World Cup 2026 Golden Boot, Dark Horses & The Sweepstakes Slots That Match Each Pick

Our Golden Boot favorites, Best Young Player picks, three legitimate dark-horse nations — and the soccer-themed sweepstakes slot to spin while you watch each one.

By USA Sweepstake Team · 2026-06-05 · 9 min read · For US players

## The Picks You Won't See on ESPN ESPN will hand you the same five Golden Boot names. We'll give you those — **plus** the dark horses, the Best Young Player bet, and the **soccer-themed sweepstakes slot** that fits each one. **US Players Only.** ## Golden Boot Top 5 1. **Kylian Mbappé (France)** — defending Golden Boot winner from 2022. Open price. 2. **Erling Haaland (Norway)** — *if* Norway qualifies through its play-off. 3. **Vinícius Jr. (Brazil)** — Brazil's primary penalty taker is decisive. 4. **Harry Kane (England)** — England's set-piece machine. 5. **Lautaro Martínez (Argentina)** — defending champions, central #9. > **Slot pick to spin:** *Football Glory* and *11 Champions* — both live in the soccer tab at [Stake.us](/review/stake-us) and [High 5 Casino](/review/high-5-casino). ## Best Young Player Favorites - **Lamine Yamal (Spain)** — heavy favorite, will be 18 at the tournament. - **Endrick (Brazil)** — Real Madrid forward with national-team minutes. - **Arda Güler (Turkey)** — *if* Turkey qualifies. > **Slot pick:** *Football: Champions Cup* at [Chumba Casino](/review/chumba-casino). ## Three Legitimate Dark Horses ### 1. Morocco The 2022 semi-finalists return…