The 2026 World Cup is back with another four-match slate on Wednesday, June 17, starting with DR Congo vs. Portugal at 1 p.m. ET and wrapping up at 10 p.m. ET between Colombia and Uzbekistan. Those two matches are Group K clashes, while Group L is also taking center stage with England vs. Croatia at 4 p.m. ET and Ghana vs. Panama at 7 p.m. ET. Portugal and Colombia are the two Group K favorites while England and Croatia are viewed as the top dogs in Group L.
We've put together a three-leg parlay for Wednesday's matches using odds from FanDuel for those interested in soccer betting, specifically World Cup betting. You should also check out the latest expert picks from Jon Eimer, Martin Green and others at SportsLine.
Eimer is a fixture in CBS Sports and SportsLine's soccer betting coverage. He's 64-41-3 in his last 108 Italian Serie A picks and 17-9-2 in his last 28 German Bundesliga picks. Green was 18-8 in his last 26 picks in this year's Champions League. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
World Cup parlay for Wednesday, June 17
- Portugal -1.5 (-120)
- England money line vs. Croatia (-140)
- Panama Draw No Bet (+140)
FanDuel parlay price: +654
Portugal -1.5 vs. DR Congo
Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. are in action in the first match of the day on Wednesday when Portugal faces DR Congo. Portugal are massive favorites in this one, sitting at -360 on the money line to DR Congo's +1000 price point. Green calls this a "golden opportunity" for Portugal to get off to a good start this tournament, pointing out they have "arguably the best midfield in the world" between Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, and João Neves to help set up Ronaldo for scoring looks. "It could be a lopsided game," he says.
England money line vs. Croatia
England are viewed as one of the favorites to win the entire World Cup, and they face one of the darlings of the 2022 World Cup in Croatia, who finished third and had some massive upsets along the way, including against Brazil in the quarterfinal round. England are favored on the money line, and Eimer thinks that Croatia's age is "starting to show" and that England should emerge victorious here. "This is a side that has been legendary for over a decade now, but the same players that made them great 10 years ago, are still the ones doing it now," Eimer says. "They looked tired in their friendlies versus Belgium and Brazil."
Panama Draw No Bet vs. Ghana
This is viewed as one of the more contested matches of the day with Ghana a +120 money line favorite to Panama's +240. A draw is +220. These two are both viewed as longshots to win Group L behind England and Croatia, but should one of those two sides win that earlier match, a winner between Panama and Ghana could be in prime position to earn one of the two top spots in the group. It should be noted that Ghana will be without one of their best players as midfielder Thomas Partey is dealing with visa issues that prevented him from traveling to Canada for the match. That's a big blow for Ghana, which has lost or drawn each of their last six matches heading into the World Cup. Panama Draw No Bet has some juice at plus money, so we'll target that.
