World Cup 2026 Tips — Monday 22 June Predictions & Best Bets
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Every World Cup has its rhythm, and by the second matchday you start to feel it. The shocks of the opening round give way to the slow tightening of the screw, where favourites who escaped with a point now have to win, and minnows who tasted glory discover how heavy a second match can feel. Monday 22 June serves up four fixtures across Texas, Philadelphia, New Jersey and California — and for the Irish punter willing to stay up, there is genuine value buried in the late-night cards. I have been through every line, every team-news note and every price, and here is exactly how I am playing the day.
A word on the prices before we start. The outright and headline figures below trace to the FanDuel board carried by FOX Sports, dated 21 June 2026; the individual match lines are an indicative consensus snapshot taken on 22 June at around 10:00 ET, while the major aggregators were temporarily inaccessible. Treat the match prices as a guide to the shape of the market rather than gospel, and always confirm the live number with your bookmaker before you commit. With that housekeeping done, to the football.
Argentina vs Austria — 18:00 IST, Arlington
This is the one Irish neutrals will actually catch at a civilised hour. Argentina open the day at 4/7 (1.58) to beat Austria, with the draw out at 13/5 (3.65) and an Austria win a tempting-looking 22/5 (5.38). On paper it is a mismatch: the defending champions are on an eight-match winning run and have a fully fit Lionel Messi chasing history (more on that elsewhere in today’s news). But Austria are no Algeria. David Alaba’s side won their opener 3–1, they are organised, and their captain spoke this week with the calm of a team that fears no one.
My read: Argentina win, but Austria cover the spread of respectability. The short price on the home banker holds no value for me. The smarter angle is in the goals and cards market, where Austria’s discipline and Argentina’s habit of easing off once ahead can make the over/under more interesting than the result. If you must back the favourite, fold them into a multiple rather than backing them straight. For the full Argentine picture, our Argentina at the World Cup 2026 profile breaks down the squad.
France vs Iraq — 22:00 IST, Philadelphia
There is short, and then there is France against Iraq. Les Bleus are quoted at a barely-believable 1/12 (1.08), the draw at 7/1 (7.68) and an Iraqi win at an eye-watering 27/1 (27.84). Opta’s model gives France an 88.5% chance of winning, and having watched Kylian Mbappé become his country’s all-time leading scorer with a brace against Senegal, it is hard to argue. Iraq, back at a World Cup for the first time since 1986, arrived on the back of a chastening 4–1 defeat to Norway and will set up to survive.
You cannot back 1/12 and call it betting. The value, such as it is, sits in France’s winning margin and in Mbappé to score anytime — a player in this kind of form, against a side this stretched, is the closest thing to a banker the day offers. This is a match to enjoy rather than to fund. Our France at the World Cup 2026 page has the depth chart if you want to build a goalscorer angle.
Norway vs Senegal — 01:00 IST (Tue), New Jersey
Now we are talking. This is the pick of the day for the connoisseur, and the only one of the four with the prices to match the jeopardy. Norway, riding eleven straight competitive wins with Erling Haaland scoring in each of his last eleven, are 21/20 (2.04) to win. Senegal, beaten by France but brimming with quality, are 11/5 (3.22), with the draw at 13/5 (3.41). This is a coin-flip dressed up as a favourite-against-outsider, and that is where value lives.
My pick of the entire card is Haaland anytime scorer. A man who has found the net in eleven consecutive games for his country, against a Senegalese defence that had to chase shadows against France, is exactly the repeatable, evidence-backed angle a disciplined punter wants. If you prefer the result, Senegal on the draw-no-bet is a respectable each-way-minded play given their superior individual talent. This is the match to set your alarm for.
Worked example (illustrative price): at a hypothetical 5/6 (1.83), a €20 stake on an anytime-scorer pick would return €36.60 — your €20 back plus €16.60 profit. Anytime-scorer prices move constantly and are not fixed here, so always confirm the live number with your bookmaker before staking.
Jordan vs Algeria — 04:00 IST (Tue), Santa Clara
One strictly for the insomniacs and the dedicated. Algeria, stung by a 3–0 opening loss to Argentina and welcoming Riyad Mahrez back to the starting XI, are heavy favourites at 1/2 (1.47) to beat Jordan, who are 6/1 (6.24) with the draw at 4/1 (3.98). Jordan wrote their own history by scoring a first-ever World Cup goal through Ali Olwan, but a 3–1 defeat to Austria exposed the gap in class.
I expect Algeria to win and to win with something to spare — Mahrez’s return alone lifts their ceiling considerably. At 1/2 the straight win is thin, so the value is in an Algeria -1 handicap or in Mahrez to be involved in a goal. Realistically, though, this is the leg you add to a multiple to boost the odds, not a standalone bet worth losing more sleep over than the kick-off time already demands.
How I’m Playing the Day
Four favourites, three of them at prices too short to back straight, and one genuine contest worth the candle. That is the honest shape of Monday. My single best bet is Haaland anytime scorer in the Norway–Senegal late game; my supporting play is Mbappé anytime against Iraq; and if you enjoy an accumulator, folding Argentina and France into a two-fold pushes a pair of near-certainties into a price worth collecting. Our World Cup accumulator tips page walks through how to build one without overreaching.
For Irish punters, every brand in the regulated market here prices these markets in euro and fractional odds — names such as Blitz.bet and ZotaBet have been competitive on the goalscorer lines this week. My standing advice never changes: stake what you can afford to lose, take the value where the model and the eye agree, and let the short-priced bankers do their work inside a multiple rather than on their own. For more on the day’s standout story, see our predictions hub, and never bet more than you would be comfortable explaining to a friend the next morning.
- Best bet of the day: Erling Haaland anytime scorer in Norway vs Senegal (01:00 IST) — eleven goals in eleven games.
- France (1/12) and Argentina (4/7) are too short to back straight; use them in multiples or in goalscorer markets instead.
- Norway vs Senegal is the only genuine contest, with Norway 21/20 (2.04) and Senegal 11/5 (3.22).
- Algeria (1/2) should beat Jordan comfortably with Mahrez back in the XI.
- Match prices are an indicative consensus snapshot from 22 June ~10:00 ET — confirm the live number before betting.
