The quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup are set, and it’s all about Europe. The power base of the sport takes up six of the final eight spots, with defending champion Argentina and African upstart Morocco making up the rest of the field.France sits above the rest in the odds to win the tournament. The French have been the favorites since early in the group stage, and nothing has changed that since. Les Bleus escaped against a tough, albeit very negative, Paraguay side with a 1-0 win in the round of 16. Next up is a meeting with Morocco, the only African team remaining, in the quarterfinals.With +180 odds on DraftKings and FanDuel and +175 odds on BetMGM, the French are clearly ahead of the rest of the pack.There is a change in the pecking order after that, though. Spain, the pre-tournament favorite which still hasn’t allowed a goal, has moved ahead of Argentina. Spain currently sits at +370 on DraftKings with Argentina behind at +400.
The shift could be a result of Argentina laboring through both knockout matches as massive favorites. La Albiceleste needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in an epic 3-2 win, then followed that up with a 3-2 win against Egypt after trailing by two goals more than 75 minutes into the match. At this point, it’s survive and advance, but the betting market is still dinging Argentina a touch for a pair of concerning performances.Meanwhile, Spain has gradually grown throughout this tournament. La Roja still hasn’t given up a goal. Monday’s 1-0 win against Portugal won’t win a beauty pageant, but it was another example of Spain’s ability to shut down its opponents.From a pure probabilities perspective, it also helps that Spain got through a harder opponent while Argentina was expected to beat Egypt. Having cleared the Portugal hurdle did more to improve Spain’s chances of winning the World Cup. Argentina got a bit of a boost from Switzerland pulling off a minor upset against Colombia and avoiding a quarterfinal against a familiar South American opponent.England is squarely in the fourth spot at the major sportsbooks, coming in at just shorter than 5-to-1. The Three Lions survived an epic battle at Estadio Azteca against Mexico and now face Erling Haaland and a dangerous Norway team.How do England stop Erling Haaland? Felipe CardenasThe top four favorites are all previous winners. Their four opponents (Norway, Morocco, Belgium, Switzerland) have never won a World Cup. If there is to be a first-time winner, it would take a team pulling off potentially three upsets in a row. Norway (16-to-1 on FanDuel) and Morocco (27-to-1) were already underdogs once in the knockout stage.American fans might still be sad about the way the United States went out. They likely won’t feel much better, seeing that Belgium has the second-longest odds among the eight teams still remaining at 27-to-1. The team that beat the U.S. 4-1 is a long shot to win it all.Switzerland has the longest odds at 30-to-1.Jul 8, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
