World Cup 2026: Canada vs Qatar – Best Bets, Odds & Prediction

Odds provided by Betovo

Canada will take on Qatar this Thursday at 3 p.m. PT, playing on home soil for a second straight game after drawing with Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 to open up the tournament. Canada is a heavy favourite (-375) with the home field advantage in Vancouver at BC Place, but Qatar (+1100) was able to shock Switzerland with a 1-1 draw in the opener, so a tie could be more in play than the +466 odds suggest. 

Canada

Despite drawing in a match that they were favoured to win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada still has an excellent chance to make it past the group stage if they are able to pick up a win against Qatar. They just recorded their first point in FIFA World Cup history, but recording their first win at the tournament would be a monumental moment for Canada soccer. Missing Alphonso Davies for a second straight match hurts their chances, but Jonathan David has scored four times in their recent matches leading up to the tournament while Tajon Buchanan has scored three, so they should have enough offence to pull out a win against a Qatar team that they are still much better than on paper.

Team News: It was originally reported that team Captain Alphonso Davies was close to fitness and had a chance to suit up for this match, but it has now been reported by CBC that he almost certainly won’t play against Qatar. Moise Bombito was able to suit up against Bosnia and Herzegovina but he was not 100% and came off the bench. Cyle Larin is expected to replace Tani Oluwasey in the starting lineup after scoring the game tying goal off the bench. 

Predicted Lineup: Crepeau; Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Laryea; Buchanan, Eustaquio, Kone, Millar; David, Larin.

Qatar

Similarly to Canada, Qatar is still searching for their first win in FIFA World Cup history, and if they are somehow able to pull up an upset against Canada at odds of +1100 to win, they would have an excellent shot to advance past the group stage. Momentum is on their side after shocking Switzerland with a draw, but they will have a difficult task dealing with the Canadians on home soil with a passionate crowd behind them. They did not record a win in their five matches leading up to the tournament, losing to Ireland and Tunisia.

Team News: Qatar does not have any reported injuries and should be at full strength heading into their matchup Thursday against Canada.

Predicted Lineup: Barsham; Pedro Miguel, Khoukhi, Lucas Mendes, Homam Ahmed; Boudiaf, Madibo, Abdulaziz Hatem; Afif, Almoez Ali (c), Al-Haydos.

• This will be the second time that Canada and Qatar match up at the senior men’s international level. Canada won 2-0 in an International Friendly in 2022 thanks to early goals from Jonathan David and Cyle Larin.
• Canada is 2-3-0 in International Friendlies this year and tied Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 in their opening match of the tournament.
• Qatar came out of their opening matchup against Switzerland with a 1-1 draw despite being heavy underdogs. They were 0-1-2 in their most recent matchups leading up to the tournament, all International Friendlies.
• Qatar has given up 2 goals and scored 2 goals once in their last five matches. They have not had a game decided by more than one goal over that stretch.
• Canada has outscored opponents 7-4 in their six matches this year, allowing two goals once.

Canada should be the favourite in this matchup with a better overall squad on paper than Qatar and playing on home soil in Vancouver. They have the better team even with their captain Alphonso Davies expected to be sidelined for a second straight match to begin the tournament. Qatar is coming off of a rather surprising 1-1 draw against Switzerland who has the best odds to win the tournament in Group B and is a better overall team than Canada, so taking Canada at -375 to win just isn’t the greatest value in my opinion. 

Almoez Ali will be the main scoring threat to look out for on Qatar as the counties all time leading scorer with 60 international goals. They were able to score against Switzerland, but this was incredibly fortunate as Miro Muheim had a devastating own goal three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match to even up the score. Canada allowed a first half goal to Bosnia and Herzegovina so I could see Qatar getting on the board in this one. I expect the final score to be either 2-0 or 2-1 for Canada.

Jonathan David Anytime Goalscorer (+100)

I like Canada to score twice in this match and Jonathan David is one the the best bets to score as the countries all time leading men's scorer with 39 goals in 78 international appearances. He was held scoreless in their first match so I think taking him at plus money to score in this one is good value. Qatar allowed 27 shots to Switzerland with 10 on targets, so scoring opportunities should be there for Canada.