class quality.
For me, the biggest question mark is their ability to cope with the heat, which makes it difficult to be forthright in a verdict. Here goes anyway...
Verdict: ENGLAND TO REACH THE SEMI-FINALS
England have their best chance of winning a World Cup since they lifted the trophy for a solitary time 60 years ago.
While they don't have the same managerial continuity as 2014 winners Germany, there are a lot of similarities. Success at youth level, multiple near-misses and the sense that the team has been building towards something for quite some time.
Twelve years ago there were similar concerns about the heat and humidity of Brazil, with European nations' relative lack of success outside their own continent referenced aplenty in the build-up. While Germany prevailed, teams from the Americas, most notably Costa Rica, did punch well above their weight in difficult conditions, providing four quarter-finalists.
A lot has changed since then. Teams are fitter and better prepared and it will be to England's advantage that although defeat by Iceland two years later - and the subsequent short-lived reign of Sam Allardyce - is viewed as the nadir of the national team, a disastrous 2014 World Cup is where it all really started. Lots will have been learned from that chastening experience.
At the prices England aren't a bet with so much uncertainty, and I can't shake the feeling that they may be better off finishing as runners-up in Group L to avoid a possible trip to the altitude of Mexico City to take on the hosts in the round of 16.
This feels like a tournament with six very closely matched teams. England have as good a chance as anyone else on their side of the draw but at the moment the route just looks far too difficult to say they can win the whole thing.
Verdict: ENGLAND TO REACH THE SEMI-FINALS
Rashford to make Marc
Harry Kane is generally 1/2 to be ENGLAND TOP GOALSCORER and while initially I didn't see much value in opposing that, the more I've chewed it over, watched, listened and read, the more I've come round to doing exactly that and backing MARCUS RASHFORD at a generous 17/1 (available at 16s generally).
Four years ago, three-and-a-half if we're splitting hairs, Rashford arrived at the World Cup as an impact sub and yet he still finished top of the Three Lions charts alongside Bukayo Saka with three goals.
He was in great form then, as he is now having had a superb season on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United.
Saka, who has had a difficult season with Arsenal, is a general price of 8/1 in this market and only one firm has Rashford in single figures, which feels about right.
Tuchel is a huge fan of the 28-year-old, backing him from the moment he became England manager, even when Rashford was badly struggling for form and there were huge question marks over what direction his career was going in.
The German deserves some of the credit for triggering the upturn we have witnessed over the last 18 months that initially saw an impressive loan spell at Aston Villa, followed by a title-winning campaign at Barca.
Rashford looks likely to be favoured over Anthony Gordon on the left of England's front three in North America, but even if he isn't the nature of the tournament - with its extra game, heat and humidity - lends itself to benefiting a player such as him to score late goals off the bench.
Kane, meanwhile, is likely to be protected at any given opportunity.
When defences are tired or pushing to fight back (or both) in the latter stages of games should England be several goals clear, it's likely Kane will be off the pitch, leaving players like Rashford to capitalise.
Dec to deliver
The threshold in the top assists market is low, with four enough to win across the last six World Cups.
While the 48-team tournament - with its extra knockout game and a lower standard of team - will have a knock-on effect, England are expected to go deep into the tournament it makes a lot of sense to back one of their players in this market.
The Three Lions were really good from dead-balls in qualification netting six times - or 27% of their goals from set pieces.
DECLAN RICE took the majority of them, setting up four goals (0.72 assists per 90) and half of them came from dead-balls. At 33/1 generally, I think the Arsenal man is worth a punt each way (1/4 odds, 4 places) to get the MOST ASSISTS this summer.
Rice was part of an Arsenal team who scored the most set-piece goals (23) in the Premier League last season, with his delivery a big reason for the 20.6 xG they created from set-plays.
Tuchel has spoken openly about capitalising on that strength and should the World Cup come close to matching the set-piece goal percentage of 30.2% we saw in Russia eight years ago, Rice will surely have bagged plenty of assists; 32.4% of Arsenal's league goals came from dead-balls in 2025/26.
Odds correct at 11:20 BST (09/06/26)
More World Cup content from Sporting Life
- World Cup Acca
- World Cup betting guide
- Group A: Mexico; South Africa; South Korea; Czechia
- Group B: Canada; Bosnia; Qatar; Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil; Morocco; Haiti; Scotland
- Group D: USA; Paraguay; Australia; Turkiye
- Group E: Germany; Curacao; Ivory Coast; Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands; Japan; Sweden; Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium; Egypt; Iran; New Zealand
- Group H: Spain; Cape Verde; Saudi Arabia; Uruguay
- Group I: France; Senegal; Iraq; Norway
- Group J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
- Outright preview
- Golden Boot preview
- Golden Ball preview
- FREE World Cup wallchart
- FREE World Cup sweepstake kit
- World Cup: All you need to know
- Fixtures, results and live scores
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