The stars align again on Monday at the 2026 World Cup, and Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland will be looking to keep up with Lionel Messi in their second-round group-stage matches. Messi, Mbappe and Haaland combined for seven goals in their World Cup 2026 openers last week, and their fight for the Golden Boot continues Monday. Messi scored two more goals to give him a record 18 for his career in the World Cup as Argentina defeated Austria 2-0 in the early match. Also Monday, Mbappe and France meet Iraq at 5 p.m. ET before Haaland's Norway side face a tough match with Senegal at 8. The night wraps up with Jordan vs. Algeria at 11 p.m. ET.
If you plan to get into soccer betting and World Cup betting, you need to see what SportsLine experts like Jon Eimer, Brad Thomas and Martin Green have to say before locking in your wagers. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
World Cup parlay for Monday
- Argentina money line vs. Austria (-230 at FanDuel)
- France vs. Iraq Over 3.5 goals (-124 at FanDuel)
- Norway vs. Senegal Over 2.5 goals (-115 at FanDuel)
FanDuel parlay price: +386
Argentina money line
Messi was the star of the show in last week's 3-0 victory against Algeria, scoring all three goals, but La Albiceleste have plenty of talent in addition to the all-time great. The reigning champion Argentines were clearly brimming with confidence in the opener, and SportsLine expert Martin Green expects that to carry over to today's match. Austria cruised to a 3-1 victory against Jordan, but Argentina are completely different animals. Argentina are the No. 1 team in the world, while Austria are No. 21 and Algeria are 29th. Green says Austria "could struggle to deal with Argentina's sheer firepower" and backs Messi and Co. to win.
France vs. Iraq Over 3.5 goals
This is a high total, but that's because Mbappe and world No. 2 France against the 60th-ranked Iraqis is quite a mismatch. Iraq got crushed by Haaland and Norway 4-1 in their opener, and France have more talent around Mbappe than the Norwegians have alongside Haaland. Mbappe and Haaland each scored twice last week, so if Mbappe can match that and the likes of Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, and Desire Doue continue their solid play, this should be a high-scoring match. Green points out that Iraq created their share of chances last week and says "they could test France's defense," so back the Over.
Norway vs. Senegal Over 2.5 goals
SportsLine expert Brandt Sutton points out that Norway have Haaland, who has scored 57 goals in 51 matches with the national team, and Senagal don't. The expert thinks Senegal could be in trouble, as they will be aggressive as they seek points to try to advance to the knockout stage. Senegal lost 3-1 to France last week, and another loss could end their hopes. Senegal have talented players like Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr up top, so they are no slouches. "Over 2.5 goals have been scored in three of Senegal's past four matches, a trend I expect to continue against Norway," Sutton says.
