World Cup 2026 results and how our predictions did
By Daniel Simpson
Last updated: 21 July 2026
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 to win the 2026 World Cup. This is our record of the tournament: the final standings, the Golden Boot race, every group and knockout result, and an honest account of how our predictions actually did across all 104 matches.
Odds and tips here move with the market right through the tournament.
World Cup 2026 champions
Spain won the 2026 World Cup
Beat Argentina 1-0 in the final.
See how the tournament finishedOur track record
How our World Cup 2026 predictions did
Spain lifted the trophy after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. We published a call on every match, so here is the honest version of how they did, measured against what we had before each kick-off rather than with hindsight.
Group stage
−£25.40 from 66 bets
Knockout rounds
+£131.20 from 32 bets
A call here means one thing only: the single result our model rated most likely in a match, home, draw or away. It is not the same as the tips we published on the match pages, which covered markets like correct score and both teams to score. Both are counted separately above.
Level 10 pound stakes, at the best price we had recorded before kick-off. 98 of the 102 calls had a price on file. Our published tips turned a profit only because of longshot correct-score picks at long odds; the full-time-result tips lost heavily. Match results settle over 90 minutes, so knockout ties decided in extra time or on penalties are scored on the 90-minute result.
As of 21 July 2026. Past results are a record of previous calls, not a guarantee of future returns. 18+ · Please gamble responsibly.
Final standings & Golden Boot
Final standings
Full result →-
Spain
Champions
-
Argentina
Runners-up
-
England
Third
-
France
Fourth
Golden Boot
Full leaderboard →-
Kylian Mbappé France
10 goals
-
Lionel Messi Argentina
8 goals
-
Erling Haaland Norway
7 goals
-
Jude Bellingham England
7 goals
-
Harry Kane England
6 goals
How the 2026 World Cup works
The first 48-team World Cup runs 11 June – 19 July 2026 across 16 host cities in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Here's how it's set up — and why the format matters for the betting.
Group stage
12 groups of four. Every team plays three matches. The top two from each group advance automatically.
Best third-placed teams
The eight best third-placed sides also progress — making the race for qualification, not just the group win, the key market this year.
Round of 32
New for 2026: a full knockout round of 32 teams, single-elimination, before the traditional Round of 16.
To the final
R32 → R16 → Quarter-finals → Semi-finals → Final. The champion plays eight matches — one more than in previous tournaments.
World Cup 2026 fixtures & predictions
Upcoming fixtures will appear here once the schedule is live.
Recent results
Reads & analysis
World Cup 2026 features & analysis
Deeper dives on the contenders, the players to watch and the markets worth a look — our latest World Cup features.
World Cup 2026 betting guide
Spain won the 2026 World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. This page is now our record of the tournament: the final standings, the Golden Boot leaderboard, every group and knockout result, and an honest account of how our own predictions did.
What the 48-team format meant in practice
Forty-eight teams, 12 groups of four, and a new round of 32 before the last 16. Spain had to win eight matches to lift the trophy, one more than a champion needed under the old format.
The qualification maths mattered more than anything else. The top two from each group went through, plus the eight best third-placed sides, so a team could finish third and still reach the knockouts. That took much of the must-win pressure out of the final round of group games.
How the tournament actually went
Spain were the pre-tournament favourite and they justified it, beating Portugal, Belgium and France on the way to the final. Argentina came through the other side of the draw and lost the final by a single goal.
England had the best run of the home nations. They beat Norway in the quarter-finals, lost to Argentina in the semi-finals, then won a remarkable third-place play-off against France 6-4.
The biggest name to go early was Brazil, beaten by Norway in the round of 16. The Netherlands went out a round earlier.
How our predictions did
We published a call on every match. Across the 102 fixtures where we hold a snapshot taken before kick-off, we called 63 correctly. Our knockout calls were a good deal stronger than our group-stage ones. The full record, including what level stakes on those calls and on our published tips would have returned, is in the track record section further up this page.
What we would take into the next tournament
- Group football was harder to call than knockout football. Our group-stage calls were the weakest part of our record by some distance.
- Third-place qualification changes how the final group games are played, and it changes what a result is actually worth to each side.
- A bigger field means more mismatches early on and more genuinely close ties late, which is worth remembering when the next tournament prices go up.
And the usual reminder: only bet what you can afford to lose, and keep it as a bit of fun.
Recommended apps
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How our World Cup predictions are made
Every World Cup prediction on the site starts from the same place: working out where the bookmakers’ prices look out of line with what the numbers actually say.
For the match tips, we blend recent team form, expected goals (xG) and the current market price into one probability for each result. Before the tournament that data is patchy, since most of these teams haven’t played a competitive game in months. So early on we lean more on qualification form and squad strength, and we’ll tell you when a call is based more on judgement than hard numbers.
For the outrights, we take the odds from across the bookmakers and strip out their built-in margin (the vig). That puts every selection on the same footing, so you can see where the value is rather than just backing the favourite by default. The winner, Golden Boot and group markets on this page all use those adjusted prices.
The group pages also work in the 2026 best-third-placed maths, which changes who actually needs a result and who can get away with a draw.
Prices change all the time. The odds here update through the tournament, and any tip is based on the price that was available when we posted it. We only link to UK-licensed bookmakers, and if we think a price is too short to be worth it, we’ll tell you.
Group-by-group guides
Standings projections, qualification maths and match tips for all 12 groups.
Common questions
World Cup 2026 FAQ
Who won the 2026 World Cup?
Spain. They beat Argentina 1-0 in the final, having knocked out Portugal, Belgium and France on the way there. It was Spain's first World Cup since 2010.
Who finished in the top four?
Spain won it, Argentina were runners-up, and England took third place by beating France 6-4 in the third-place play-off, comfortably the highest-scoring game of the knockout rounds.
How accurate were your World Cup predictions?
We published a call on every match. Across the 102 fixtures where we hold a snapshot taken before kick-off, we called 63 correctly. Our knockout calls were a good deal stronger than our group-stage ones. The full record, including what level stakes would have returned, is in the track record section on this page.
Did the 48-team format change anything?
Yes. Twelve groups of four fed into a new round of 32, so Spain had to win eight matches rather than seven. The bigger change was qualification: the top two from each group went through plus the eight best third-placed sides, so finishing third was often enough. That took much of the must-win pressure out of the final round of group games.
What happened to the favourites?
Spain were the pre-tournament favourite and justified it. Argentina reached the final. The biggest casualty was Brazil, beaten by Norway in the round of 16, while the Netherlands went out a round earlier. Norway themselves reached the quarter-finals before England beat them.
How do your predictions work?
Each match prediction is built from recent team form, expected goals data and the market prices themselves, with the bookmaker's margin stripped out so you are looking at an actual implied probability rather than a number inflated by the overround. It gives you a starting point. What you do with it is your call.
Where can I find your predictions now the World Cup is over?
Our football predictions hub covers the domestic season, with a preview and a call for upcoming fixtures.