Soccer

Soccer may have the biggest global following of any sport. With countless leagues and international competitions, soccer fans not only always have a match to watch, but they also have a ton of opportunities to bet on the sport.

Comparing online sportsbooks and their soccer betting markets

Betting on “The Beautiful Game” can be done on all of the top sportsbooks in the U.S. and around the world. While betting odds, all of the top events and matches can easily be found across a wide range of shops, that does not mean those odds are the best available. Like all sports, we highly recommend having multiple sportsbook accounts and line shopping to ensure the best price.

Each sportsbook offers something unique that stands out, as well as some features that would be considered cons on a pros and cons list. For starters, an app like BetMGM is a solid app when it comes to player props or live betting, while FanDuel is a great app when looking to bet on international competitions like the Fifa World Cups or the Euros.

Depending on how serious or experienced a bettor might be, the number of apps for them may vary. For new bettors, finding apps that provide strong welcome bonuses or odds boosts for soccer games is a good place to start, and we’ve found that DraftKings is great for these areas. As far as experienced bettors go when searching for the best odds possible, an app like Circa Sportsbook should be at the top of the list since they are oddsmakers and not followers of other shops.

Soccer and daily fantasy sports

Making money off your favorite soccer players does not just have to be limited to betting. Outside of betting, soccer has a growing DFS following, as more daily fantasy products are expanding the markets and contests they offer for the sport. The two primary contests for soccer include drafting a lineup for a specific game or window of games and Pick’em contests.

Apps like DraftKings and FanDuel DFS are good places to start drafting a lineup. For example, for the 2024 COPA America, fans could enter a contest for semi-final games. They get a $50,000 salary cap and can select one captain and five other players.

For Pick’em contests, Underdog and PrizePicks rule the market, but there are a few other options that do offer soccer contests as well. For these markets, customers can select the over/under on a given player's stats like goals, shots, assists, saves, and more. The more selections a fan makes on an entry, the higher their payout will be.

What kind of soccer bets can you place?

If one thing is for sure, soccer bettors will always have an ever-growing list of markets available that they can bet on. Of course, it all starts with the three most common wagers, which include moneyline, total, and point spread. Moneyline bets in soccer do work a bit differently than other sports, as there are a few options to choose from.

For starters, bettors can choose if they want their bet to just be for “regular time,” and after, they can either bet the three-way moneyline, which includes a draw option, or they can bet on “Draw No Bet,” which just leaves them to bet on either team in the match. Those three markets are just the tip of the iceberg, though, as there are plenty of game props, team props, player props, and more to choose from for each individual match.

As far as game props go, these markets include both teams to score, correct score, double chance, winning margin, first/last goal, method of first goal, goal scored in interval, time interval winner, exact goals scored, and more. Fans can also bet on the number of corner kicks for the game, for a given team, or during the first/second half.

Team prop markets include team totals, if they can win, register a win from behind, or if they make or miss a penalty. Now, I know we’ve covered a lot, but we haven’t even gotten too player props, which are a massive aspect of soccer betting.

Player props are typically broken into three categories: goalscorer props, goaltender props, and shots/assists props. The most common out of the three is goalscorer props, as they allow fans to wager on the first goalscorer, last goalscorer, and anytime goalscorer, along with a few other markets.

Futures & international competitions

If there is one thing that nations know how to rally around, it is their national soccer team. Some of the biggest events in the sport revolve around international competitions, whether that be the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, Copa America, European Championships, or the CONCACAF World Cup.

The ability to bet on each individual game is certainly an option for bettors, but they also have the ability to place futures for each of the aforementioned events or any other international competitions. Soccer fanatics can place wagers on which team will win the events, and depending on the layout of the competition, they can also bet on which teams will win their individual groups.

Other futures bets for international events include “Highest Scoring Team”, “Name the Finalists”, “Straight Forecast,” and “Winner-Double Chance.” For those unfamiliar, the “Winner - Double Chance” market it allows bettors to place two event winner bets in the same bet. For example, for the 2024 Euros, a bettor could place a future on England to win it at (+250), or they could bet the double chance market and take England or Spain to win at (-155).

