2026 World Cup: Underdogs to Watch for Your Bets

by Tyler Doty

image 2026 World Cup: Underdogs to Watch for Your Bets
With four days to go until the World Cup, let’s take a look at the underdogs and how they might fare in the tournament. Aside from the top favorites (Spain, France, England), which team has the best chance of putting on a strong showing?

Is the Netherlands Heading for a Disappointing World Cup?

After reaching the Semifinals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Netherlands has struggled to build on that success. While they remain a strong team that is always tough to beat, their results in subsequent major tournaments have been underwhelming.

Although they failed to qualify for 2018, the Dutch still reached the Quarterfinals in the last edition, where they were eliminated on penalties by the eventual champions, Argentina. At the Euros? They failed to qualify in 2016, were eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2020, and in the Semifinals in 2024. While the record isn’t disastrous, it remains somewhat disappointing given the quality of the Dutch players.

And unfortunately for them, our 2026 World Cup prediction once again doesn’t see the Oranje having a great tournament in the 2026 World Cup. While the odds of finishing first in Group F ahead of Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia seem worth taking (-130 at FanDuel), we won’t venture any further!

Because, if our projected schedule is correct, the Netherlands could very well face the second-place team from Group C, which could very well be... Morocco! A true showdown right in the Round of 16, especially given the number of Moroccan players competing in the Eredivisie, the Dutch league. And there, our experts see the Moroccans advancing.

The Netherlands' odds for the 2026 World Cup

  • Group F Winner: -130
  • Round of 16: -145
  • Quarterfinals: +145
  • Semifinals: +360
  • Final: +750
  • Winner: +1700

What kind of run will Rudi Garcia's Belgium have?

As 2018 semifinalists, the Red Devils “let their chance slip away” and had to “put the golden generation behind them,” as we so often hear. But Belgium still has a very strong team and will obviously try to pull off a major upset.

In fact, if we go by the projected schedule for the 2026 World Cup drawn up by our experts, they see Kevin De Bruyne’s teammates making it all the way to the Quarterfinals(where they would lose to Spain)! That would already be a very respectable run, helped along by a draw that looks “favorable on paper,” since the Belgians would avoid the big names, in addition to being in a group well within their reach, until that stage of the competition.

With that in mind, we believe there are three good bets to make on Belgium: to win Group G at -250 with FanDuel, to reach the round of 16 at -260, and to reach the Quarterfinals at +120, all with the same operator.

With a mix of experienced players (Courtois, Meunier, Lukaku, De Bruyne, and Trossard, for example) and young players who have just had a great season (N'Goy, Doku, Onana, De Ketelaere, Fernández-Pardo...), Rudi Garcia seems to have everything he needs at his disposal to lead Belgium to a strong run.

Belgium’s odds for the 2026 World Cup

  • Group G Winner: -250
  • Round of 16: -260
  • Quarterfinals: +120
  • Semifinals: +390
  • Final: +950
  • Winner: +2200

Colombia on track for a respectable showing 

2026 WC: Colombia

We’re heading to South America and Colombia for our analysis of the third team. And this squad is determined to shine at the 2026 World Cup! After a strong showing in 2014 that saw them reach the Quarterfinals, James Rodríguez’s team has struggled to build on that success: an eighth-place finish in Russia in 2018, and a failure to qualify for Qatar in 2022.

To make the tournament, the Colombians fought hard, finishing 3rd out of 10, ahead of nations like Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. With James and Luis Diaz (of Bayern Munich) leading the charge, the Colombian squad boasts a quality roster and should be a real thorn in the side during this World Cup.

While that likely won’t be enough to finish atop Group K ahead of Portugal (odds of +200 at FanDuel if you’d like to place the bet anyway), a tough matchup against Croatia could await them in the Round of 16 if everything goes as our experts have predicted.

It would be a very close match, but we can easily see Colombia coming out on top and advancing to the Round of 16. To reach this stage of the competition, the odds offered by FanDuel are -125! The road gets tougher from there with a matchup against Spain...

Colombia’s odds at the 2026 World Cup

  • Group K Winner: +200
  • Round of 16: -125
  • Quarterfinals: +260
  • Semifinals: +650
  • Final: +1600
  • Winner: +4000

Will Morocco see a repeat of 2022?

2026 WC: Morocco

At the last World Cup, Morocco surprised everyone by reaching the Semifinals. The Atlas Lions then lost 2-0 to France, who went on to face Argentina in the final.

What if the Moroccans were to repeat the same scenario? That’s exactly what could happen, according to our experts and their World Cup prediction chart... First off, note that the odds for “Morocco to win Group C” are +340 at FanDuel! While they’ll have to get past Brazil, that doesn’t seem like an impossible task for Hakimi and his teammates.

However, if Morocco were to finish second as our tipsters predict, they would face the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals and then the Czech Republic in the round of 16. To qualify for the round of 16 alone, the current odds are +120.

And to reach the Quarterfinals, the odds jump straight to +350 at FanDuel! If the Moroccans’ run ends at this stage of the competition, it will still be another successful tournament for the most recent finalists (and winners?) of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco’s odds at the 2026 World Cup

  • Group C Winner: +340
  • Round of 16: +120
  • Quarterfinals: +350
  • Semifinals: +1000
  • Final: +2700
  • Winner: +5000