Following a series of bold showings at major tournaments under Gareth Southgate , England are banking on Thomas Tuchel to lead them to World Cup glory this summer. At club level, trophy hunter Tuchel claimed domestic titles in France and his native Germany, as well as enjoying Champions League and Club World Cup success with Chelsea.
Second Star on the Cards?
His target with England is “to try to get a second star on our shirt” and it is 6/1 for that to happen on July 19 in New Jersey.
Southgate twice had to settle for second best in European Championships during his fine reign and punters can get 7/1 for a runner-up finish on the global stage this time. In the England 2026 World Cup odds , it is 11/2 for the Three Lions to be beaten semi-finalists, as they were at Russia 2018, and 4/1 for a quarter-final exit like in Qatar four years ago.
Group L threat
Croatia rated biggest threat in Group L
Topping the Group L table would, in theory, boost England’s chances of a favourable draw in the first knockout round and they are 2/7 to achieve that feat.
Opening opponents Croatia are clear second favourites in this pool at 7/2 and have the quality and nous to hurt any team on their day, but it looks unlikely this ageing squad will be able to match their third-place finish in 2022 or run to the final four years earlier.
It has been a rather fraught build-up for 10/1 shots Ghana, who wielded the axe on boss Otto Addo following back-to-back friendly defeats in March, but former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz is a solid replacement and Antoine Semenyo is the Black Stars’ danger man.
Panama sit 33rd in FIFA’s world rankings thanks to their solid team identity rather than star players but were hammered 6-1 by England in Nizhny Novgorod at this stage eight years ago and are 50/1 outsiders this time.
BOYLE Sports have several group-stage specials that are worth including in our England World Cup tips, notably 13/8 for Tuchel’s men to score first in all three matches, 5/2 for them to net at least twice in each game and 10/1 they secure a trio of wins to nil.
The big fear about the knockout-phase draw, though, is that if the betting markets prove correct, the Three Lions are scheduled to face co-hosts Mexico at Azteca Stadium in the round of 16, which explains why it is just 9/4 for that to be the England stage of elimination!
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Group L Odds
2026 World Cup Group L Odds
Team | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
England | 2/7 | 77.8% |
Croatia | 7/2 | 22.2% |
Ghana | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Panama | 50/1 | 2% |
*Odds are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change.
England (2/7) are the clear favourites to top the World Cup Group L table but Croatia (7/2) could well put up a decent fight.
Kane more than abel
Kane expected to be main man again
England breezed through their qualifying campaign, having won all eight games without conceding, with September’s 5-0 triumph in Serbia the defining moment.
Harry Kane bagged eight of their 22 goals and the 2018 golden boot winner is a 13/2 second favourite behind France’s Kylian Mbappe to finish as the 2026 World Cup top scorer following a jaw-dropping campaign with Bayern Munich.
For those who fancy cheering on both of those prolific strikers, BOYLE Sports are offering 11/4 they score at least 10 times in this tournament combined.
It is 4/9 for Kane just to be England’s leading marksman , with Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka rated next best in this market at 17/2.
Cole Palmer and Phil Foden were among the eye-catching omissions from Tuchel’s squad, which leaves Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers battling for the ‘No 10’ role and they are both 14/1 here.
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