FIFA World Cup & Women's World Cup

Every four years, all eyes shift to the pitch for the FIFA World Cup. Countries all over the world rally around their national teams in the hopes that they lift the historic FIFA World Cup Trophy. For the past seven events, 32 teams have fought to form their legacies, but in 2026, more countries will join the mix as the event will expand to 48 teams. This includes 45 qualifying countries and the three host countries.

The next Women’s World Cup will be played in Brazil in 2027. The women’s iteration of the World Cup also recently expanded the number of nations playing in the event from 24 teams to 32 in 2023.

Copa América

One of the biggest international competitions outside of the World Cup is the Copa America, a quadrennial tournament organized by CONMEBOL, the ruling body of soccer in South America. In 2024, 16 teams played in the international event, ten of which came from CONMEBOL and the other six from the CONCACAF Nations League.

All ten CONMEBOL teams are automatically qualified for the event, while CONCACAF teams went through qualification stages. In the event's history, Argentina and Uruguay have typically found the most success, as they’ve won the title 15 times apiece.

UEFA European Championship

The UEFA European Championship, or the Euros, has existed since 1958 and is organized by the Union of European Football Associations. The tournament is played every four years, and over the years, the number of teams that participate in it has increased. Most recently, in 2016, the event expanded from 16 teams to 24.

Outside of the host nations, every team must qualify to compete in the Euros. This qualifying phase is played in a league format, so teams play each other both home and away, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the event. For the actual event, there are six groups of four. In the 66 years the event has been running, Germany and Spain have claimed the most titles with three a piece.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Starting in 1991, the men’s national teams that are governed by CONCACAF started playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup every two years. This competition is set to crown the continental champions of North America, and since 2019, there are 16 teams that participate in the event out of 41 eligible teams.

There has been discussion about moving the tournament to every four years, but that has yet to come to fruition. For the time being, the 16 teams are divided into four teams of four, and the group winners and runner-ups each advance to an 8-team knockout stage. In the 33 years the CONCACAF Gold Cup has been played, only three teams have won the title. Mexico has won it nine times, the Unites States has won it seven, and Canada has won it once.

Soccer leagues & club competitions

When they aren’t representing their country in international competitions, the best soccer players in the world play for some of the most historic soccer clubs around the world. The leagues these clubs play in typically have a following that expands past the country or countries they operate in.

With the sheer following these leagues have, sportsbooks make sure they are always offering a wide range of betting markets for each of them so soccer fans all over the world can wager on their favorite players and teams. Each of these leagues, like the English Premier League or La Liga, typically has odds for each individual game in a vast range of betting markets, but sportsbooks also offer futures for each league, like league winner or "final four finishers."

While the Champions League does not feature national teams, it is an international event that draws millions of views from soccer fans. Since the league has qualifiers and competitions that feature the teams that did not make the main event, it is also one of the most bet-on events in soccer. With that, plenty of sportsbooks are constantly adding more markets for both pregame and live wagers to ensure bettors can wager on every aspect of the games.

UEFA Champions League & Europa League

The biggest professional league in the world is the UEFA Champions League, which is made up of top-division European teams, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and more. The event is so large that it is divided into three competitions: the Champions League is the top league, the Europa League is the second tier, and the Conference League is the third tier.

In the Champions League, 36 teams play eight opponents. Four of those games are played at home, and the other four are played on the road. After that, the top 24 teams advance to the knockout stage. Over the past decade or so, Real Madrid has dominated the competition, winning six titles since 2012-13.

English Premier League - EPL

The English Premier League has a massive following, whether in England or America. Considered one of the best and most recognizable leagues in sports, the EPL features 20 teams, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and other world-renowned clubs.

While the clubs fight to win a title, they also fight to avoid relegation. Each season, the bottom three clubs are relegated to the EFL Championship. Meanwhile, the top two teams from the EFL Championship are promoted to the Premier League. With new teams joining the league each season, the talent gap in the league can be sizeable, especially recently since Manchester City has won the championship in six straight seasons.

READ MORE: English Premier League Title Odds

LA LIGA, Bundesliga, Serie A & Ligue 1

In addition to the EPL, the other premier and highly recognizable professional soccer leagues include LA Liga (Spain), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), and Ligue 1 (France). The teams in these leagues typically house the highest-paid players in the world and are all very active in the transfer market.

