2026 World Cup Young Player Betting: Odds, Favorites, and Predictions

Lamine Yamal is on a trajectory to enter the GOAT discussion based on the last few years of his career. The player was born in 2007 but made his La Liga debut in Barcelona in the 2022-23 season. This sentence is probably enough to show how special the winger is, but it will be unprofessional to stop here.

Yamal has since accumulated over 100 La Liga caps and over 150 in all tournaments for Barcelona, scoring 49 goals in the process. The youngster has quickly become the leader of this team, helping them win three La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey.

Furthermore, Yamal was a key player for Spain when they won EURO 2024, collecting the Young Player of the Tournament award, providing the most assists, and also making the Team of the Tournament. Yamal also won the Golden Boy award in 2024 and followed that up with a Ballon d’Or 2025 runner-up spot.

I’m only mentioning the big ones here, with the Spanish prodigy winning a lot more smaller individual and team awards in his short but industrious career.

On paper, Yamal has everything required to win the World Cup 2026 Young Player award. He’s arguably the best under 21 player in this generation, Spain is poised for a deep run and favored in the World Cup title odds, and Yamal is a key player for the team.

However, I see two big problems here. The first one are the fairly low odds. If Yamal has a below-par tournament for whatever reason or one of the other talented youngsters explodes, that would be enough to lose your bet on him.

On top of that, young players as good as Yamal are often considered for the main awards and forgotten for this one since they are already established stars. The winger is actually favored in the Golden Ball odds, even if his odds are much higher there.

If the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group (who decide the winner) view Yamal as an established player that’s fighting for the main individual awards, they might pick someone else, even if the Spaniard deserves this one.

That’s why I don’t see Yamal as a good bet here, even if he’s the undisputed best U21 player in the world right now.

I’m not a big fan of backing the second favorite, Desire Doue either. Don’t get me wrong, the French winger is exceptional and poised to dominate the soccer world in the future.

The main problem is that France’s squad is stacked at his position. Doue should get some minutes, but he will be competing with the likes of Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, and maybe even Kylian Mbappe for time on the pitch.

You could argue that even Rayan Cherki and Marcus Thuram might play on the wings at time, so will Doue play enough to shine and win the award? It’s not impossible, but I wouldn’t count on it at these odds.

I’ve been extremely impressed with Nico O’Reilly this season. The Manchester City prospect made the left-back position in the team his own, scoring multiple critical goals. O’Reilly scored a brace in the English League Cup final against Arsenal and was the most dangerous left-back in the league.

O’Reilly’s ability to go forward and score goals, helped by his 6’4” frame, will be critical for England in the World Cup. More importantly, it looks like Thomas Tuchel will give the youngster the left-back position at the start of the tournament.

Thomas Tuchel sees Nico O’Reilly as an attacking left-back. He played central midfield in the low-key 1-0 win over New Zealand. O’Reilly obviously played there earlier in his Manchester City development and for England age-groups. “Normally, as a left-back,” Tuchel says of his…

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) June 6, 2026

None of England’s left-backs are on the same level, so I can see O’Reilly keeping the position for the entire World Cup. He’s a solid defender who can also assist and score goals. I won’t be shocked if he delivers at least one huge goal in the knockouts, as England’s opponents will be focused on the likes of Saka and Kane, leaving space for late runs in the box.

That’s exactly where O’Reilly shines, so this could be a big tournament for the youngster. If you add the +1000, he ticks all boxes: great potential, a starting spot, huge return, and a team that’s poised to go deep in the tournament.

Arda Guler was the player who instantly caught my attention when I initially saw the Young Player odds for the 2026 World Cup. The Turkish wonderkid is already a leader for his nation, with 30 games and 6 games for the senior team, despite his tender age.

On top of that, Guler is coming to the World Cup after a breakthrough season at Real Madrid. He’s been getting consistent minutes for the team, proving his worth with some insane plays. For a start, he won the La Liga Goal of the Season award after delivering this masterpiece.

🚨🚨| GOAL: WHAT A GOAL FROM ARDA GULER FROM HIS OWN HALF!!!

Real Madrid 4-1 Elchepic.twitter.com/pN7ylV8a6W

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) March 14, 2026

The playmaker also won the Champions League Young Player of the Year award in 2025-26 after some impressive performances, including a brace in the 4-3 defeat against Bayern Munich.

Guler is one of the most mature young players in the World Cup and already Turkey’s key guy. He’s also more than capable of delivering goals and assists that will make the tournament’s highlight reel.

The only question mark around Guler is whether Turkey can go deep enough for him to leave enough lasting impressions. The World Cup’s new format comes into play here, as Turkey is in a group with the USA, Australia, and Paraguay.

I won’t be surprised if they finish first and deliver a reasonably deep run, so Guler should be up there for the Young Player award.