Anybody who tailed the best bets in this column slept easy again last night.
No sweat, no late drama, just another dominant performance by Kylian Mbappe and France.
Despite missing a first-half penalty, Mbappe opened the scoring in the 60th minute to cash his first goal prop at +260 at FanDuel.
Mbappe’s eighth of the tournament was enough to take over top spot in the tournament leading goal scorer standings based on an assist tiebreaker with Lionel Messi.
The 27-year-old added an assist in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco to give him 14 total goal contributions in the world’s knockout stage, which is tied with Messi for the most over the last 60 years.
Mbappe also became the first player since 1966 to register 10 or more goal contributions in multiple editions of soccer’s biggest tournament.
While the other side of the bracket has featured a little more chaos, France continued to prove they are the class of the tournament, with their superstar striker inching closer to becoming the first player ever to lead the event in goals on multiple occasions.
After cruising to the final four, France’s next test could turn out be its toughest of the tournament.
Spain and Belgium will meet in the quarterfinals this afternoon in Los Angeles, with the winner set to play France in the semi-finals next week.
While France has lived up to the hype as the favourite, Spain has remained a top three choice to lift the trophy at FanDuel throughout the summer and undoubtedly has the potential to push Les Bleus to its limit.
First up, Spain will need to get past a scrappy Belgium side that has played its best since Matchday 3.
Will Spain advance as a heavy favourite at FanDuel?
Or will Belgium pull off the upset today in Los Angeles?
Let’s set the stage and lock in a FanDuel Best Bet for today’s quarterfinal in this Morning Coffee column for Friday July 10th, 2026.
Spain, Belgium Meet With Winner To Play France In Semi’s
Spain entered the biggest tournament of the summer as the favourite to lift the trophy at FanDuel back in June.
While they’ve spent most of the tournament as the second or third choice to lift the trophy behind France and in a rotation with Argentina, La Rojas has impressed with an undefeated record of its own at this event.
Spain joined the Italy 1990 team as the only sides that have not conceded a single goal through the first five games of a tournament on soccer’s biggest stage.
Their 35-match undefeated streak in all competitions is tied for the longest in the country’s history.
After becoming the first European champion to advance past the Round of 16, there’s still a sense that Spain has another level to reach at this event.
18-year-old Lamine Yamal has been held to a single goal through five appearances after working his way back from injury in the months leading up to the tournament.
Apparently, he has even more incentive to deliver today than expected.
Veteran Mikel Merino has also been held to a single goal.
Mikel Oyarzabal has led the way up front with four goals in five matches, but after a narrow 1-0 win over Portugal, it’s clear that he’ll need more help if Spain is going to go the distance as a legitimate contender to lift the trophy.
While Yamal has the talent to shine in the quarterfinals, it isn’t lost on any of us that Merino has delivered some big goals for Spain, including their lone mark versus Portugal.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s offence has been firing on all cylinders since Matchday 3, exploding for 12 goals in wins over New Zealand, Senegal, and the USA.
A dominant win over the co-hosts had fans buzzing, but it’s fair to wonder how Belgium will perform against a much stronger opponent in Spain.
Belgium stumbled out of the gates with draws versus Egypt and Iran, then struggled at times in a narrow victory over Senegal in the Round of 32.
Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon has gone 609 consecutive minutes without conceding a single goal in worlds play dating back to 2022 – the longest streak without conceding a goal by a goalkeeper in worlds history.
He won’t be making mistakes like this on the world stage.
It certainly helps that Spain has conceded only six shots on target – the fewest by a team with at least six matches played at a single edition of soccer’s biggest tournament.
While Belgium was able to dictate the pace and impose its will on the USA, that might not be the case against a much more talented and composed Spanish side.
Spain might not have scored as many goals as some expected in their wins over Uruguay or Portugal, but they did beat Austria 3-0, and they’ve never once appeared at risk of losing a match in this tournament.
Their ability to dictate the pace in the midfield and dominate the possession should give them an edge.
My one concern with backing Spain to advance is a lack of finish that has plagued them at times this summer, including in a scoreless draw with Cabo Verde.
Spain also had several quality chances versus Portugal in the Round of 16 but couldn’t finish until late second half.
Still, Spain has the talent to frustrate Belgium’s attack and create plenty of opportunities in transition once again.
While Oyarzabal has led the way and Merino was the hero versus Portugal, Yamal’s presence is also lingering in the backdrop with a chance to deliver a statement performance today now that he has worked his way back into form through five appearances.
The fact that Spain has come this far with very little from their superstar 18-year-old is a testament to their talent and depth.
Spain doesn’t make many mistakes, and it might take only one by Belgium for La Rojas to advance today.
For my FanDuel Best Bet, I’ll lock in a builder SGP with Spain to advance and under 3.5 total goals at -124.
Perhaps things open a bit today, but I still think Spain’s best chance is to frustrate Belgium with a possession game and avoid getting into a position where they must score two or three goals to go through.
Another 1-0 final score wouldn’t be a surprise.
As mentioned, we have yet to see the 18-year-old Yamal showcase his elite potential yet in this tournament.
I’m willing to take a flyer on that happening today by betting Yamal first goal at a whopping +490.
Hopefully, Yamal and Spain deliver this afternoon.
After that, it will be time to make a tough decision on what to do with all my France futures.
Have a great day, everyone.
