blog
Jun 22 • 4 min read
Why today's slate is different
Matchday 1 gave us a clear picture. France beat Senegal 3-1, Norway crushed Iraq 4-1, Argentina posted a clean 3-0 over Algeria with a Messi hat trick. Austria came from behind to beat Jordan 3-1. Four high-scoring openers. Four teams walking into today with confidence and attacking lineups. This is a scorer's slate. Build your Wanna picks around it.Match 1: France vs Iraq, 5 p.m. ET, Philadelphia
France is the play of the day. Full stop. Iraq gave up four to Norway in Matchday 1. Norway. France is better than Norway. Kylian Mbappe scored twice against Senegal and his movement off the ball was the thing that broke Senegal's defensive shape. Iraq has no answer for that. Mike Maignan gets the start in goal for France and Iraq has yet to score in this tournament. Goal scorer pick: Kylian Mbappe. He has scored in consecutive group stage appearances, he leads France's attack from the front, and Iraq's defensive backline has already shown it can be beaten at pace. If you only make one goal scorer pick today, it is Mbappe. Clean sheet angle: France. Iraq has no goals in the tournament. France have Saliba and Upamecano behind Mbappe in the starting eleven. Iraq's attack has not tested a defense close to France's caliber. This is the cleanest clean sheet on the board.Match 2: Argentina vs Austria, 1 p.m. ET, Arlington, Texas
This one is more interesting than the line suggests. Argentina has the best player on the planet in peak World Cup form. Messi tied the all-time World Cup scoring record against Algeria. He was fit, clinical, and unstoppable. He plays today. Austria, though, is not Jordan. Ralf Rangnick's side beat Jordan 3-1 in their opener and came from behind to do it. They press hard. They score goals. Both teams found the net in their first match. Goal scorer pick: Lionel Messi. He has scored in every game he has started this tournament. He is 38 years old and playing like he is 27. He has a shot record in this competition, a clean head and a loaded lineup around him. The pick writes itself. Value angle: both teams to score. Argentina's defense gave up no goals against Algeria but Austria's attack is a different animal than what they faced in Matchday 1. Arnautovic and the Austria front line can get on the scoresheet. Argentina will still win. But the clean sheet is harder here than the France match.The Wanna parlay slip for June 22
Three picks. One parlay. Here is the Wanna lineup for today: Pick 1: Kylian Mbappe to score vs Iraq. France is a massive favorite and Mbappe is the focal point of the attack. He scored twice in Matchday 1. Iraq is the weakest defensive team on today's slate. Pick 2: France to keep a clean sheet vs Iraq. Iraq has zero goals in the tournament. France are fielding their first-choice defense. This is as close to a locked clean sheet as the group stage offers. Pick 3: Lionel Messi to score vs Austria. He has scored in his only World Cup 2026 appearance. He is fit. He starts. Austria has to stop him and nobody has managed that this tournament. All three picks are grounded in Matchday 1 results, current fitness reports, and lineup news. That is the parlay.How Wanna works differently
Salary-cap platforms like DraftKings make you juggle budget constraints. You might want Mbappe and Messi in the same lineup but the cap forces a trade-off somewhere. Wanna's pick'em format removes that friction entirely. You pick the players and outcomes you believe in. No cap math, no roster construction headaches. You build the parlay you actually want. The cleaner format matters on a four-game slate like today when every match has a clear angle.Download Wanna before 1 p.m. ET
The first match kicks at 1 p.m. ET in Arlington. Entry locks when the whistle blows. Get the app, build the parlay, and lock in before kickoff. Download Wanna Parlay at wannaparlay.com.Real-money contests available in 26 US states. Free-to-play available everywhere. See wannaparlay.com for full state eligibility.
