World Cup 2026 Predictions

The next edition of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 will be hosted jointly by three countries – Canada, Mexico, and USA. It will be the first edition to host a total of 48 teams, 16 more than the 2022 edition. The three host teams qualify automatically for the tournament.

Argentina are the defending champions after overcoming France in the post-match penalty shootout of the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. The Argentines were led by talismanic player Lionel Messi, who was also voted the best player of the tournament. He was 34 years at Qatar 2022 and may not be part of the squad to defend the trophy in 2026.

Here at Livetipsportal, we undertake to provide not only the updates on the preparations and fixtures for the tournament, but we will also delve deeper and provide previews and solo predictions as well as sure multibet tips of the top matches, right from the start of the tournament, through the group games, the knockout stages all the way to the final. You can be sure to get well-researched betting tips that will put you in a great position to make some quick quids all through the tournament.

We usually publish our previews well in advance of the matches in order to offer you an opportunity to interrogate them properly. Our experts will look at the form of the teams coming into the tournament and during the tournament, H2H info for the teams playing, as well as expected lineups taking into account any injury reports. These form the basis of the solid tips that we provide for this and other competitions in general.

All the tips will be available on our world cup predictions page.

WORLD CUP TIPS FOR THE AFRICAN QUALIFICATION 2026

Football World Cup 2026

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is scheduled to run from Mon, 8 Jun 2026 – Fri, 3 Jul 2026.

With 48 participating teams, the format of the tournament will be decided by the FIFA Council in 2023. It was initially proposed that the tournament should have 16 groups of 3 teams each, with two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout phase.

However, there are fears that the two teams playing the last game could play for a result that favors both to go through. Such a thing happened in the 1982 World Cup, when West Germany and Austria advanced at the expense of Algeria.

The four-team group structure has proven to be successful, but with 48 teams, FIFA still has to figure out how to structure the groups and knockout process in a fair and balanced manner.

The 2026 World Cup venues are spread out across the huge North American continent and there may be huge distances between venues. This is unlike in Qatar, a small country where the WC venues were clustered within a relatively small area.

The USA will host most of the matches of World Cup 2026, including the opening ceremony and the final match.

🏟️ Here is the full list of the host cities and venues:

United States

• New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)
• Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
• Dallas (AT&T Stadium)
• San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium)
• Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
• Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
• Seattle (Lumen Field)
• Houston (NRG Stadium)
• Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
• Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium)
• Boston/Foxborough (Gillette Stadium)

Mexico

• Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)
• Mexico City (Azteca Stadium)
• Monterrey (BBVA Bancomer Stadium)

Canada

• Toronto (BMO Field)
• Vancouver (BC Place Stadium)

Africa will have at least 9 representatives at FIFA World Cup 2026. These will be decided through a qualifying format to be announced by Confederation of African Football (CAF).

World Cup Groups 2022

World Cup 2022 Schedule

In the course of the12 match days, four matches will be played daily during the group stage. Once these are complete, group winners and runners-up will face off in the round of 16, then progressively we will proceed to the other knockout stages all the way to the final.

The 2022 World Cup schedule and Groups are as follows:

• Group stage: Nov. 21 – Dec. 2
• Round of 16: Dec. 3-6
• Quarterfinals: Dec. 9-10
• Semifinals: Dec. 13-14
• 3rd Place Playoff: Dec. 17
• Final: Dec. 18

Group A

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Netherlands	7	3	2	1	0	5	1	4
2	Senegal	6	3	2	0	1	5	4	1
3	Ecuador	4	3	1	1	1	4	3	1
4	Qatar	0	3	0	0	3	1	7	-6

Legend

• Next round

Group B

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	England	7	3	2	1	0	9	2	7
2	USA	5	3	1	2	0	2	1	1
3	Iran	3	3	1	0	2	4	7	-3
4	Wales	1	3	0	1	2	1	6	-5

Legend

• Next round

Group C

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Argentina	6	3	2	0	1	5	2	3
2	Poland	4	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
3	Mexico	4	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1
4	Saudi Arabia	3	3	1	0	2	3	5	-2

Legend

• Next round

Group D

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	France	6	3	2	0	1	6	3	3
2	Australia	6	3	2	0	1	3	4	-1
3	Tunisia	4	3	1	1	1	1	1	0
4	Denmark	1	3	0	1	2	1	3	-2

Legend

• Next round

Group E

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Japan	6	3	2	0	1	4	3	1
2	Spain	4	3	1	1	1	9	3	6
3	Germany	4	3	1	1	1	6	5	1
4	Costa Rica	3	3	1	0	2	3	11	-8

Legend

• Next round

Group F

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Morocco	7	3	2	1	0	4	1	3
2	Croatia	5	3	1	2	0	4	1	3
3	Belgium	4	3	1	1	1	1	2	-1
4	Canada	0	3	0	0	3	2	7	-5

