The biggest tournament of the summer has more than lived up to the hype through the first five days.
When it’s all said and done, Monday will be remembered as the Day of the Draws.
Four matches.
Zero winners.
It’s only the second time in tournament history and the first time in exactly 68 years that has happened.
It was the most draws in a day in which there were no winners ever.
First up, the pre-tournament favourite Spain stumbled as a -1500 moneyline favourite versus Cabo Verde.
Spain registered the most touches, passes, and passes completed in the attacking third of a single tournament match since 1966, but was held to a scoreless draw.
That match to end in a draw was +1300 at FanDuel.
Spain under 0.5 total goals could be found at +1500.
The remaining three match favourites all trailed by a goal at some point before settling for a draw.
Egypt led Group G favourite Belgium 1-0 before an own goal ultimately cost them the upset win in a 1-1 draw.
That match to end in a draw was +300 at FanDuel.
Then Uruguay rallied from a 1-0 deficit to prevent Saudi Arabia from clinching another memorable upset win.
That match to end in a draw was +330 at FanDuel.
Finally, Iran was forced to come back from down 1-0 and down 2-1 to salvage a point in a draw with New Zealand.
That match to end in a draw was +240 at FanDuel.
A four-leg parlay with all four matches to end in a draw could be found at +81772.
A $10 bet would have paid $8177.20.
Turning the page this morning, it’s fair to wonder whether we are for a few more surprises as the door opens for a group of superstars to enter the tournament.
Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, and Lionel Messi are all among the top choices to be the tournament’s leading scorer at FanDuel.
All three superstars are expected to lead their respective teams to victories as heavy favourites today.
Let’s set the stage for Day 6 of the tournament in this Morning Coffee column for Tuesday June 16th, 2026.
Mbappe, Messi, Haaland Set To Arrive On Soccer’s Biggest Stage
Three of the biggest individual stories of the tournament are set to begin today.
All three superstars are among the favourites to lead the tournament in scoring.
All three superstars lead squads with trophy aspirations.
France is a -220 favourite for its opener versus Senegal.
No player has ever led the tournament in goals on multiple occasions.
Regardless, Mbappe is the favourite to repeat as the tournament’s leading scorer at +550 at FanDuel.
Mbappe to score a goal versus Senegal is -110.
Mbappe to score the first goal is +310.
Still only 27-years-old, Mbappe can tie the all-time France record for goals in the tournament with one today.
He can break the record with a pair of goals.
Mbappe to score 2+ goals is +420 at FanDuel.
With the pre-tournament favourite Spain settling for a draw on Monday, France is now the favourite to lift the trophy at +320 at FanDuel.
Spain’s odds to win the tournament climbed from +450 to +500 following the disappointing result.
While defending champions have struggled on soccer’s biggest stage, Argentina is a top six choice to lift the trophy at +1000 at FanDuel.
The 38-year-old Lionel Messi will make his sixth tournament appearance, and he’s tied for fourth on the all-time scoring list with 13 goals.
Messi is the favourite to be Argentina’s top team goal scorer in the tournament.
Argentina is a -240 favourite for its opener versus Algeria later tonight.
Messi anytime goal is -120 and first goal is +250.
With Messi just eight days away from his 39th birthday, is it fair to expect him to lead Argentina in scoring once again on the biggest stage?
Lautaro Martinez is the second choice to lead Argentina in tournament goals at +280.
Julian Alvarez is +380 to be their top team goal scorer as the only other player on the board at shorter than +2200.
Prior to Messi’s debut, Erling Haaland will have the spotlight as Norway returns to the tournament for the first time since 1998.
Haaland scored 16 goals in qualifying – twice as many as any other player in Europe.
Haaland has scored at least one goal in 10 straight competitive matches for his country.
Norway averaged a ridiculous 4.6 goals per game in qualifying and is expected to stay hot as a massive -500 favourite versus Iraq.
Haaland anytime goal scorer is -185 at FanDuel.
Haaland to score the first goal is +200.
Meanwhile, only Mbappe, Harry Kane, and Kai Havertz have shorter odds to lead the tournament in scoring.
Haaland is +1300 as the fourth choice in that market.
I also threw some coffee money on Mbappe and Haaland to score the first goal in their respective matches at +1130.
If you’re wondering, a three-leg first goal scorer parlay that features Mbappe, Haaland, and Messi pays +4328.
I’m going to lock in Haaland to score two or more goals at +230 as a longshot anytime goal scorer bet.
I’ll also lock in Norway and France to win their respective matches on a two-leg parlay at -135 as a best bet.
The first five days of the tournament have featured a little bit of everything and with the Day of Draws in the books, I’ll bank on France and Norway to clinch three points in their respective openers.
All eyes will be on some of soccer’s biggest superstars as they enter the tournament.
Hopefully, they can make it another memorable day.
