After a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in their World Cup opener, England fans and pundits were already daring to dream that football might finally be coming home.
However, the Three Lions were brought crashing back down to earth on Tuesday as they laboured to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Ghana.
That underwhelming performance has tempered some of the early optimism surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s side.
England’s wastefulness in front of goal and occasional defensive vulnerabilities will raise concerns, particularly with tougher tests likely to come later in the tournament.
Can England still win the World Cup? The Three Lions are 6/1 third-favourites with Sky Bet
With England’s lacklustre display fresh in the mind, it’s worth taking a look at Sky Bet’s updated outright winner market.
At the time of writing, the Three Lions have drifted slightly to 6/1 and are third favourites to lift their first World Cup trophy in 60 years.
France remain the tournament favourites at 4/1, while Spain are second favourites at 11/2.
La Roja were joint-favourites alongside France before the World Cup got underway, but their odds have eased following a surprise 0-0 draw with Cape Verde in their opening match.
Meanwhile, France have looked frighteningly strong in their opening two matches, recording back-to-back victories by a combined margin of five goals to cement their status as tournament favourites.
Argentina and Portugal complete the top five in Sky Bet’s outright winner market, with the pair priced at 13/2 and 10/1 respectively.
Argentina have enjoyed a perfect start to their campaign, following up a 3-0 win over Algeria with a 2-0 victory against Austria.
Remarkably, all five of their goals have come courtesy of Lionel Messi, who appears to be rolling back the years on football’s biggest stage.
Portugal, meanwhile, recovered impressively from an opening 1-1 draw with DR Congo. They responded in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, thrashing Uzbekistan 5-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo helping himself to a brace in the rout.
Sky Bet favourites to win the 2026 World Cup:
France – 4/1
Spain – 11/2
England – 6/1
Argentina – 13/2
Portugal – 10/1
Brazil – 12/1
Germany – 14/1
Netherlands – 16/1
Norway – 33/1
USA – 33/1
Morocco – 40/1
Colombia – 40/1
Japan – 40/1
- All odds are correct at the time of publication
