The 2026 World Cup picture is starting to take shape with European nations competing for a spot in the upcoming international tournament.
The pregame narrative: England has dominated in its quest to qualify and should stay perfect behind a strong performance from Harry Kane. On Saturday, look for Spain's top scorer, Mikel Merino, to add another goal to his tally.
Check out the Matchday 9 schedule and my top World Cup qualifier predictions for the European games, including Slovakia vs. Northern Ireland.
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World Cup qualifier predictions Matchday 9
Best bet: Slovakia to win (+110): Slovakia's only loss in the WCQ qualifying stage was against Northern Ireland, 2-0, on the road.
But the side has shown enough for me to chalk that up to a bad performance and nothing more.
Slovakia has otherwise been perfect. The nation is 3-0-1 in Group A with a pair of clean-sheet wins over Luxembourg and, more impressively, a 2-0 win over first-place Germany.
That win came at home, where Friday's contest will be played.
Overall, Slovakia hasn't lost at home since Sept. 8, 2023, when the side fell 1-0 to Portugal. Since then, it's gone undefeated in eight straight games.
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Northern Ireland is a quality team, but it hasn't had any success on the road.
In 2025, the side is 1-0-3 away from home, with a -5 goal differential. Its only win came against Luxembourg, one of the worst nations in European qualifiers.
I'm willing to look past the recent match between these two, and I expect a much better, winning effort from Slovakia at home.
Key stat: Slovakia has yet to concede a goal on home turf in 2025.
European soccer picks
Harry Kane to score (-132): This is quite a steep price for a goal scorer pick, but Kane is in a league of his own.
The Englishman has six goals in six WCQ matches, and his 26 shots and 14 shots on target far outpace anyone else on England.
Kane isn't only clinical for the national team; he's also lighting up the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
-> Bet on Harry Kane and England vs. Serbia
- In 10 games in Germany, the striker has 13 goals. No one else in the Bundesliga has recorded more than six.
- Across all competitions, Kane has scored in 12 of his last 15 matches.
When England played Serbia back in September, Kane opened the scoring in a 5-0 routing.
This time, the two sides will meet at Wembley Stadium, giving England an even greater edge with home-field advantage.
Knowing all of this, it starts to paint a picture of why there's still tremendous value on this pick even at this price.
Soccer best bets
Merino to score (+185): I was surprised to see these odds attached to Spain's top goal scorer at this competition.
Merino plays midfield, but he likes to get forward, leading to six goals in four qualifying matches for Spain.
-> Bet on Mikel Merino to score on Saturday
The Spanish squad lacks a true striker and plays through its attacking midfielder ... a lot.
Merino leads the team with 15 shots and is one of two Spanish players to have recorded more than six.
Yet he has the fifth-shortest odds to score. With Lamine Yamal ruled out of the remainder of qualifying with an injury, the side should rely more heavily on Merino's offensive prowess.
His opponent on Saturday, Georgia, has conceded two or more goals in three of the four qualifying matches.
Matchday 9 soccer games and World Cup qualifier schedule
Thursday, Nov. 13:
- England vs. Serbia (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Andorra vs. Albania (2:45 p.m. ET)
- France vs. Ukraine (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Moldova vs. Italy (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Republic of Ireland vs. Portugal (2:45 p.m. ET)
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Friday, Nov. 14:
- Finland vs. Malta (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Gibraltar vs. Montenegro (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Slovakia vs. Northern Ireland (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Luxembourg vs. Germany (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Poland vs. Netherlands (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Croatia vs. Faroe Islands (2:45 p.m. ET)
Saturday, Nov. 15:
- Kazakhstan vs. Belgium (9:00 a.m. ET)
- Liechtenstein vs. Wales (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Cyprus vs. Austria (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Turkey vs. Bulgaria (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Georgia vs. Spain (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Romania (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Greece vs. Scotland (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Switzerland vs. Sweden (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Slovenia vs. Kosovo (2:45 p.m. ET)
- Denmark vs. Belarus (2:45 p.m. ET)
World Cup qualifier predictions made at 11:23 a.m. on 11/13/2025.
