The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico is entering its quarter final stage. We have the world’s best eight teams competing for the biggest trophy in football. After a group stage, that was more than interesting, even with the expanded format, we had some thrilling moments in the elimination stages. When it was all said and done, one could argue that there weren’t any major surprises, and that the best eight teams were in the quarterfinals. Yes, Portugal and Germany are out, but CR7 and his boys lost to Spain, and there’s no shame in that, while the only real surprise so far in the WC was Germany’s defeat to Paraguay.
With quarter final duels starting in less than 24 hours, we have some of the most interesting matches of the 2026 World Cup lying ahead of us. The defending champions, Argentina, are playing against Switzerland. The Swiss team routinely defeated Algeria in the round of 32, and took out Colombia, in a thrilling encounter that saw their duel end goalless, with the penalty series belonging to Switzerland. At the same time, Lionel Messi led, La Albiceleste had one of the easiest draws in the tourney. After coming out of the Group J, where they defeated Austria, Algeria, and Jordan, Argentina played Cape Verde and Egypt. While their draw was an easy one on paper, Argentina played two thrilling encounters, winning both with a 3:2 score. Their shaky performances in the playoffs are what you need to have in mind once we move to explain Stake’s latest promo.
Other quarter final duels include matches between France and Morocco, Spain and Belgium, and Norway and England. All eight teams that have reached the quarter finals have been playing well during the entirety of the tourney, and it is no surprise to have any of these teams in the final stages of the WC. After exiting Group H, where Saudi Arabia and Uruguay were defeated, and a draw was had with Cape Verde, Spain dominated against Austria and Portugal in the Rounds of 32 and 16. The most impressive feat of the reigning European champions so far has been the fact that they’re yet to concede a goal, and you ought to remember this when you hear about the new Stake promo. Their opponents, Belgium, have had some of the most interesting duels at this World Cup. After a shaky start that saw them draw against Egypt and Iran, Belgium found their groove against New Zealand, Senegal, and USA, and after scoring only one goal in their first two matches, they’ve scored 12 in the following three matches. The Red Devils have goals in them. Spain vs. Belgium will be a duel between a team that has yet to concede a goal and a team that scores at will.
The most intriguing duel of the QF stage of the WC is the match between Norway and England. Three Lions are a football powerhouse, and with their current squad and World Cup performances, Norway is looking to become one. Regardless of who they are playing, England is always one of the favourites at the biggest stage and the situation is no different now. Despite some controversy with squad selection, and injuries, Tomas Tuchel’s side is playing up to the expectations set before the tourney. In the group stage, England won against Croatia, drew with Ghana, and routinely went past Panama. The matters got more interesting in the elimination stages, where England took on DR Congo and won 2:1 after trailing at half time (note this), only to survive a scare against the hosts, Mexico, in a thrilling 3:2 fashion. While favoured, this Three Lions team has shown some flaws, and despite some of the best support from the stands at the WC, they can be hurt, and Erling Haaland knows this.
Norway was always a dark horse to win this tournament, and they played up and beyond all expectations. The group stage was a math equation for them, as they won vs. Iraq and Senegal, and lost to France but not before they decided to rest their starters for the final duel of the group stage. What you need to know about this Norway side is that they have conceded a goal in every duel they’ve played, even from Iraq, but can also score at free will after they put 4 past Iraq, and 3 against Senegal. Norway scored one vs. France. In the Round of 32 they were better than Ivory Coast 2:1, and with the same result they went past Brazil in the Round of 16. Vikings are a team that will not sit back and defend against England. Here, and when you look at the body of work of both teams, we are going to have goals, and probably the highest scoring encounter of the elimination stage at this WC.
The last encounter in the QFs is a Mediterranean derby between France and Morocco. The Atlas Lions were the biggest surprise of the last World Cup, and this time around they are showing that their result from four years ago was no fluke. It is bad luck for them to have to face France at this stage as Les Bleus are one of the favorites to win the World Cup. France is playing this tournament at full throttle from the start, as they’re eager to make up for the loss from four years ago. Les Bleus opened up the WC with a win vs. Senegal 3:2, Iraq 3:0, and Norway 1:4. In the elimination stage they routinely took out Sweden and Paraguay without conceding. Their free flowing attack led by Olise, Mbappe, and Dembele is now playing behind a defence that doesn’t concede against the best of the best.
