2026 World Cup parlay, best bets: Top picks for matches on Monday include Spain and Belgium
The 2026 World Cup rolls along on Monday, June 15, and one of the top favorites to win the entire event will take center stage when Spain faces off with Cabo Verde in the first match of the day at 12 p.m. ET in Atlanta. The Spaniards taking the pitch is just one of four matches of the day, with Belgium facing Egypt, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia squaring off and Iran and New Zealand capping off the day as all four squads in both Groups G and H kick off their World Cup runs.
We've put together a three-leg parlay for Monday's matches using odds from FanDuel for those interested in soccer betting, specifically World Cup betting. You should also check out the latest expert picks from Jon Eimer, Martin Green and others at SportsLine.
Eimer is a fixture in CBS Sports and SportsLine's soccer betting coverage. He's 64-41-3 in his last 108 Italian Serie A picks and 17-9-2 in his last 28 German Bundesliga picks. Green was 18-8 in his last 26 picks in this year's Champions League. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Spain are the top favorites to win the World Cup (+460 at FanDuel) while Cabo Verde ... aren't. The Spaniards possess one of the most complete and dangerous lineups in the entire World Cup field, including dangerous attackers like Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres. They should win this match handily, and Spain alone could clear this 3.5 total goals line. Eimer thinks Spain are going to try their best to make a statement in this opening match. "They have one of the best midfields in the competition only behind Portugal, and their attack rivals any other team in the world," he said. "I expect Spain to use this match as a chance to send a warning to every other team as they run up the score."
Belgium are the heavy favorites to win Group G, and they kick off their 2026 World Cup run against Egypt. Belgium were unable to follow up on their third-place finish in the 2018 World Cup as they finished third in their group in 2022 and missed out on the knockout stage entirely. This is Egypt's fourth World Cup appearance, and they're aiming to make it out of group play for the first time since 1934. Belgium are sizable favorites not just in Group G, but this match as a whole. That's noteworthy as Egypt has the second-shortest odds to advance out of Group G. There's a reason Belgium, who sit ninth in the rankings, are big favorites here over 29th-ranked Egypt. Don't overthink it -- even with the legendary Mohamed Salah suiting up for Egypt.
New Zealand are just 85th in the global rankings and are a massive longshot in Group G. Iran, 20th in the rankings, have the third-shortest odds in this group behind Belgium and Egypt, and, assuming Egypt falls to Belgium, this is a must-win spot for the Iranian side with three points up for grabs. Iran enters the World Cup in good form, winning each of their last three friendlies, all by two goals. They're seeking their first knockout stage appearance, and getting off to a good start against a lackluster New Zealand side is of the utmost importance. Green says there's a "gulf" between these teams in terms of talent level. "(Iran) have dangerous forwards like Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Mohammad Mohebi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, and Dennis Eckert in their ranks," Green says. "That should leave them with enough firepower to beat this limited New Zealand team."