The semifinals is upon us with just four teams left vying for the title. Of course, some of the best ways to get in on the knockout rounds is to look in on the World Cup futures that are offered. With the final 4 teams vying for glory, we can take a look at some projections.
We dug through all the action that is out there and have our favorite futures for this stage. Come check out what we cooked up for this part of the tournament.
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2026 World Cup – Semifinals Futures
Young Player of the Tournament – Lamine Yamal (+130)
As we near the end of the tournament, the futures options become a bit more limited. The markets with the most value out there currently tend to be the awards markets. Unlike major American sports, the final awards tend to be a bit more up in the air. A lot of that is due to smaller sample sizes and less clear metrics.
Still, the Young Player of the Tournament Award seems like a foregone conclusion. Lamine Yamal came into the tournament with tons of hype, and he seems to have lived up to the bulk of that. The teenage forward picked up a goal in just his second game and has really brought the pressure in the knockout stage. He’s had eight shots on the frame over the last three games. Desire Doue, who is second in the odds for this award, has half of that.
Winner – Double Chance – France/England (-165)
It does seem like it is France’s world and everybody else is just living in it. However, the +150 price tag on them at the moment does feel like it doesn’t have much value. That’s especially true since they are priced at -150 to advance in the semifinals alone. As a result, I think the play is to grab a double-chance future with England.
With the way that England is playing, and with the fact that Argentina seems to flirt with disaster each game, they seem like a safe play to make the finals. Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are bringing enough pressure to crack the Argentine defense. By adding them to this play, you could get a sweat-free finals and a back-up play for if Spain pulls off the upset.
Top Goal Scorer – Kylian Mbappe (-115)
The race for top goal scorer is a dead heat at the moment. Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi and currently tied at eight goals a piece, with both Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane two goals off the pace. As a result, it would appear to come down to Mbappe and Messi – and there are a lot of reasons to like the Frenchman.
The primary reason I like him to take over is chances. As I mentioned earlier, I do not expect Argentina to make it out of the semifinals. They were close to defeat against both Cape Verde and Egypt. Their appearance in this portion of the tournament says a lot more about their draw than their abilities. If they do bow out in the semifinals, that would give Mbappe two chances to grab the deciding goal instead of one. Being that I favor France in both of those rounds, the goals should be there.
Player of the Tournament – Jude Bellingham (+400)
While Mbappe is the clear frontrunner to have the most goals, he is unlikely to also win the player of the tournament. That’s because the player with the most goals rarely wins this award. You’d have to go all the way back to the 1990 World Cup in Italy when Salvatore Schillaci won both on his home soil. Since that time, the committee seems to try to find the best player without hardware already to recognize.
That may just be Jude Bellingham. He has not only found the back of the net plenty, but he has been excellent at creating pressure on defenses. If they are able to take out Argentina in the semifinals, as I have predicted, then this may be a sure thing.
If you’d like even more info to help make your World Cup bets, check out the World Cup Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes for the whole tournament to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar with their World Cup picks today.
