The biggest tournament of the summer is here.
The beautiful game has arrived in North America, and for the next 40 days, I’ll be dialed into daily columns to cover every betting angle of the tournament.
Mexico and South Africa will kick off at 3 PM ET on TSN.
Later tonight, South Korea and Czechia will clash in a meeting of the second and third choices to win Group A.
Before I get to what’s next, let’s take a minute to reflect on what happened in New York City last night.
The New York Knicks trailed the San Antonio Spurs by as many as 29 points in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
New York could be found as high as +3400 to win that game live at FanDuel.
With their backs against the wall, the Knicks rallied from the largest halftime deficit by a team in their own building in NBA Finals history (-27) to beat San Antonio 107-106 and take a 3-1 series lead.
The sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden was on the edge of their seats for most of the fourth quarter before the improbable finish that capped off an all-time performance by a former Raptor in OG Anunoby.
The epic finish reminded everybody who didn’t bet the Spurs at FanDuel why we love sports in the first place.
New York is -520 to win the NBA title this morning.
San Antonio is a 5.5-point favourite for Game 5 at home on Saturday and +400 to win the title at FanDuel.
From the former Raptor who delivered an unforgettable performance in the NBA Finals to the former Maple Leaf that has flipped the script in the Stanley Cup Final, the championship focus will shift back to the NHL tonight.
Mitch Marner is a -110 favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy at FanDuel, but the Carolina Hurricanes are a -152 Stanley Cup favourite with that series tied 2-2.
The Hurricanes are -154 to take a 3-2 series lead tonight.
Vegas is +128 to pull off the road upset in Game 5 and +126 to win the Stanley Cup at FanDuel this morning.
If you’re looking for my best bets for the Stanley Cup Final, give me a follow @Domenic_Padula on X.
We’ve netted a profit in all four games of the series, and I went 6-1 with my best bets for Game 4, falling one Brett Howden shot on goal short of the 7-0 sweep.
In the meantime, my focus this morning is on the biggest tournament of the summer with a double-header on deck to kick off the group stage.
Mexico is the clear favourite to win Group A at FanDuel.
Will the home side live up to the hype in their opener as a heavy favourite versus South Africa?
Let’s set the stage for the opening day of the tournament in this Morning Coffee for Thursday June 11th, 2026.
Mexico Set To Kick Off Versus South Africa As Group A Favourite
Mexico is a -140 favourite to win Group A at FanDuel.
South Korea gets the nod as the second choice at +350, followed closely by Czechia at +380 in their return to soccer’s biggest stage for the first time in two decades.
South Africa is a distant fourth choice as a longshot to win Group A at +1200.
Mexico is one of five countries to host the tournament on multiple occasions, and their two best performances have come as a host nation, when they reached the quarterfinals in both 1970 and in 1986.
FanDuel bettors are banking on Mexico getting off to a host start versus South Africa, with 92 per cent of the bets in the 90-minute market on Mexico to win at -250.
A draw in the opening match is currently +350.
South Africa to pull off the upset win is +750.
Meanwhile, Raul Jimenez has been a popular pick in both the first goal scorer and anytime goal scorer markets.
Jimenez is +140 to score a goal and +360 to score the first goal as the favourite in both markets.
With more than 85,000 fans expected to be on hand, the atmosphere for the tournament opener should heavily favour the home side.
Since 2006, the host nation has opened with a victory in three of the five tournaments, with Germany, Brazil, and Russia all winning their respective matches.
Qatar lost to Ecuador 2-0 in 2022.
South Africa settled for a 1-1 draw versus Mexico all the way back in 2010.
16 years later, Mexico and South Africa will meet again in the tournament opener, but home field advantage and current form both favour Mexico this time around.
South Africa has underwhelmed in the lead up to the tournament and their best approach as the underdog might be to attempt to control possession, slow the game down, and try to salvage a draw.
Despite the lack of star power, Mexico’s structure, pace, and home field advantage should give them a slight edge in a low scoring affair.
For a FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll play under 2.5 goals -140.
For a first goal scorer bet, I’ll roll the dice on Jimenez to be the difference maker for Mexico at +370.
As for the late game, all eyes will be on South Korea captain Son Heung-Min as he gets set to play on soccer’s biggest stage for the fourth time in his career.
At 33-years-old, “Sonaldo” remains South Korea’s most dangerous attacking threat and has the shortest anytime goal scorer odds of any player on either side at +195.
South Korea is expected to play a strong possession game, but they could struggle to break through against a Czechia side making its first appearance since 2006.
While Mexico is the favourite to win Group A, South Korea and Czechia are both considered likely to qualify for the knockout stage at -270 and -250, respectively.
The lack of elite firepower on both sides combined with the fact that both teams understand the importance of securing at least one point should lead to another tight, low scoring match.
I’ll lock in the under 2.5 total goals at -150 as a best bet.
Hopefully, we can start the tournament 2-0 and cash a +370 first goal scorer bet with Jimenez being the difference maker for Mexico in the opener.
Have a great day, everyone!
