{"id":4997,"date":"2026-06-18T04:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=4997"},"modified":"2026-06-18T04:14:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:14:28","slug":"2026-world-cup-france-favored-england-rises-after-opening-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=4997","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup: France Favored, England Rises After Opening Wins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The biggest sporting event North America has ever hosted is in full swing, and we already have a new favorite atop the 2026 FIFA World Cup oddsboard.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>After a lackluster first half that resulted in only one shot on goal, France had its 2026 World Cup breakout in the second half of Tuesday&#8217;s match against Senegal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Les Bleus stormed to a 3-1 win behind Kylian Mbapp\u00e9&#8217;s two goals, while Bradley Barcola added another just minutes after he came onto the pitch.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>With his brace on Tuesday, Mbapp\u00e9 became France&#8217;s all-time leader in goals with 58, passing Olivier Giroud. He now has 14 World Cup goals, tied with Gerd M\u00fcller for the fourth-most of any man in World Cup history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>With its huge opening win, combined with Spain&#8217;s shocking opening draw against Cape Verde, France is now the sole favorite to win the World Cup this summer at +410, the lowest it&#8217;s been since the tournament odds came out back in December.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>On Wednesday, England&#8217;s odds climbed from +750 to +650 after its impressive 4-2 win over Croatia. England&#8217;s victory was its first World Cup win against a team ranked inside the top 15 in FIFA&#8217;s world rankings since 2002.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Its offense looked to be firing on all cylinders, attempting 20 shots from inside the penalty area against Croatia, its highest total in a World Cup match since 1966.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The Three Lions currently sit third on the oddsboard, only trailing France and Spain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Let&#8217;s dive into the full odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, as of June 18.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><i>This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about <\/i><i><u>Sports Betting on FOX Sports<\/u><\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>France: +410 (bet $10 to win $51 total)<br \/>Spain: +480 (bet $10 to win $58 total)<br \/>England: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)<br \/>Portugal: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)<br \/>Argentina: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)<br \/>Brazil: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)<br \/>Germany: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)<br \/>Netherlands: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)<br \/>Norway: +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total)\u00a0<br \/>Belgium: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)<br \/>United States: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)<br \/>Colombia: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)<br \/>Japan: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)\u00a0<br \/>Morocco: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)\u00a0<br \/>Mexico: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)<br \/>Uruguay: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)<br \/>Switzerland: +8000 (bet $10 to win $810 total)<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Here&#8217;s what to know about this oddsboard:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>The Favorites:<\/strong> France is now the solo favorites atop the oddsboard. It opened its pursuit for a third World Cup title with a 3-1 win against Senegal on Tuesday. Les Bleus will face Norway and Iraq in its next two group stage matches, as they eye a deep tournament run once again. Spain comes in second on the oddsboard at +500. While Spain&#8217;s opening draw against Cape Verde was a nightmare start to its tournament, it remains the second choice at +480. Spain has appeared in 16 previous World Cups and won the tournament once, lifting the trophy in 2010. It also won the 2024 Euros. It will look to bounce back and follow Argentina&#8217;s route to the title in 2022, after its disappointing first result of the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Biggest Risers:<\/strong> Could the USA and Mexico have gotten off to better starts? The U.S. took a 3-0 lead over Paraguay in the first half before cruising to a 4-1 win, while Mexico opened up the tournament with a 2-0 win over South Africa. Leading the way for the United States was Folarin Balogun, who scored twice. However, Mauricio Pochettino took USA star Christian Pulisic out at halftime due to calf tightness. The host nations have been two of the biggest risers up the oddsboard during the first week of the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY The biggest sporting event North America has ever hosted is in full swing, and we already have a new favorite atop the 2026 FIFA World Cup oddsboard.\u00a0 After a lackluster first half that resulted in only one shot on goal, France had its 2026 World Cup breakout in the second half [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}