Saturday's World Cup Qualifier Tips: Back Spain's Merino at 2/1 and more misery for Sweden | OneFootball

World Cup 2026

Paul Higham has Betfair's best bets for the Wrold Cup qualifiers on Saturday

Paul Higham has tips for all 10 of Saturday's World Cup qualifiers, including a fast start for Wales, Scotland to do a job in Greece, more misery for Sweden and 2/1 Mikel Merino to shine for Spain.

Kazakhstan v Belgium

14:00 kick-off

A fourth straight World Cup awaits for Belgium, who need just a win here or in Tuesday's match with pointless Liechtenstein. The Red Devils are basically there, thanks in part to Kazakhstan drawing in North Macedonia last time out.

Another good result seems way out of reach for the Kazakhs though - they lost 6-0 in Belgium and the Red Devils have scored 10 in their last two away wins along with 4+ goals in four of their last five matches overall.

Liechtenstein v Wales

17:00 kick-offLive on BBCi, BBC Two, S4C Online & S4C

Wales face UEFA's second lowest ranked side first before a showdown with North Macedonia in their final game, most likely for second spot unless something weird happens to Belgium. Craig Bellamy's side already have a play-off spot thanks to the Nations League so they can in theory have a free swing at this one.

They're massive odds-on shots at 1/50 here after winning all four previous meetings by a combined 11-0 and with Liechtenstein losing all six group games 23-0 on aggregate. Wales games have also seen plenty of early goals - 10 in fact inside the opening half hour in their last five games, so expect another quick start.

Also expect a lot of shots, as Wales had 26 in the reverse fixture including two on target by David Brooks - who can match that here, while Jordan James has had the most shots on target in the Welsh squad in this campaign.

Turkey v Bulgaria

17:00 kick-offLive on Amazon Prime PPV

A draw will do for Turkey to secure second spot, but there's still a very minor chance of them catching Spain so they'll have to take care of business here as 1/14 shots. Bulgaria lost the reverse fixture 6-1 at home, which was their only goal of a fruitless campaign so far, so expect a handy home win.

Bulgaria have conceded 3+ in all four games so far, while all of Turkey's matches have had five goals in or more.

Georgia v Spain

17:00 kick-offLive on Amazon Prime PPV

Spain can set a record with 30 competitive games unbeaten (in 90 minutes) with a win here at 1/5 - a win that would all-but secure their World Cup spot. And with four wins from four with 15 goals scored and none conceded their form suggests this is a mere formality.

Spain have won the last eight World Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal, so although Georgia have been strong at home they're not strong enough to deal with the European champions.

Cyprus v Austria

17:00 kick-off

A surprise defeat in Romania ended Austria's winning run, but they're 2/9 to bounce back with a win - although Cyprus did hold second-placed Bosnia to a 2-2 draw in their last home game so they could offer some resistance despite not having too much to play for.

Austria needed a penalty to beat Cyprus 1-0 in the reverse fixture and this could be somewhat similar, with the visitors only allowing three goals so far they should be good enough to grind out a win here, even if a low scoring one.

Bosnia v Romania

19:45 kick-off

Romania are back in business then after beating Austria while Bosnia slipped up in Cyprus, so it's all to play for here, even if likely just for second place, with the hosts 29/20 favourites and Romania slight outsiders at 9/5.

There's plenty of weight behind both teams scoring - five of Romania's last seven aways and five of Bosnia's last seven overall have gone that way. I'll couple that with a draw as Bosnia will be happy enough to keep their three-point advantage and they're two evenly matched sides.

Switzerland v Sweden

19:45 kick-offLive on Amazon Prime

It's been nothing short of a complete disaster for Sweden so far, with just a point to their names. Now they are massive 4/1 underdogs against unbeaten group leaders Switzerland, who are 8/13 for the win that will all-but seal their World Cup place.

We keep waiting for Sweden and all their attacking talent to click, but it's not happened so far and against a Swiss side who've yet to concede a goal this toughest test of the group doesn't seem like the one where they can put things right.

Slovenia v Kosovo

19:45 kick-off

No wins and three draws so far for Slovenia to leave them four points behind Kosovo - who are 29/10 outsiders but have played much better in this campaign, although the two sides drew the first meeting 0-0 just last month.

So another stalemate here at 11/5 has to at least be under consideration as Slovenia have had plenty of them and both teams have been really struggling to score goals - with just five between them so far.

Greece v Scotland

19:45 kick-offLive on BBC Scotland, BBC Two & BBCi

Crunch time for Scotland as they hope to remain on collision course with Denmark for top spot in the final game - but first they have to do the job in Greece as 11/4 outsiders. The hosts are 21/20 despite three defeats out of four ending their hopes of qualification.

Steve Clarke's side laboured to victory over Belarus at Hampden last time out, maybe the nerves of a tightening situation getting to them - but even though it's all on the line again they really should have enough determination to get the job done.

Denmark v Belarus

19:45 kick-off

This should be as straightforward as they come, with Denmark winning 6-0 away at Belarus in the reverse and now fighting for top spot with Scotland, so they can't afford to take this game too lightly.

The 1/33 is fair enough as Belarus have lost all four games and scored just two goals, so in all likelihood it'll be the same again for the Danes, who can take care of business here ahead of the big game in Scotland to follow.

Now read our guide to three stats and three bets for Liechtenstein v Wales

Recommended bets

Back Mikel Merino 2+ shots on targets @ 2/1

Back Scotland to beat Greece @ 11/5

Back Switzerland to win to nil @ 15/8