Legend

• Next round

Group G

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Brazil	6	3	2	0	1	3	1	2
2	Switzerland	6	3	2	0	1	4	3	1
3	Cameroon	4	3	1	1	1	4	4	0
4	Serbia	1	3	0	1	2	5	8	-3

Legend

• Next round

Group H

Current Standing

POS	TEAM	PTS	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Portugal	6	3	2	0	1	6	4	2
2	Korea	4	3	1	1	1	4	4	0
3	Uruguay	4	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
4	Ghana	3	3	1	0	2	5	7	-2

Legend

• Next round

🇬🇭 👉 Attention: Check out the extensive Ghana World Cup Tips & Analyzies 👈 🇬🇭

Best Bookies for your World Cup 2026 Tips

Ahead of the tournament starting there are a number of other popular World Cup 2026 forecast markets available on a number of bookmakers. Before shifting attention to the individual games when the tournament kicks off, you can take a look at some of these markets and cash in on them while at it.

They are all available on 1xBet, Betway, Betwinner, Mozzartbet and Mybet.Africa. We have assessed bookmakers here at Livertipsportal and we feel these betting companies in Africa offer the best value for investments and returns for punters looking to bet on the World Cup 2022.

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100₦ / 3.00

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Min. deposit & min. odd

250₦ / 1.40

To Betwinner bonus

200% up to 300000₦

Min. deposit & min. odd

500₦ / 1.40

To Mozzart bonus

All Bonus Offers

World Cup 2026 winner

As always, this is by far the most popular of all World Cup 2026 betting markets. All you have to do here is pick the nation that you feel will win it all.

The bookmakers are yet to release the odds and you will be informed here as soon as they are available.

World Cup 2026 top scorer

With the galaxy of superstars expected to don their national team colours in Canada/Mexico/USA 2026, you will not be short of any options for the winner of the prestigious golden boot awards. World Cup 2022 golden boot winner Kylian Mbappe of France is expected to be back. Other notable strikers from 2022 who are likely to be banging goals in 2026 for their countries include; Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Marcus Rashford (England), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco), Ismailia Sarr (Senegal), and Gonçalo Ramos (Portugal).

World Cup 2026 to make the final

If betting on the outright winner market is a bit risky for you, you can explore this market. Once the draw has been done you can always chart any team’s path to the final. This market offers a great chance for punters that may be looking to bank on a dark horse who they think can upset teams en route to the final, even if they will not win.

World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament

This is also known as the Golden Ball and it will also have a number of contenders with standout candidates like Mbappe, Bruno Fernandes, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jnr.

World Cup History

Previously football was organized as part of the Olympic games which has certain restrictions with regard to age and amateur status. With football gaining a foothold across the world, there was a clamour to hold it as an event completely separate from the Olympics. The very first world cup competition was organized in 1930 by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It was hosted and won by Uruguay. It has since been held every four years, except during World War II (in 1942 and 1946).  

Between 1930 to 1970, the trophy awarded to winners was referred to as the Jules Rimet Trophy, which was aptly named after the Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was permanently awarded in 1970 to the then three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy simply called the FIFA World Cup was put up for competition. Today many other sports have followed suit and started their own “World Cup” competitions.

All World Cup Champions:

• Brazil: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002
• Germany: 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014
• Italy: 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006
• Argentina: 1978, 1986, 2022
• France: 1998, 2018
• Uruguay: 1930, 1950
• England: 1966
• Spain: 2010

Player Records

• Most Goals in Single Tournament: 13, Just Fontaine, France 1958
• Most goals scored (Overall): 16, Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)
• Most championships: 3, Pelé (Brazil, 1958, 1962)
• Most tournament appearances: 5, Antonio Carbajal (Mexico, 1950–1966), Lothar Matthäus (Germany, 1982–1998), Rafael Márquez (Mexico, 2002–2018), Cristiano Ronaldo (2006-2022), Lionel Messi (2006-2022)
• Most matches with at least one goal: 11, Ronaldo (Brazil, 1998–2006), Miroslav Klose (Germany, 2002–2014)

Team Records

• Most World Cup Titles:  Brazil – 5 (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
• Most World Cup appearances: 22, Brazil (have participated in every edition)
• Most finishes in the top three: 12, Germany (1934, 1954, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
• Most Goals Scored in One Tournament: 27, Hungary, 1954
• Most meetings between two teams in the FInal: 3 times, Argentina vs Germany (1986, 1990, 2014)

You can click through all other exciting competitions, with football betting tips to every single game:

England Premier League

International Champions League

England Championship

Germany Bundesliga

Spain Primera División

Italy Serie A

France Ligue 1

International Europa League

International Europa Conference League