World Cup Goal Scoring Picks, Odds, Predictions for Sunday, June 28, 2026

By Phil West | Jun 27, 2026, 6:07pm

Sunday’s match kicks off the Round of 32, and it’s pitting a team that didn’t exactly want to be in this particular SoFi Stadium slot against a team that’s a bit surprised to be here.

For Canada, winning its group would have meant two more matches in Vancouver before heading to Kansas City for a quarterfinal match — assuming the co-hosts can get that far. Now, the path to the quarterfinals is arguably more challenging and involves playing in Houston — not exactly a Canadian enclave — for the Round of 16.

South Africa, on the other hand, upset South Korea to get second place in Mexico’s group, leapfrogging that opponent in the process, and get to the knockout rounds for the first time in its history.

But Canada’s also looking to make its own brand of history, and despite the concerns swirling around dropping the match to Switzerland and failing to win the group, Les Rouges will look to get on with their journey and beat a beatable opponent.

Here are three candidates for scoring in Sunday’s sole match. Make sure to check out our World Cup match trends page for daily odds, insights, and betting data for each game.

Sunday’s Best 2026 World Cup Goal Scoring Picks

Jonathan David, Canada
Cyle Larin, Canada
Iqraam Rayners, South Africa

Jonathan David, Canada

With a hat trick against Qatar in an epic 6-0 win, Jonathan David leads all Canadian players in scoring through three games, and he’s been unlucky to not have more and to be legitimately challenging in the current Golden Boot race. His inability to score against Switzerland in particular set Canada on a challenging pathway to the World Cup finals — assuming David can help get Les Rouges past Bafana Bafana — the winner of Netherlands-Morocco awaits in the Round of 16.

But of all 22 presumptive starters, David is still the most likely to score, and count on him to prove that Canada has truly arrived as a legitimate soccer power with room to develop and grow.

Cyle Larin, Canada

Canada head coach Jesse Marsch has deployed both Jonathan David and Cyle Larin in a 4-4-2 formation, in large part to get his two best goalscorers on the pitch at the same time. In this tournament, Larin showed up in the opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scoring a late equalizer to salvage a draw (and, indeed, Canada’s group stage campaign), and then again to open the scoring in the match against Qatar.

As David will consume a lot of South Africa’s defensive energy with his movement, Larin could benefit greatly from his presence. Larin will certainly prove a handful as well.

Iqraam Rayners, South Africa

South Africa hasn’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard this World Cup, with only two goals through three matches — and one of those coming from the penalty spot. But Rayners has been a fixture in Bafana Bafana’s front line the whole tournament, and has been an integral piece for Mamelodi Sundowns, the South African club team that largely anchors its national team.

This very well could be a shutout win for Canada, but if you’re predicting goals on both sides of the equation, Rayners is one of the better options for getting South Africa into the contest.

Photo Credit: AP/Abbie Parr

Phil West

Phil West is a writer based in Austin, Texas, whose work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, including MLSSoccer.com, Backheeled, and Howler, as well as major publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Austin Chronicle, and San Antonio Express-News. He also wrote two books on soccer for The Overlook Press.