Tuesday's World Cup Qualifier Tips: Back wins for Portugal, Italy & 2/1 Irish Bet Builder | OneFootball

World Cup 2026

Paul Higham's best bets for Tuesday's World Cup qualifiers

Paul Higham's final set of World Cup qualifier tips sees him back England on the handicap, Portugal and Italy to win shootouts and a 2/1 Bet Builder on Ireland against Armenia.

Estonia v Moldova

17:00 kick-off

There's a hint of the pointless about this game between the bottom two in the group with just one win between them - and that being Estonia's win in Moldova in the opening game.  Estonia are even money to repeat that success back on home soil.

That seems reasonable against a Moldova side pumped 11-1 by Norway last time out. The last meeting was a 3-2 thrller - Moldova have only scored one other goal while those three account for half of Estonia's tally so maybe they can bring out the goals in each other again.

The way both sides defend there surely has to be goals.

Andorra v Serbia

19:45 kick-off

Back-to-back defeats have derailed Serbia's challenge, so they need a big win in Andorra as 1/8 favourites and hope Albania slip-up down the stretch to claim second spot behind England.

Serbia's lack of goals has been the major problem, scoring just four times in five games. Three of those came in the reverse against Andorra, but at home Andorra have conceded just twice, once each against England and Latvia, so if both those trends hold it's a recipe for a low scorer.

Rep. Ireland v Armenia

19:45 kick-offLive on Amazon Prime PPV

A heartbreaker for Ireland in Portugal with a last-minute winner leaving the Boys in Green with just a point from three games - including a shock loss in Armenia. The hosts are 2/5 at the Aviva though and with second-placed Hungary just three points in front and facing Portugal then they're by no means out of things.

So with a home crowd behind them Ireland can finally get a win in the group, with Armenia's record of no clean sheet in 34 being a real help. Evan Ferguson is the main man with a goal in two out of three, both of which included 2+ shots on target. Expect more here.

Italy v Israel

19:45 kick-offLive on Amazon Prime PPV

Four wins in a row for Italy now as they try to somehow chase down flying group leaders Norway - who smashed Israel 5-0 at home last game so the Azzurri will want to do something similar as 1/6 favourites in Udine.

That's a short price judging on Italy needing a stoppage time winner to claim a 5-4 thriller in the reverse fixture - and what we're almost certain of is goals, with Italy scoring 13 in the last three and Israel's blank in Norway coming after them notching 15 goals in the previous five group matches.

Latvia v England

19:45 kick-offLive on STV, ITV 1 & ITVX

It's all about planning for the World Cup now for Thomas Tuchel as a win as 1/25 favourites will guarantee England's place with a couple of games to spare - and they arrive in Riga following five wins from five without conceding a single goal.

England won 3-0 at home in their group opener but I think there's actually more scope for them to earn a bigger win here, with the group pretty much over for Latvia and the expectation to play a bit in front of their home fans. 3-0 is the minimum England should expect.

Now read: Dave Tindall's tips for Latvia v England

Portugal v Hungary

19:45 kick-off

Hungary got their first win on Saturday after throwing away a two-goal lead to draw in Ireland and lost to a late goal against Portugal, so things could've been so much better for their trip to Lisbon.

The hosts are big 2/11 favourites but needed another last-minute goal to beat the Irish last time out, so if Hungary can cut out the mistakes then they could stand a chance of the 11/2 draw it not perhaps the more improbably 12/1 away win.

The Magyars have never beaten Portugal in 15 attempts, and the way they've conceded goals it's hard to make a case for them, but with Portugal also only keeping three clean sheets in 14 and five of Hungary's last seven having over 2.5 goals then the net should bulge a few times.

Spain v Bulgaria

19:45 kick-off

A walk in the park here for Spain, and no this isn't a typo but they're 1/50 against Bulgaria, so trying to dig out some value on the European champions against a Bulgaria side that's lost all three games and arrives after being hammered 6-1 by Turkey.

Losing 3-0 at home to Spain, and also losing 3-0 in Georgia doesn't bode well for Bulgaria, and if Spain can win 6-0 in Turkey than can certainly stick five past a team so easy to score against at this one.

Anything odds-against in this betting heat is a decent return.

Turkey v Georgia

19:45 kick-off

It's been a topsy-turvy qualifying group for Turkey so far, beating Gerogia 3-2 before then scoring six and conceding six in the next two games, so expected to see a few more goals on the menu.

Eight of Turkey's last 10 games have seen over 2.5 goals, including that first meeting so we know both sides know how to score against each other - and I think they both will.

Now read all the rest of our World Cup qualifier match previews & tips

Recommended bets

Back England -3 on the handicap @ 13/8 Back Portugal to win & both teams to score @ 6/4 Back Turkey to win & both teams to score @ 5/2