World Cups are huge betting events. Comparable to the NFL’s Super Bowl in a sense, but on a global scale. There is always an air of mystery to it, a sense of the unknown because the teams rarely clash against each other. For example, England will play Panama in the Group Stage, but the two nations have only played each other once in their history (in 2018). Added to that, you don’t really know how teams will gel. It’s just one of those sports competitions where there can be a “wait and see” element for some team performances.
In saying that, the World Cup is not some pot-luck event. There are several favorites, and it would be a major shock if the winner didn’t come from them. They are Spain. France, England, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina. Anyone out of that group and you are looking at the biggest shock winner in World Cup history. Maybe, just maybe, you could add Germany to that list, respected because of the four-time winner’s history, but the Germans have not been firing in recent years.
Spain is DraftKings’ favorite (for now)
Right now, DraftKings makes Spain the favorite in its World Cup futures betting. It is understandable, and a lot of other sportsbooks feel the same. But the momentum feels like it is with another European nation – France. Indeed, the French have been the most commonly backed team by soccer experts. For example, 17 BBC pundits were asked to predict the World Cup winner, and nine went for France. A handful went for England, but that seems like a little bit of the heart ruling the head in a panel made up of English pundits. Just one of the 17 went for Spain.
Pundits can be wrong, of course. Go back to the start of the NFL 2025/26 season and see how many picked a Super Bowl matchup of the Seahawks versus the Patriots – zero, effectively – but there is a growing sense that this is France’s World Cup to lose, and that’s causing the money to fly into the sportsbooks and betting exchanges.
The best attack in global soccer?
Why the hype? Arguably, heads were turned when France announced its squad. Most notably, its attack strength: Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise will probably be the front three for France. They are all in the running for the Ballon d’Or this season. It’s just an opinion, but it’s arguably the best front three since Messi, Suarez and Neymar lined up for Barcelona in the 2010s. Or if we are talking international soccer, since Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo (Nazario) led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup.
There’s other firepower for coach Didier Deschamps to use, including Bradley Barcola, Desire Doué, and Marcus Thuram. So, you’ve basically got incredible attacking options with lots of backup. There’s also the fact that several of the squad members, including Mbappé and Dembélé, have the experience of winning the World Cup before, as does Deschamps.
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Is there any weakness in this squad? Perhaps. The midfield is light on quality players at the peak of their powers. Aurelien Tchouameni will probably be key, and PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery might get some game time (he’s one for the future), but someone like N’Golo Kante is well past his best. Adrien Rabiot is tenacious, but limited. Rayan Cherki should be counted as a forward but may find himself further back.
Nevertheless, this is a squad that brings five of the key members of Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League-winning team, which was another reason that the money started flowing in for France, plus top players from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal. It is as close as we have to an all-star squad in international soccer, and the sports betting community is jumping on board.
