The FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most significant international soccer tournament, featuring the world’s best players from all over the world as they attempt to win glory with their national team. You can enjoy all the FIFA World Cup action, with football odds on matches throughout the qualification, group stage and knockout stage right here at Stake Sportsbook.
What is the FIFA World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup is an international soccer tournament featuring the national teams of FIFA member countries. Every country can take part in the tournament, which aims to crown the winning nation as the best international team in the world.
History of FIFA World Cup
In 1904, associations from France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland joined together to form FIFA, the organization responsible for governing the sport. In 1914, FIFA recognized the Olympic soccer tournament as the official amateur world championship, and took responsibility for organizing the event. However, from 1924, the event was an open championship, allowing professional players to join.
The 1924 and 1928 Olympic soccer tournaments were won by Uruguay, and considered the origin of the FIFA World Cup. As soccer wasn’t going to feature at the 1932 Olympic Games, FIFA set about organizing their own world championship. Uruguay were chosen as the host for the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. In total, 13 nations took part, with 7 from South America, 4 from Europe and 2 from North America. Uruguay defeated Argentina in the final to lift the trophy.
Since the first edition of the World Cup, there have been 22 tournaments. The finals are traditionally held every 4 years, although after the 1938 World Cup, there was a pause until 1950 due to World War II. Brazil are the record holders with 5 wins, while Germany and Italy have 4, Argentina has 3, and France has 2.
Qualification
Since 1934, the qualification process has determined which teams get to take part in the World Cup finals. These stages are held within the six continental zones of Africa, Asia, North and Central America, South America, Oceania and Europe. The number of places available to each zone is determined by the strength of each confederation.
Group Stage
The World Cup officially begins with the group stage, with all qualified teams placed into groups. From 2026, there will be 12 groups of 4 teams. Each team will play three group stage matches against the other teams in their group, with the top 2 progressing to the round of 32, along with the 8 best 3rd-place teams.
Knockout Stage
After the group stage has concluded, knockout fixtures are drawn from the qualified teams. Each round, teams will face their opponent in a single knockout match, with the winner progressing to the next round. If the score is tied at the end of regulation time, extra time and then penalties will be used to determine the winner.
Final
The final two teams in the tournament will play in the final to decide the world champions.
2026 FIFA World Cup Schedule
The 2026 FIFA World Cup finals are being hosted by 16 cities across the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. Here’s the full schedule for the event:
12 October 2023 - First qualifying games start
31 March 2025 - End of the qualifying games
11 June 2026 - Group stage begins
27 June 2026 - End of the group stage
28 June 2026 - Round of 32 begins
4 July 2026 - Round of 16 begins
9 July 2026 - Quarter-finals begin
14 July 2026 - Semi-finals begin
19 July 2026 - Final
If you’re completely new to betting, you can also check out our full sports betting guide, and we also have a guide to soccer betting for more details. However, we’ve broken down the key steps below:
Log in to your account and check your available balance in your wallet.
If you need to, you can make a deposit using local currency and any of the supported payment methods.
Alternatively, it’s also possible to deposit and bet with different types of crypto, including BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, Doge, LTC, TRX and SOL, which you can then store in the vault for safety.
Search for the FIFA World Cup or any of the teams taking part, or use the menu to look for Soccer > International > FIFA World Cup.
Select any of the upcoming matches or live games, then check the available markets and soccer odds.
Choose a bet, then enter your stake in the bet slip, check your potential payout and confirm to place it.
Contact the customer support team if you have any issues.
There are lots of different ways to bet on the World Cup at Stake. Right now, you can bet on the outright winner of the 2026 World Cup on Stake.com! Before doing so, you can learn all about outright betting.
Along with this, here are some of the most popular soccer betting markets:
For more help on how to form your bet slip, check out our expert 2026 World Cup predictions and betting tips!
Make sure you check out the live odds when the FIFA World Cup is taking place. Pre-match and live markets are available on all World Cup matches at Stake, including qualifying and finals.
While streaming is only available on qualifying games, you can still get live odds and live stats on all matches during the finals, and there are plenty of other soccer tournament live streams available at Stake.
FIFA World Cup Betting Odds & Payouts
To get the best value from your bets, you need to understand how odds work and how to calculate your potential payouts. To make it easier for you to calculate your payouts, you can switch between decimal, fraction and American odds.
Make use of soccer stats - Ideally, all of your bets should be backed up by available data from previous results. The World Cup only takes place every 4 years, which can make results harder to predict. However, you can still look at the recent performances of each team during friendlies and qualifying matches.
Check the live odds - Live odds change throughout the match based on the momentum and events that happen on the pitch, such as attacks, cards and goals. Follow the live stats to make more informed betting decisions.
Follow all the news - During the World Cup, you should try to stay up to date with all the latest team news, results and performances of key players. Watch out for injuries and suspensions.
Stake VIP Club & Responsible Betting
While enjoying the World Cup at Stake.com, be sure to check out the VIP Club to earn valuable rewards to improve your betting experience. You can enjoy regular rakeback, reload bonuses and your own VIP host. Check the VIP FAQ page for more information on how it works, and make sure you bet responsibly. Follow our Stake Smart guidelines to enjoy the World Cup responsibly.
