World Cup 2026 player betting specials: 25/1 & 16/1 player tips
Sports Journalist at FST, Gareth qualified as a journalist after graduating from university and spent over a decade as a freelance broadcast journalist, commentator and tipster before joining FST. Now living in Manchester, he is a long suffering Bolton Wanderers fan who also enjoys boxing, the NBA, tennis and rugby league.
The World Cup is nearly upon us and I’ve delved into the player specials markets and found a bit of value in the more niche outright markets.
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World Cup 2026 Golden Ball Tip
Lamine Yamal (Spain) @ 8/1
Only one of the last five winners of the Golden Ball award has come from the winning nation as Lionel Messi claimed the accolade in Qatar, having also picked up the honour when Argentina finished as runners-up in 2014.
It still stands to reason that the recipient will be from a nation who go far in the tournament and as an 8/1 chance Lamine Yamal looks a good contender. Yamal is the most exciting attacking talent in a strong Spain side and he has a habit of scoring eye-catching goals, those attributes can be key in deciding where the player of the tournament award ends up.
World Cup 2026 Most Assists Tip
Rayan Cherki (France) @ 25/1
Rayan Cherki isn’t necessarily a guaranteed starter for France, although he did start and score against Ivory Coast earlier this week, but if Didier Deschamps does go with the Manchester City man in his first XI he is a clear contender to top the assists charts.
Cherki had 12 Premier League assists for Manchester City this season and he also provided a further four in 11 games across their EFL Cup and FA Cup successes. France have an incredible attacking line-up and Cherki will be picking out passes for the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Desire Doue, so he should be able to set up a few goals.
World Cup 2026 Golden Glove Tip
Manuel Neuer (Germany) @ 16/1
The Golden Glove award for the best shot-stopper is decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group, and that makes Germany’s Manuel Neuer look a tempting prospect at 16/1.
In terms of technical ability Neuer is right up there with the best keepers of all time and the fact he is now playing for a fairly average Germany side, by their standards anyway, could actually work in his favour here as he may have more saves to make and more work in terms of organising his defence.
Germany have a group they should get out of and if they do make a deep run then Neuer could be key in that. He’s one of two German winners of the Golden Glove award in the last eight World Cups and as a bit of an outside candidate he is worth some consideration here.
Plater Total Goals
World Cup 2026 Player Goals Tip
Erling Haaland (Norway) to score over 3.5 goals @ 11/8
Erling Haaland holds some appeal at 14/1 to be the tournament’s top goalscorer after his outrageous qualification campaign. The Manchester City striker had 16 goals in eight games over qualifying and enjoyed another excellent season domestically with 38 goals across all competitions.
Topping the scoring charts would probably require Norway to reach at least the last eight, and while that is not beyond the realms of possibility the more prudent approach of backing him to score at least four looks the better option. Norway face France, Senegal and Iraq in the group stage and Haaland could easily reach four goals in those three games alone.
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