World Cup Anytime Goal Scoring Picks, Odds, Predictions for Sunday, June 14, 2026
With four matches on Sunday, including some of the tournament’s biggest names, it’s another chance to revel in goals. While they might not be as aesthetically pleasing as what the U.S. was able to unveil on Friday night — most notably Gio Reyna’s triveta, though Folarin Balogun jumped out to an early Golden Boot lead with a brace — plenty of players taking the field on Sunday are capable of getting on the scoresheet.
If you’re looking for total goals to be scored, you might look to what should be a one-sided Germany vs. Curaçao contest, or what could be a high-flying affair between Netherlands and Japan — two teams in the world’s top 18 capable of scoring.
Sweden also gets to open its tournament with a tilt against Tunisia, opening the dark horse Golden Boot campaign for Arsenal’s Viktor Gyökeres, hoping for a leg up should Japan and Netherlands duel to a draw. And we can’t forget Ecuador in this — with one of the stoutest defenses in this tournament, opening its campaign against Ivory Coast.
Here are three goalscorers to consider on Sunday.Be sure to also check out our World Cup match trends page for daily odds, insights and betting data for every game.
- Kai Havertz, Germany – first goalscorer
- Donyell Malen, Netherlands
- Viktor Gyökeres, Sweden – first goalscorer
Kai Havertz, Germany – first goalscorer
Looking at the odds and the list of goalscoring possibilities for Germany against Curaçao will lead you to conclude two things: Germany’s going to get a lot of goals on Sunday, and they’re looking to spread the scoring around. With players like Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, and Leroy Sane on this team, it’s got lots of capable scorers, carrying on in a strong tradition of Die Mannschaft soccer good enough to win it all 12 years ago.
But if you’re looking for a close-to-sure goalscorer as well as a good first scorer candidate, consider Kai Havertz. He did it early in a the recent Champions League final for Arsenal, and though that goal didn’t hold long enough for the Gunners to beat PSG, Havertz showed in that one moment how capable he is of changing a match in a single transcendental moment. Look for him to work similar early-match magic — perhaps even in the first 10 minutes.
Donyell Malen, Netherlands
Netherlands fans are getting mileage out of German mathematician Joachim Klement predicting that the Oranje will win the 2026 World Cup — as he’s picked the three previous winners, which is quite a feat given the openness of the tournament.
If Klement’s prediction is to come true, much of it rests on Donyell Malen’s feet and head, as the Roma striker is arguably the Netherlands’ most reliable striker, building off a solid Serie A season following his midseason move from Aston Villa. While this looks to be one of the more even group stage matches, with goals on both sides likely, look for Malen to find some level of luck against the Japanese defense to tally at least a goal.
Viktor Gyökeres, Sweden (first goalscorer)
Gyökeres was instrumental getting Sweden into the tournament in the first place, as one of the last European teams to qualify. Given his track record with Arsenal and with Sporting Lisbon before that, Gyökeres is a complete striker who will get his share of goals in the group stage — especially in this match.
Consider that Tunisia is the lowest-ranked of the teams in this group, with its most recent tune-up match heading into the World Cup being a 5-0 drubbing against a Belgium team that isn’t quite what it was in recent cycles. Sweden isn’t quite Belgium, but a one-sided affair with Gyökeres getting the opening goal isn’t tough to envision.
Photo Credit: AP/Patrick Post