Each league varies in size, but overall, they all have big-name teams in the Champions League. These teams include Real Madrid (La Liga), Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga), Juventus F.C. (Serie A), and Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1). With the sheer popularity of these leagues, the betting markets offered are usually much more vast than some of the other professional leagues around the world.

MLS, U.S. Open Cup & Leagues Cup

Soccer fans are rapidly growing in the U.S., but the popularity of the pro leagues is much slower. While the MLS has started to feature some bigger-name players like Lionel Messi, the league's following from a viewership and betting perspective is still a work in progress. The MLS started in 1996 and has since expanded to what will soon be a 30-team league by the end of 2025.

The league is constantly trying to grow more fans, but from a betting perspective, sportsbooks make sure fans can wager on every aspect of the game, plus place futures on the league. Outside of the MLS, the U.S. also has two other well-known soccer events, which include the U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Up.

The U.S. Open Cup, founded in 1914, has been around for the longest. On average, 100 teams play in the event. These teams include MLS teams but also other U.S.-based clubs in lower leagues if they are not owned by an MLS club and even amateur clubs. The Leagues Cup is a yearly competition that includes clubs from the MLS and Liga MX. This event has only been around since 2019 and features 47 teams, and it acts as a regional cup for CONCACAF.

READ MORE: MLS Cup Winner Odds

Other player futures & awards

Soccer players are some of the most popular athletes in the world, and fans can not only bet on them through player props or on their team, but they can also place futures on them. These futures could include the top goalscorer for a specific league like the MLS or Liga MX, but they also include awards like the Ballon d’Or.

The availability of these markets may vary by sportsbook, as some shops strictly offer league-based futures, while others do offer leading goalscorer or award markets. Shops like Bet365 are typically a good place to start when looking for these markets, as they offer player futures that include player goal milestones, player total goals, top goalscorer, and top team goalscorer.

For betting on awards like the Ballon d’Or, fans may be hard-pressed to find odds for this award for most of the year on licensed U.S.-based sportsbooks, but licensed international sportsbooks typically focus on these events a bit more.

Ballon d'Or

Since 1956, the French magazine France Football has given away the most recognizable award in professional soccer: the Ballon d'Or, awarded to the best player from the previous season. Up until 1995, this award was strictly awarded to European players, but since then, any player from around the world has been eligible.

Unsurprisingly, the two players who have dominated the award are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi holds the record for Ballon d’Or trophies won with eight, while Ronaldo holds the record for nominations with 18, to go along with his five wins.

PFA Player Of The Year

The PFA Player of the Year Award is also given to elite-level players, but instead of players from around the world being eligible, only players from English football are eligible. This does not mean a player has to be of English descent to win; instead, they just have to be playing in the country. Essentially, this award could be considered the MVP Award for the EPL.

Over the past few seasons, Manchester City has dominated the award, much like they have the EPL, as Erling Haaland won the award for the 2022-23 season.

Betting on soccer transfers

When soccer is out of season, players can hit the transfer market, which can either be good news or bad news depending on which team a fan roots for. Regardless of that, fans can place wagers on which team a player will suit up for in the next season. While bettors may not be able to place wagers on all players in the market, they can at least place wagers on big-name names like Neymar or Mo Salah.

Now, finding these betting markets may be difficult for U.S. fans, as many licensed betting apps do not always offer these futures markets. In reality, international sportsbooks are the ones that provide these markets since many of those shops are located in countries in which soccer is the biggest sport.

Whether fans can find them in the U.S. or on other sportsbooks, we still recommend price shopping, as the odds for players and their next teams could vary drastically by shop.

Next manager betting markets

Just like any other sport, when a team underperforms, or a better job opens up, a coaching carousel arises. As far as soccer managers go, the ones overlooking the top teams are typically on a short leash, whether that be for a well-known club or an international team. Well, fans have the chance to bet on markets like this on multiple sportsbooks, as they can place futures on where a manager will go next.

Much like the transfer market, the next manager destination markets can be hard to come by in the U.S. but not in international shops. Bet365 is one U.S. sportsbook that does offer these markets, but shops like Paddy Power or Parimatch tend to focus more on these markets.

A good example of this is on Parimatch, bettors can find odds on who will be the next manager of England’s national team, Wales national team, Burnley, and Manchester United. When more openings come about then bettors will be able to find odds on those as well.