The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway on Thursday evening.

A clean sweep of Leeds United men progress is expected as the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets going.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on Thursday evening as co-hosts Mexico take on South Africa in the Group A opener in an 8pm kick-off UK time.

Leeds have four players representing their countries at the tournament in Brenden Aaronson with co-hosts the USA, Gabi Gudmundsson with Sweden, Noah Okafor with Switzerland and Ao Tanaka with Japan.

Gudmundsson and Tanaka are on a collision course to face each other due to Sweden and Japan having both been placed in a tough looking Group F along with the Netherlands and Tunisia.

Gudmundsson and Tanaka, though, are both expected to progress to the competition’s round of 32 by the bookmakers as part of a clean sweep for all four Leeds players with the USA, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan all odds-on to make it through the group stage.

Even a third-placed finish could be enough to send teams through and Gudmundsson’s Sweden team are 4-7 to qualify despite being third favourites in their group behind Netherlands (1-12) and Japan (1-4), the bookies expecting Tunisia (7-4) to go out.

Winger seen has having strongest chance of going through

Noah Okafor, though, is viewed as having the strongest chance of getting through to the knockout stages with Switzerland who are favourites to win Group B faced against Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar. Switzerland are 8-11 to win the group and a very short 1-10 to go through.

Aaronson’s USA side meanwhile are vying for favouritism with Turkiye in Group D which also features Paraguay and outsiders Australia.

The USA are just about favourites to win the group at 8-5 and 6-5 to go through.

Despite Okafor and Switzerland regraded as having the strongest chance of getting through the group stages, Tanaka and Japan are a shorter price to actually win the World Cup itself, albeit big outsiders.

Japan are 55-1 shots, shorter than Switzerland at 80s. The USA are also 80-1 shots whilst Sweden are as big as 250s.

The bookies don’t particular think it’s coming home either, England third favourites but still as big as 8-1 in a market that is becoming dominated by joint favourites France and Spain who are both 5s.

After England at 8s, Portugal are next at 9s, followed by Brazil and Argentina at 11s. Germany are then 16s, followed by the Netherlands (22s), Norway (33s), Belgium (45s), Colombia (50s) and then Tanaka with Japan.