I am not going to have a countdown like we see on Sky Sports and similar. Far too swanky for me (the ‘s’ being optional here!). Instead, I will simply say that the World Cup starts later this week, just 3 days, 7 hours and 7 minutes from now as I type. Scotland have warmed up with comfortable victories over the might of Curacao and Bolivia as they prepare to face Haiti in their opening match on Sunday at the unearthly hour of 2.00 am BST. England meanwhile scraped past New Zealand in their first warm up match with Harry Kane inevitably scoring the single goal of the match. His 79th for England. He will need to get to the mid-eighties for England to be a genuine challenger you would think although you never know.
One thing I like about this World Cup Finals tournament so far is that there are so many countries taking part about which I have virtually no clue how good they are. Gone are the days when Zaire got thumped 10-1 by the then Yugoslavia. You do fear a little for Curacao and Cape Verde as they make their debuts against Germany and Spain respectively but most sides these days are at least well organised defensively so could hold their own. Zaire incidentally are now called the DR Congo and have a number of players that play in the UK including Yoann Wissa (Newcastle United), Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United) and Edo Kayembe (Watford). They also include a certain Gael Kakuta who Chelsea fans with a long memory may remember! Are they any good? Don’t ask me!
Thursday 4th June 2026 – World Cup 2026 just 7 days away
The latest odds show Spain, at 5/1, as favourites to add to their World Cup crown in 2010. Next come France at 6/1 with England a highly optimistic third favourite at 8/1, especially given defending champions Argentina, record 5 times winners Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are all at 10/1.
Japan are an interesting bet at 80/1. Not necessarily to win overall but could be worth looking at to progress deep into the tournament.
The best fancied African nations are Morocco and Senegal, the two nations involved in the, now infamous, final of the African Cup of Nations 2025/26 when the majority of the Senegalese side walked off the pitch in protest at a late, soft penalty awarded against them. The penalty was subsequently saved of course with Senegal going on to win but they were stripped of the title later. Both sides still claim that they are African Champions. Either way, both are very capable sides who could cause a stir or two.
Scotland come in at 300/1 as they look to finally progress to the knock-out phase of a major finals tournament. With the 8 best third placed teams qualifying for the Last 32 stage, they may never have a better chance.
For those who love a rank outsider, how about Haiti and Curacao, both at a cool 5000/1. Didn’t Leicester City win the Premier League with those odds?
World Cup Prediction Competition 2026
This is where updates regarding the prediction competition will be placed once it gets underway.
PLEASE INVITE ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART.
