World Cup Goal Scoring Picks, Odds, Predictions for Monday, June 22, 2026
On Monday, we once again get the happy convergence of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland playing in World Cup matches. In their first matches last week, all three were the respective first goalscorers in those matches, with Messi ending up on a hat trick and the other two merely settling for braces.
They’ll return with different challenges this time around. For Argentina, Austria represents the highest-ranked team they’ll face in their group, after having dispatched Algeria, dropping that team in the FIFA world rankings. For France, it’s Iraq, the lowest-ranked team in its group, with Norway still lingering out there as a final, high-stakes group stage match. Norway, meanwhile, deals with a Senegal team that hung with the World Cup favorites for more than a half before Mbappé and company kicked their game into a higher gear.
Though Messi is a threat to score in every match he plays in, we’re going a slightly different direction with the pick in Argentina’s match, but otherwise sticking with what’s likely to work in this tournament. (And if you’re looking for overall Golden Boot picks, going with Messi and Mbappé are the safest picks, as they look poised to score a ton of goals ahead of meeting once again in the final, as they did four years ago.)
Make sure to check out our World Cup match trends page for daily odds, insights, and betting data for each game.
Monday’s Best 2026 World Cup Goal Scoring Picks
- Lautaro Martínez, Argentina
- Kylian Mbappé, France (first)
- Erling Haaland, Norway
Lautaro Martínez, Argentina
Argentina is more than Messi, though in the match against Algeria, it was evident that Messi’s still a gifted goalscorer, even if he wasn’t involved in defending. But Lautaro Martínez is also a talented scorer who hasn’t yet broken through in this World Cup, though he did score his 37th goal in international competition in the tune-up match in Aggieland over Honduras, and got a goal a month between September and November last year to move toward that total.
Messi’s likely to get a goal in this match, it’s likely to be his first, and the oddsmakers know it. But look for Martínez to score as well in what should be a comfortable win.
Kylian Mbappé, France (first)
For 65 tense minutes in its opener, France couldn’t score … but neither could Senegal. Then, Kylian Mbappé did a Kylian Mbappé thing, turning on a precise Michael Olise pass to slot in an elusive goal, and then found another later in the match from distance.
Senegal proved to be a formidable opponent for Les Blues, even though they were able to pull away late. With goal differential, Norway currently leads the group, but France may put up more on Iraq than Norway were able to. Look for Mbappé to gert the first goal, and look for it to happen earlier than it did against the stubborn Senegalese.
Erling Haaland, Norway
Erling Haaland looked just as fearsome in his World Cup debut as many figured he would. It only took him 28 minutes and change to get his first goal, running onto the end of a cross and using his sheer power to trundle it in — both his goals triggered literal seismic activity in his hometown.
Look for more tremors on Monday, as Haaland should carry the Norweigan team on his back once more. With Senegal a stronger opponent than Iraq, you might not see the multiple goalscorers you saw in the Iraq match. What you’re likely to see, though, is Scandanavia’s top Golden Boot contender opening the scoring.
Photo Credit: AP/Butch Dill