Morocco showed they’re no pushovers from the first match in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, as they drew with Brazil, 1:1. What followed were wins against Scotland and Haiti to reach the elimination stages. The most interesting fact about this Morocco team, is that their player Ismael Saibari is behind the fastest goal of this WC after scoring after 70 seconds vs. Scotland. In the Round of 32, The Atlas Lions showed resilience, and took Netherlands to penalties, and won in a thrilling fashion. Their Round of 16 duel vs. hosts Canada was an easy 3:0 win, where Morocco showed their class. With all of that said, France will be their first real test of the tourney, and one they unfortunately probably won’t be able to pass.
Now that you know the teams playing in the quarter finals of the World Cup, and the road that took them there, it’s time to find out what Stake prepared for their users for this stage of the World Cup.
Stake’s Quarter-Finals World Cup Surprise
Stake, the online casino and sportsbook has been on a hot run during this World Cup. Their promos that saw Iker Casillas, Sergio Aguero, Patrice Evra, and Eden Hazard feature in some of the summer’s most viral videos, and influencers playing football on a flying pitch have been nothing short of amazing. The same can be said of their latest addition to the collection of promo betting.
We’re talking about Stake’s Score First, You Win promotion that gives players wins in extraordinary fashion. If you wager by using this promo, the final score of the duel will not matter to you any longer. With this, your focus will be only on the team that scores first. The new Stake promo is intended for players who wager on the World Cup matches on the 1×2 (90’ + Stoppage Time) market. To win the bet, you don’t need your team to win the duel. Only to score the first goal. Regardless of the final score, you become eligible for a maximum payout of $250. The maximum wager on this promo is set at $100.
Of course, this promo is amazing, but it does not come without rules. To be eligible you need to wager on a pre match, single bets on the 1×2 (90’ + Stoppage Time) market on World Cup matches. Only the first wager per match, per user, and per household will be eligible for the payout in the case your team scores first. Of course, and we hope we don’t have to say this, this promo doesn’t apply to live betting. You need to make your wagers before the game starts.
As we said, the maximum wager on this promo is set at $100, with the maximum payout being $250. To win, you only need for your team to score first, and regardless of the final score, you will receive a payout. It is important to remember that voided bets and cashouts will not count as wins in this promotion. Stake reserves the rights to take up to 24 hours to process the winnings and proceed with the payouts to players who win their wagers. Of course, in a case that there is an abuse of the promotion, Stake will not pay the named players, and even their accounts might get suspended.
If this type of promo is not your thing, you can try their Halftime Rush Odds Boost, a promo that has been around since the start of the World Cup. For players who enjoy some live betting, this might be the thing they’re looking for. At each duel of the World Cup, Stake will boost odds on certain betting markets. You need to remain focused, and while the players are resting during the half time, you need to watch the odds in live betting markets, and see if the ones that are boosted suit your betting style.
World Cup Outrights Betting
While most of us love to make this type of bets before the tournament starts because the odds are higher, it’s still not too late to make an outright bet on a World Cup winner. The reigning champs, Argentina, are not hot favorites. Yet, their odds of 5.00 should be tested, especially when you know that they’re on the easier side of the draw, and have been lucky so far in the tournament. Of course, they also have Lionel Messi, who is the World Cup’s leading goalscorer at the moment. The odds on him taking home this title too are set at 2.10.
The leading favorites according to the bookmakers is France. Mbappe, Olise, Dembele & co are favourites with odds of 2.70. They were favourites from the get go, and if you’ve wagered on Les Blues before the tourney started, your odds are even better. For all of you lucky enough to hit on World Cup-Boosted Odds Stake promo when France’s odds were boosted their win could pay with quite higher odds.
Somewhere between Argentina and France, we have the reigning EURO champs, Spain, who with odds of 4.50 also can go all the way this time around. La Furia Roja are serial winners, and their team has managed to remain relevant through the past two decades winning most of the biggest trophies at will. They usually start by conquering Europe before they move onto the world. While this generation of Spanish footballers is a step behind the one that took home two EUROs and a World Cup, led by the likes of Xavi, Xabi Alonos, Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Iker Casillas and rest of the gang, they have the poise necessary to take on best of the best. Spain should be able to win against Belgium with ease, and their possession based still could be a perfect antidote for French free flowing style of play.
England is the last of the quarter finals teams with any semblance of a chance to go all the way according to the bookies. Their odds are set at 6.00, and even among the big dogs, Three Lions are not seen as being able to win it all. Yet, we think that with Thomas Tuchel they are able to take on any adversary in a knockout stage and win. Whether that can happen, we will have to wait and see. Quarter finals are on!