World Cup 2026 betting tips: Spain to win World Cup final, Mbappe to score first vs England

For England fans, these should have been the good times. It’s been roasting hot in the UK for weeks.

Fat Les has been blasting out on the airwaves, and when not banging them in, Harry Kane was cutting about doing Joe Pasquale impressions.

So, when the Three Lions went 1-0 up with circa 35 minutes to go against Argentina on Wednesday, July 15, nobody thought Tommy Tuchel and the boys would sh*t the bed in quite the manner in which they ended up doing so.

The ref may have been a shambles on the night, but on reflection, England deserved to lose for their absolutely honking attempts at game management.

Tuchel can't swagger into the job talking about the mistakes made by Gareth Southgate and then simply repeat them.

All you have to do is look at Spain’s game management when they went 1-0 up against France the night before to see the difference.

Anyway, it’s all immaterial now, so read on for a breakdown of the best bets from the World Cup final and the third-place playoff nobody wanted to see - courtesy of Sports News Blitz’s heartbroken punting laureate - The Bookie Basher.

Classy Spaniards should be too hot for Argies in NYC

Spain had gone massively under the radar in this World Cup, but the way they shut down France in the semi-finals on Tuesday, July 14, was a joy to watch (unless you were French, of course).

Opponents Argentina have ridden their luck massively at times in North America, but will fancy their chances of becoming just the third nation ever to win back-to-back World Cups.

La Albiceleste - or VARgentina - (delete as applicable depending on your own nationality) were taken to extra-time by Cape Verde and trailed Egypt by two goals with just over 10 minutes left, as well as being taken to extra-time against the Swiss.

Then there was Wednesday’s thriller against England.

In comparison, La Roja’s progress has been largely serene. They’ve not been behind for a single minute of this tournament and looked absolutely brilliant against the French, with Rodri ominously pulling the strings in midfield.

Luis de la Fuente - who has looked coolness personified on the touchline - knows he is essentially one game away from immortality and his team are 11/8 to win in 90 minutes.

With an extra day’s rest that looks worth a bet here, but they’ll have to try and keep the irascible Lionel Messi quiet if they are going to do the business.

‘La Pulga’ has made 12 goal contributions at this World Cup (eight goals and four assists), and in the end, the little genius was basically the difference against England.

All the pre-match talk will be about Messi and Lamine Yamal, but Rodri looks a real spot of value at 7/1 to be voted Man of the Match.

La Roja's midfield dominated their French opponents from start to finish on Tuesday, and if the Manchester City man puts in a similar shift here, that 7/1 quote could end up looking silly.

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Mbappe to strike against Three Lions

First things first. Only lunatics and people who bet heavily on the Oxford vs Cambridge boat race should even consider lumping on anything in a third-place play-off.

The third-place play-off match is a game nobody really wants to be part of and something of an outlier in modern tournament football.

At the time of writing, Les Bleus are a shade of odds-on to beat England (top price 19/20), but there are too many intangibles to confidently pick the outcome in terms of the 1x2 markets at least.

Wholesale changes for both sides should be expected, with players who have not had much game time this summer getting a run-out.

You can probably say with certainty, however, that Kylian Mbappe will start for the French, given he is tied on eight goals for the Golden Boot with Mr Messi.

Mbappe has shown flashes of why many rate him as the best in the world over the last few weeks, but was virtually anonymous in that shock defeat to Spain the other night.

Because of this, he may feel he has a point to prove, and a revved-up Mbappe doesn’t look the worst price in the world at 4/1 to score first against an English defence who may still be hurting after their late, late capitulation against Argentina.

Suggested Bet #1: Spain to win in 90 minutes at 11/8 (Betfred)

Suggested Bet #2: Rodri to be voted Man of the Match at 7/1 (bet365)

Suggested Bet #3: Mbappe to score first against England at 4/1 (bet365)

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