The 2026 World Cup has taken Canada by storm. It’s not just the nation’s own support of the CANMNT, with Canada scoring their first ever World Cup knockout goal and progressing further than ever before in the tournament, but it’s the love of the tournament itself.
There’s much more to love at the World Cup beyond supporting the Canadian team. Backing underdogs, backing players, backing teams you love and want to root for is the best way to bet, so here’s a brief betting guide for how to make the most out of betting on the World Cup, especially as the knockout stages are in full swing.
Outright markets
Outright markets are one of the most popular markets for betting, especially as the World Cup enters into the knockout stages and the case for each country becomes clearer. They’re available throughout the tournament, and offer some of the most fun bets available due to the high stakes.
Outright bets include bets like the overall World Cup winner, betting on which team will lift the trophy in the end, no matter whether they do it on penalties or in regulation time. You can also bet on a team to reach a certain stage, like if you’re confident that Canada will make it into the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
Then there are individual outright bets, made on a single player or award. These include the Golden Boot, the award that goes to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament, the Golden Ball, which goes to the player of the tournament, or the Golden Glove, which goes to the best goalkeeper of the tournament, often the goalkeeper of the winning team.
You can also bet on who will be the top goalscorer in a given team across the tournament, or bet on when a team will exit the tournament. If you want to get started with outright markets you can use a Sports Interaction Bonus Code from GOAL to get a boost.
Match markets
Match markets are more standard types of bets, placed on individual games rather than the overall tournament. These bets include the obvious, like full-time result, but with knockout football, there can be alternatives, such as result after 90 minutes, result after extra time, or the overall result of the game. Make sure to know which one to use before you bet, they often come with different odds and can offer some serious value.
Then there’s standard goalscorer markets, including betting on a specific player to score, known as an anytime goalscorer bet, or to be the first goalscorer in a given game. You can do the same with players receiving yellow or red cards.
You can also bet on teams to score, whether that’s teams to score first, or both teams to score, regardless of the number of goals or the overall result. You can combine many of these bets together to form a multi-part parlay.
