Anytime Goalscorer is the player-props market that gets the most traffic in tournament play, and matchday one of the 2026 World Cup gives us a settled slate of starting strikers across every Group A through L opener. Below are our Anytime Goalscorer predictions for the matchday, picked from the full fixture previews where each player’s recent club form, tournament role and minutes-load all line up behind the call.
Canada’s Cyle Larin leads the slate — the Southampton striker scored nine times in the Championship this season and walks into the host-nation opener at BMO Field as Canada’s most reliable in-box presence. The rest of the table runs through the matchday’s marquee strikers, with the bet365 line at time of writing and a link through to the full preview for the reasoning.
This week’s Anytime Goalscorer predictions
| Match | Pick | Odds & Sportsbook | Confidence | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina | Cyle Larin anytime scorer | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Larin scored nine times in the Championship for Southampton this season and remains a reliable box presence for Canada. |
| USA vs Paraguay | Christian Pulisic anytime scorer | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Pulisic scored eight times in Serie A for AC Milan this season and is the most likely source of a goal for the hosts. |
| Mexico vs South Africa | Raúl Jiménez anytime scorer | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Jiménez scored nine times in the Premier League for Fulham this season and remains Mexico’s penalty taker. |
| Brazil vs Morocco | Raphinha anytime scorer | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Raphinha scored 13 La Liga goals for Barcelona this season and gives Brazil a direct threat from the left. |
| France vs Senegal | Kylian Mbappé anytime scorer | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Mbappé is two goals from France’s all-time scoring record and remains their first-choice penalty taker. |
| Argentina vs Algeria | Julián Alvarez to Score Anytime | Check bet365 @ bet365 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Alvarez scored 8 goals in 29 La Liga games for Atlético Madrid this season and thrives on the big stage. |
Anytime Goalscorer settles if the named player scores at any point in regulation time. Penalties scored count; own goals do not. Extra time and shootouts do not count unless the bet is explicitly priced including extra time, which is the default at bet365 for tournament knockouts but not for group games.
What are Anytime Goalscorer predictions?
Anytime Goalscorer — sometimes written AGS — is the player-prop market on whether a named player scores at least one goal in a fixture. It is one of the most popular soccer markets because the line is intuitive and the price is usually long enough to be worth a small stake even when the player is a heavy favourite to start. Stack an AGS leg with a Match Result call inside a Bet Builder same-game parlay and you get a correlated price that is materially better than the multiplied straight prices.
Top-end strikers usually price in the +110 to +180 range when they are starting and on penalties. Wide forwards, advanced midfielders and full-backs tend to run +400 to +900. The market rewards homework on who starts, who is on set-pieces, who is on the penalty, and how the tactical matchup shapes the fixture — a high-pressing team plays into the hands of a fast counter-attacking striker, and the AGS line moves accordingly.
How to spot Anytime Goalscorer predictions value
Three signals drive our AGS picks. The first is shots-on-target volume over the last twelve club starts — players averaging at least one SoT per ninety convert AGS at materially higher rates than the implied probability of their +150-ish lines.
The second is set-piece role. Penalty-takers and direct free-kick takers get a structural lift on AGS prices because every penalty awarded is effectively a guaranteed strike chance. The third is opposition defensive shape — a striker who plays best against a high line sees the AGS line lengthen against a deep-block side, and vice versa.
Key stats behind our Anytime Goalscorer predictions
On matchday one, two structural factors shape our AGS picks. First, group-stage openers tend to have the named penalty-taker on the pitch — managers do not rotate the player-personnel on a first-match basis. That makes the penalty-taker advantage on AGS prices more reliable on MD1 than on, say, a Group C dead-rubber third match.
Second, club season form carries weight. Players coming off thirty-plus goal seasons at the top of the Premier League, La Liga or Bundesliga walk into the World Cup in attacking rhythm — the muscle memory does not switch off. Players coming off twenty-plus-goal Championship seasons (like Larin for Canada) carry similar attacking shape if they are the focal point of their international side too.
Browse other predictions
Looking at other markets? See our Both Teams to Score picks, Correct Score picks and Over 2.5 Goals picks for the same matchday. Or browse all of this week’s soccer predictions.
Anytime Goalscorer FAQs
Do penalties count for Anytime Goalscorer?
Yes — penalties scored in regulation time count as goals for AGS settlement. Own goals do not count for the player who deflected the ball, and extra time and shootouts do not count unless the fixture is explicitly priced including extra time.
What happens if the player doesn’t start?
Anytime Goalscorer settles on whether the player scores in the fixture, regardless of whether they start or come off the bench. If they do not feature at all — named on the team sheet but unused substitute, or not in the squad — the bet still settles on the no-goal side. There is no refund for a non-start unless the price was explicitly listed as “to start and score”.
Where does the bet365 AGS line come from?
All AGS lines come from bet365 at the time of writing. See our bet365 Canada review for the full operator breakdown. For the full picture, compare bet365 with the other best betting sites in Canada, including the newest betting sites.
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