The World Cup 2026 kicks off this week – and there’s only one home nation involved. England and Scotland are the two of the four UK nations to qualify. England start their North American journey against Croatia on June 17, while Scotland play Haiti on June 14.
So with Wales and Northern Ireland’s players and fans all sitting home during the tournament, the UK’s hopes rest on England and Scotland. Being honest, mostly England then.
This article will therefore focus on England’s chances of winning, while looking at Scotland’s overall chances and some club connections and qualifying dissection for Wales fans. This is what you need to know about the British teams – England and Scotland – at the 2026 World Cup.
England
To start – where better than betting odds? England are one of the bookies favourites for the tournament, although not right at the top spots, and there will be a lot of public money backing them too.
For a glimpse of how big an event the World Cup is for sports betting, you only need to look at comparison and odds aggregator sites such as Oddspedia. Punters use these platforms to assess their betting options, from bonuses and promotions to bookmaker odds and markets, while also comparing World Cup 2026 odds on individual matches and outright markets as prices fluctuate throughout the tournament. With football-focused offers becoming more widespread during the World Cup and odds updating regularly to reflect changing market sentiment, these sites remain popular among bettors who take a more analytical approach to wagering.
The favourites are Spain and France, with both averaging around 4/1 although Spain are slightly ahead. But, the bookies and the market currently can’t quite seem to decide between either team.
Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions are about 6-1 to 8-1 on average to take home the World Cup this year and end exactly 60 years of hurt. Averaging that to 7-1 and you’ve got implied probability of 12.5%. The BBC recently published its footballing experts’ picks on who will win the World Cup. Out of 16 former players, managers and pundits nine said France, seven said England and one said Spain.
England kick off in Group L, in which they will be playing Croatia, Ghana and Panama. They are close favourites to win all of these matches and advance from the group, although it won’t be entirely easy.
With the truly world class talent in most crucial positions, a manager with recent elite tournament winning experience and possibly the world’s best striker in Harry Kane – England really are in with a shot of bringing it home this year. But, as usual, it won’t be easy. A showdown with Brazil in the quarter finals could be in order, and with Carlo Ancelloti in the dugout and looking to add the World Cup to his already stacked trophy cabinet, that could be a big test for England and Tuchel.
Scotland
A lot of eyes will be on The Tartan Army at this year’s World Cup. The vociferous Scottish fans will be excited to see their side in action at one for first time since 1998. Qualifying in spectacular fashion with a 4-2 win over Denmark and that incredible overhead kick goal from Scott McTominay, will have given what is arguably Scotland’s most talented squad in decades the belief they can pull off an upset on the biggest global stage.
Because they will have to, as Brazil and Morocco, two of the most highly favoured teams in the tournament outside of the three already mentioned, are in Group C alongside Scotland and Haiti. However, Scotland have already made a positive start by defeating Haiti 1–0, and now face crucial matches against Brazil and Morocco.
You’ll currently get odds of around 250/1 to 300/1 on Scotland to win it all in North America in 2026. So if you want to throw your money away – sorry Scotland – there’s one way to do it.
A better bet for Scotland supporters might be on them to win against Morocco in their second Group C game. The Moroccans are a strong team, but Scotland have their own world-class players in McTominay and McGinn especially – and they could well nick a result here. At 3-1 odds it’s certainly much better value than backing them to win it all. But a fan can hope of course!
Wales
Wales aren’t at the World Cup. You probably know that. You might not know two Wrexham players and three Swansea players will be putting on their country’s national kits out in North America. They are:
- Libby Cacace – New Zealand and Wrexham
- Dom Hyam – Scotland and Wrexham
- Marko Stamenic – New Zealand and Swansea
- Eom Ji-sung – South Korea and Swansea
- Cameron Burgess – Australia and Swansea
So if you’re Welsh and you can’t bring yourself to support either of the UK nations, one of these players might give you a different team to root for while watching.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland lost to Italy in the qualification playoffs and so are not represented at the tournament. Sorry Northern Ireland fans, but there are no players from NIFL Premiership at the World Cup to support either.
