2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Fivefold acca betting tips

Qualification rounds for the 2026 World Cup are entering their final stages across Europe and around the globe.

In the absence of domestic top-flight football in the top European leagues, Odds Now football writer Steve Day packs his suitcase and scours the world for a fivefold acca to pique the interest in international football this Sunday.

Romania vs AUSTRIA (4/5)

Once upon a time, Romania were quite good at football. The likes of Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Raducioiu, and Ilie Dumitrescu became cult heroes in the sport's 90s folklore, thanks to their performances at the 1994 World Cup in the USA.

As a young Welsh fan at the time, I'm definitely not still bitter about our 2-1 loss at home to the Romania in our decisive qualification game against them for those very finals!

Fast forward three decades later, and we have another World Cup in North America. Unfortunately, this time, it looks like Tricolorii won't be qualifying automatically for this tournament. Mircia Lucescu's men are in third place in Group H and six points adrift of second placed Bosnia-Herzegovina. A win is mandatory here.

However, they face an Austria side who look well-drilled, in-form and confident under legendary manager Ralf Rangnick. Das Team are top of the group with a 100% record after five games, having scored 19 goals and only conceded two. They also managed a record-breaking 10-0 win over San Marino earlier in the campaign.

Austria have the incentive that a win here will all but seal automatic qualification to the 2026 World Cup, and I'm confident they'll do it.

Faroe Islands vs CZECHIA (4/9)

If you were paying attention to the World Cup qualifiers earlier this week, then you'll have noticed that minnow nation Faroe Islands ripped up the rulebook and sealed a stunning 4-0 win at home to Montenegro.

OK, so the stats suggest that Montenegro got "FM'd" (a pop culture reference to a team dominating the stats, but losing the game, as can notoriously happen on the popular football management simulator, Football Manager!), but it was a warning to us punters that we should not take Eyoun Klakstein's men lightly, particularly at home.

So, I've clearly decided to ignore that warning. Faroe Islands may well have only lost two of their six qualification games so far and sit just four points and one place behind Czechia. But let's face reality here. Czechia are a different proposition to Montenegro. Ivan Hasek's side have only lost one of their last 12 matches, and held Group L leaders Croatia to a 0-0 draw last time out. They should win this with a business-like display.

DENMARK (4/6) vs Greece

Talking of being FM'd, if you watched Scotland versus Greece the other night, then, like me, you'll still be scratching your head as to how the Scots managed to somehow turn a turgid opening hour of football and being 1-0 down into a 3-1 win. There's no doubt that the manner of that defeat would have sucked a lot of morale out of the Greek players.

A trip to Denmark comes next for the Greeks in Group C ,with Brian Riemer's side sitting top of ahead of second placed Scotland on goal difference. The Red and Whites are now unbeaten in their last five matches – a run that includes four victories. It's a welcome upturn in form after a miserable UEFA Nations League campaign.

Greece know that anything but a win will put them on the brink of missing out on qualification for the World Cup. If they lose, then they would be relying on Belarus to get something away to Scotland. Denmark have only lost once at home since June 2022, so it's going to be a tall order and you'd have to fancy the home side to prevail.

GHANA (3/10) vs Comoros

Our travels around the globe briefly take us on a detour to Africa.

Ghana have long been a team that have garnered sympathy as a footballing nation. Repeatedly narrowly missing out on qualifying for tournaments was only amplified by the outrageous injustice of Uruguay attacker Luis Suarez's handball debacle at the 2010 World Cup.

The Black Stars have been made to work hard to qualify for this tournament. Tough opposition in Group I means that they need a draw to seal automatic qualification for next summer's tournament. The only small issue is that they're facing a Comoros team who beat them 1-0 in Moroni in their reverse fixture earlier in the group.

Comoros will take confidence from that last encounter, but they do face a side that haven't lost since that game and boast one of European football's most in-form players right now in Antoine Semenyo. It's hard to see Ghana doing anything other than getting the win they need here.

Lithuania vs POLAND (4/9)

Finally, we take a return trip back to the continent of Europe for the last selection in this fivefold.

I think this game is politely summed up by the fact that Lithuanians are well known for not really considering football to be a very important sport in their country. It's more about basketball. Honestly, that is reflected in their national football team being pretty poor. They currently sit second from bottom in Group G, already eliminated from the qualifying process with games to go.

Poland feel like the 2000s Stoke version of international football. OK, so they still have Robert Lewandowski, but they have a distinct shortage of glamorous names beyond their talisman. What they do have, though, is a great team ethic and an ability to grind out the results they need. This helps them qualify for major tournaments on repeat. They just don't do a lot when they get there.

I would be very surprised if they didn't win comfortably here. Jan Urban's men are in second place in the group and sit just three points behind leaders Netherlands. Lithuania haven't tasted victory in 13 matches, having lost nine of those. This one feels inevitable.

Steve Day's 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Five-fold Acca Bet

3pts - Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Ghana, and Poland - 7.1/1 (Ladbrokes/ Coral)

*Odds correct as of 9am on 12/10/25.