Monday brings about four more 2026 World Cup openers as Groups G and H take to the pitch. Spain, one of the top favorites to win the entire event, faces off with Cabo Verde while Uruguay and Saudi Arabia square off in the other Group H match of the day. Group G’s two matchups are Belgium against and Egypt and Iran taking on New Zealand. The action starts at 12 p.m. ET and the final match of the day kicks off at 9 p.m. Those interested in soccer betting have no shortage of betting opportunities on Monday, including anytime goalscorers. We’ve identified four anytime goalscorer prop picks at FanDuel for Monday’s matches.
For more World Cup picks, including outright winners, spread picks and totals, be sure to check out the picks from SportsLine experts like Jon Eimer, Martin Green and Brad Thomas. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Best World Cup goalscorer picks for Monday
- Lamine Yamal, Spain (-140, FanDuel)
- Romelu Lukaku, Belgium (+135, FanDuel)
- Federico Vinas, Uruguay (+145, FanDuel)
- Mehdi Taremi, Iran (+200, FanDuel)
Lamine Yamal, Spain (-140, FanDuel)
Spain are the betting favorite in World Cup futures odds to win the 2026 event, and they begin that quest with a matchup against Cabo Verde. Spain are heavy favorites here, and goals shouldn’t be too hard to come by for a team loaded with dangerous attackers. As such, Yamal is worth a look here as he’s one of the team’s top players. He’s just 18 years old, but Yamal is plenty dangerous and should use this tournament — and Monday’s match — to really introduce himself on the worldwide stage. He had 16 goals in 28 matches for Barcelona in 2025-26.
Romelu Lukaku, Belgium (+135, FanDuel)
Don’t overthink this one. Lukaku is one of the greatest European scorers of all time in international competition with 90 goals in 126 caps for Belgium, good for second all-time. This is his fourth World Cup appearance, and Belgium have a great team that’s ranked ninth in the World Cup rankings. Egypt have the second-shortest Group G odds behind Belgium, so this could be a chance for Belgium to really make a statement. Lukaku is dangerous and experienced and has five World Cup goals under his ledger. Monday is a great chance for him to make it six, which would put him first all-time in Belgium World Cup history.
Federico Vinas, Uruguay (+145, FanDuel)
Vinas is a top striker for Uruguay who was a bright spot for Real Oviedo in La Liga play this past season with nine goals. No. 17 Uruguay is a massive favorite against Saudi Arabia on Monday, making this an ideal spot for the 27-year-old Vinas. Saudi Arabia are just 60th in the rankings and shouldn’t pose too much of a threat towards and Uruguay side that’s very much expected to make it to the knockout round. Vinas is one of a handful of good options for Uruguay against a Saudi side that’s likely not going to be up to task on Monday.
Mehdi Taremi, Iran (+200, FanDuel)
While Belgium are heavily favored to win Group G and advance to the knockout round, it’s a bit of a tossup between Iran and Egypt as for who will clinch the No. 2 spot in the group. Egypt have the unenviable of opening the World Cup versus Belgium, while Iran gets New Zealand, who are just 85th in world rankings, on Monday. This is another match with a big favorite on one side, and Iran have a dangerous group of attackers in Mehdi Ghayedi, Mohammad Mohebi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, and Dennis Eckert, but we’ll select Taremi as our pick to find the net on Monday against New Zealand. He’s a proven veteran with 44 career goals for the Iran National Team in 86 caps, and he scored a whopping 10 goals in qualifiers and twice in Iran’s three World Cup matches in 2022. Back the proven veteran here.
