The 2026 World Cup kicks on on Thursday, June 11, and 48 national soccer teams hold dreams of becoming legends for their countries.
While many nations hope to win matches and advance through the knockout stage, only a select few harbor realistic goals of lifting the World Cup trophy when it’s all said and done.
Spain and France are the World Cup favorites among both pundits and the public, but there are a handful of dark horses who could match up with them and surprise everyone.
With the World Cup 2026 opening match on the horizon, we’ll break down our top World Cup winner predictions and their payouts via PrizePicks Team Picks. Plus one team who should be on your radar as a dark horse.
Before and during World Cup 2026, you can make real-money predictions on game winners, players, over/under and more, including which teams will win their groups or advance to the knockout stage on PrizePicks Team Picks.
Make your 2026 World Cup predictions on PrizePicks
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2026 World Cup Favorites, Winner Payouts
Heading into the 2026 World Cup, the usual suspects are the favorites to win the tournament: Spain, France, England, Argentina, and Brazil are up top, along with Portugal, who has never won a World Cup.
Below are the payout multipliers for the favorites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states, including California, Texas, and Florida.
Payouts listed below indicate real-money earnings if a prediction is correct on PrizePicks; for example, a 2x on a $100 entry would pay out $200 on PrizePicks Team Picks. The lower the payout multiplier, the higher the chance of the outcome occurring, according to user picks.
2026 World Cup Favorites, Payouts to Win
Find World Cup winner picks on PrizePicks Team Picks on the app by going to World Cup, then Team Futures, then 2026 Men’s World Cup Winner market.
Outside of these favorites, you can find our full World Cup power rankings here — ranking all 48 teams from top to bottom.
- Spain: Yes 5x | No 1.14x
- France: Yes 5.26x | No 1.14x
- Portugal: Yes 7.14x | No 1.07x
- England: Yes 7.69x | No 1.07x
- Argentina: Yes 8.33x | No 1.06x
- Brazil: Yes 9.09x | No 1.05x
- Germany: Yes 11.11x | No 1.03x
- Netherlands: Yes 14.28x | No 1.02x
- Norway: Yes 22.22x
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Spain to Win the World Cup?
Spain to Win 2026 World Cup: Yes 5x | No 1.14x
Trying to find a weakness with this Spain team is extremely difficult. Start at the back and you have three world-class goalkeepers. The defense has depth at every position, not to mention cohesion between multiple Barcelona players.
The Spanish midfield is rivaled perhaps only by Portugal’s as the best in the world, and the attack is spearheaded by young talent like Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres. They have pace, stellar technical ability, and experience in tournaments having won the 2024 European Championship.
La Roja is one of the best pressing squads in the world, and they can easily register 700+ passes per match with their elite ball possession. That will force teams to defend for long stretches, exhausting their opponents in time for Spain’s bench weapons to enter the fray and deliver the final blow.
Spain is joined in Group H by an inconsistent and struggling Uruguay, an outmatched Saudi Arabia, and a minnow in Cape Verde. It’s very likely they won’t face a real test until the Round of 16, meaning they can rest and rotate and keep key players like Yamal fresh for the final rounds.
The Spanish are favored to win the World Cup for a reason, and it won’t surprise me one bit to see them lift the trophy at MetLife Stadium.
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France to Win the World Cup?
France to Win 2026 World Cup: Yes 5.26x | No 1.14x
If this were a five-a-side tournament, I’d put everything I own on France to win. You might have to go back to the Brazilian teams in the 2000s to find a compilation of attacking talent at the national team level that rivals what manager Didier Deschamps has at his disposal.
Kylian Mbappe will dominate the headlines, and understandably so — he’s the World Cup Golden Boot. That said, France also features 2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele. Michael Olise is among the best players in the entire world right now.
Oh, and we’ve yet to mention the likes of Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola, Jean-Philippe Mateta, or Rayan Cherki.
Sadly for Deschamps, he can only start four of them. That’s where the questions come in. Can he get the right combinations, while keeping everyone’s ego satiated despite only one ball being in play?
Furthermore, can Deschamps do so while covering up the glaring weaknesses the France side has? Left back is a real concern with both Theo Hernandez and Lucas Digne struggling in space, while questions abound as to the reliability of whomever partners William Saliba in defense.
All that said, look no further than the 2022 World Cup Final to see that France will never be out of a match with an attack like theirs.
If Deschamps can keep everyone satisfied and navigate a tricky Group I, he could be sailing off into the sunset by winning France’s third World Cup trophy.
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Netherlands: Dark Horse to Win the World Cup?
Netherlands to Win 2026 World Cup: Yes 14.28x | No 1.02x
They say defense wins championships. There isn’t a better one in the 2026 World Cup than the Netherlands.
The Dutch drew a fairly kind group with Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia joining them in Group F. Those three nations aren’t the most dangerous going forward, which makes scoring against the Oranje all the more difficult.
Virgil Van Dijk captains the Netherlands from the back, and Ronald Koeman can partner him with the likes of Micky van de Ven, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Nathan Ake. The loss of Jurrien Timber stings, but Denzel Dumfries is far more dangerous as an attacking right back.
The midfield of Tijani Reijnders, Ryan Gravenberch, and Frenkie de Jong provide strong resistance to pressing teams. They’ll also need to help create goals, the one area where the Dutch struggle.
Donyell Malen needs to carry over his form from this spring with Roma, while Cody Gakpo has to step up after a subpar campaign with Liverpool, where he scored just 7 goals in 36 matches.
You have to go back to the 2010 World Cup to find the last time the Dutch lost a match in this tournament prior to a penalty shootout. If they can find scoring to compliment their stellar defense, they have a true shot to finally claim their long-overdue first World Cup crown.
Make Netherlands World Cup 2026 Predictions on PrizePicks
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Make Your World Cup 2026 Predictions on PrizePicks
Picking the winner of the World Cup is rarely easy, and the expansion to 48 teams makes it even more difficult. That said, there is a clear delineation between the World Cup teams who have the talent to survive and advance, and those who will likely fall short.
Whether the likes of Spain, France, and the Netherlands can come through in the biggest moments remains to be seen. Perhaps England, Argentina, or Portugal will step up. Or will a totally unexpected nation make a run and surprise everyone?
You can make your World Cup winner predictions and more World Cup picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money on World Cup games.
Make World Cup predictions on game winners, World Cup futures, players, over/unders, and more — now available in 35 states. Or pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats like shots or goals, and cash in if you’re correct.
Stick with the Playbook for continued World Cup predictions, picks, and analysis through the end of the tournament.
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