World Cup Goal Scoring Picks, Odds, Predictions for Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Surprises are abounding at this World Cup so far. Spain went scoreless in its first match as a tournament favorite. Ecuador’s vaunted defense gave up a goal late to Ivory Coast in front of a decidedly pro-Ecuadorian crowd in Philly. Curaçao got a goal in its first match to defy expectations … but Germany, in line with expectations in that same match, scored seven.
What will Wednesday bring? After debuts of some top Golden Boot contenders on Tuesday, the opening matches for Groups K and L — the final two groups to kick off — bring two more prime Golden Boot candidates into focus. Portugal and England are both looking to go far in this tournament, and two seemingly ageless wonders — Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane — will be leading their respective teams.
Also of note in Wednesday’s action: Colombia, with notable 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez on the roster, gets started against Uzbekistan in Mexico City in a group stage trek that will take the team to Guadalajara before a final-day showdown against Portugal in Miami.
Here are three goalscorers to watch for on Wednesday — and one of them, perhaps surprisingly, for reasons we’ll get into, is not Kane. Make sure to check out our World Cup match trends page for daily odds, insights and betting data for each game.
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
- Petar Musa, Croatia
- Jhon Arias, Colombia
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
We’ve reached the stage in Cristiano Ronaldo’s career where he’s not quite as effective going a full 90 as he once was, and we’ve reached the stage in Portugal’s development as a team that it’s not as reliant on him as it once was. In fact, C-Ron hasn’t scored for Os Navegadores in 2026 yet.
But this is the World Cup we’re talking about. It’s a tournament in which he’s already scored eight goals total spread over five iterations, with just one goal in all but the 2018 edition, when he broke out for four.
While most of the scoring for Portugal will fall to Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, and Goncalo Guedes, look for C-Ron to extend his streak to six World Cups scored in, getting on the board early, perhaps via a penalty kick, even if it’s his only goal of the tournament. The narrative seems to dictate it.
Petar Musa, Croatia
While there are a number of England scorers to choose from, with Harry Kane being principal among them, longer shots like Bukayo Saka (reportedly right again after a minor injury) and Jude Bellingham might be more tenable, as Croatia’s likely to be England’s toughest test in the group stages, able to defend Kane better than other teams in the group. Kane will get goals in this World Cup — certainly enough to potentially win a Golden Boot, but I’m foreseeing a 90-minute slow start for the Bayern Munich striker before he begins finding his groove against Ghana in New England.
The match is being played in Arlington in a massive stadium that is being configured to fit 94,000 for this World Cup — which is bigger than even Wembley Stadium. Petar Musa certainly doesn’t play in front of crowds this big, but his club team is literally right up the road (mostly the President George Bush Turnpike) in Frisco, and with FC Dallas, he’s been one of MLS’ most prolific strikers over the past two seasons.
Perhaps Musa doesn’t start in this one, but certainly given his familiarity with the region and his recent good form, Zlatko Dalić (who has been Croatia’s head coach for nearly a decade now) will put him in at some point and then Musa will be able to reward the decision.
Jhon Arias, Colombia
In Colombia’s most recent World Cup tune-up match, Arias scored a brace, and all but one of his six international goals have been scored in the U.S. Those are good omens for the Palmeiras attacker, who started the 2025-26 season with Wolves but escaped back to Brazil’s top-flight league before the Premier League team was officially relegated (but certainly well on their way).
Like Portugal, Colombia has its share of scorers who will look to spread the wealth in this World Cup, and has a legendary but aging World Cup scorer in the squad. Certainly, James Rodriguez won’t repeat what he did in 2014 in winning the Golden Boot, and may not score at all. But Colombia is poised to advance given its draw, and goals should be abundant, especially opening against Uzbekistan. Arias will certainly be among those with looks if not outright goals.
Photo Credit: AP/Kevin Kolczynski
